Building influence requires a strategic approach. Actively survey your professional relationships, identify where you lack connections with stakeholders, and methodically invest time in building alliances with leaders who can advocate for your ideas when you're not in the room.
The ultimate sign of influence isn't just being consulted by leaders, but when others champion your ideas in rooms you're not in. This demonstrates that your concepts have gained social capital and are spreading organically, becoming a key signal of your impact.
Creating a product vision is only half the battle; its impact comes from relentless distribution. Proactively schedule presentations at all-hands, design reviews, and team meetings. If you don't actively share the work, it's as if it never happened.
To increase the "memobility" of your ideas so they can spread without you, package them into concise frameworks, diagrams, and stories. This helps others grasp and re-transmit your concepts accurately, especially when you can connect a customer pain to a business problem.
Well-meaning professionals often take on "glue work" like improving onboarding or team culture. While valuable, this work often doesn't align with promotion criteria for senior roles. Audit your energy and focus on activities directly tied to the expectations of the role you want.
When meeting with senior leaders, shift the focus from your status updates to their priorities. Ask what's top of mind for them, what challenges they face, and how you can help. This reframes you from a direct report into a strategic ally, building trust and social capital.
The number one reason design-led product visions fail is the exclusion of product management. Since design doesn't typically own the roadmap, involving product partners from the very beginning is critical for buy-in and ensuring the vision doesn't become a useless artifact.
When leaders demand high-fidelity prototypes too early, don't react defensively. Instead, frame your pushback around resource allocation and preventing waste. Use phrases like "I want to make sure I'm investing my energy appropriately" to align with leadership goals and steer the conversation back to core concepts.