When being right isn't enough to get things done

You can influence people who share your technical framework. But at this level, most of the people you need to move don't report to you, don't think like you, and won't be convinced by logic alone.

What You'll Work On:

• Building relationships with stakeholders who don't share your technical lens
• Influence strategies beyond logic and data (your default, and often overused)
• Reading what stakeholders actually need—not just what they say
• Navigating organizational politics as leadership, not manipulation

You'll recognize this if:

• You're great in your function but struggle cross-functionally
• You've dismissed "politics" as games—and it's limiting your influence
• Your ideas are right but don't get traction with peers or senior leaders
• You're doing the work but others are shaping the decisions

Built for: Senior technical leaders who've mastered influence through expertise—and now need to build influence through relationships.

When your message is accurate but doesn't land

You communicate with precision. But at this level, precision isn't the goal—clarity for different audiences is. The same message that works with your engineering team fails with the board. And leading with "how" when they need "so what" is costing you credibility.

What You'll Work On:

• Framing complex issues for non-technical stakeholders
• Leading with conclusions and implications, not methodology
• Adapting communication to the room instead of expecting the room to adapt to you
• Making your strategic thinking visible—not just in your head

You'll recognize this if:

• You've been told to "be more strategic" but you ARE strategic—they just don't see it
• You default to detail and precision when simplicity would land better
• Your communication works with technical peers but not with executives
• You're doing strategy in your head but not showing it in how you communicate

Built for: Senior technical leaders whose expertise creates communication habits that work against them at higher levels.

When stakeholder conflicts reveal your relationship blind spots
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Framework Preview: Board-level and high-stakes conflicts aren’t “HR issues”—they require executive-level judgment, presence, and structured resolution, not avoidance or escalation.

What You'll Master:
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• Handling conflict without damaging trust or losing face
• Navigating board, investor, and senior team tensions under pressure
• Knowing when to lean in, when to hold, and when to walk away
• Turning conflict into clarity, alignment, and forward motion
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Built for executives who can’t afford messy conflict—but also can’t afford to avoid it.

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