Win Commitment Without the Title

Program

Learn how to influence without formal authority by uncovering what matters to others, shaping clear points of view, and communicating in a way that earns buy-in and drives action.

90% satisfaction

This program includes

Mid-career ICs are expected to drive work forward across teams, but they often have no formal authority. They have to deal with:

Navigating complex, cross-functional environments
Surfacing meaningful insights from messy information
Gaining buy-in from stakeholders who think and communicate differently

Cost to the business?

When influence breaks down, progress stalls. Good ideas get stuck in the noise, alignment frays, and teams waste time circling problems instead of solving them.

What's missing?

The ability to understand what matters to others, make sense of complexity, and communicate with clarity and credibility, without relying on a title.

In short, the ability to influence across the business, not just up or down a chain of command.

Audience

Individual Contributors

Length

6-8 weeks

Cohort size

Price

Starting at $50,000

About this program

Participants will learn to drive work forward in complex, cross-functional environments without relying on formal authority. Through practical tools and peer-based practice, they will learn to seek diverse perspectives, make sense of complexity, and share ideas in ways that influence and inspire action.

Skills you'll improve

Syllabus

1 - Seeing The Bigger Picture

Gather different perspectives to get a better understanding

Time commitment:

90-minute live session + 30 minutes of pre-work

Why it matters:

It’s hard to influence outcomes when you’re not the decision-maker. Without understanding the different perspectives at play, it’s easy to miss what really matters to the people you need buy-in from.

Thinking tool:

Narrative Dialogue – gather insights and explore problems from multiple perspectives so you can understand how others think about a problem, and what it really looks like from their point of view.

Walk away with:

The ability to uncover assumptions, gather diverse perspectives, and ask better questions so you can build trust and understand what really matters to your cross-functional partners.

Gym - Session 1

Get a deeper understanding of a problem you’re working on using Narrative Dialogue

Time commitment:

60-minute live session + 30 minutes of pre-work

What to expect:

Use Narrative Dialogue to unpack a challenge where you’re trying to gain traction without formal authority. With your peers’ support, you’ll surface new perspectives to understand the problem from all angles.

Walk away with:

A more nuanced understanding of the challenge you’re working on and an intentional, repeatable approach to seeking diverse perspectives.

2 - Structure Your Thinking

Structure your thinking to develop a compelling point of view

Time commitment:

90-minute live session + 30 minutes of pre-work

Why it matters:

In complex environments, it’s not the lack of data that holds us back; it’s knowing what to do with it. To influence effectively, you need a clear, compelling point of view that drives action.

Thinking tool:

Problem Pyramid – break down information bottom-up so you can surface what matters and deliver clear, actionable insights top-down to your stakeholders.

Walk away with:

A structured approach to analyze information, develop a clear point of view, and build compelling arguments that drive action.

Gym - Session 2

Use the Problem Pyramid to develop your insight

Time commitment:

60-minute live session + 30 minutes of pre-work

What to expect:

Use the Problem Pyramid to bring structure to messy information, and with your peers, uncover what the data is really saying and, most importantly, why it matters.

Walk away with:

Clarity on your current challenge, and a framework to structure your thinking and shape a point of view that’s hard to ignore.

3 - Adjusting Your Communication

Learn how to adjust your communication to influence without authority

Time commitment:

90-minute live session + 30 minutes of pre-work

Why it matters:

Influence isn’t about saying more, it’s about saying the right thing in the right way. If you don’t tailor your message to how others think, it’s easy for your ideas to get overlooked or dismissed.

Thinking tool:

Whole Brain Model – adapt messages to different thinking styles and frame your ideas so they stick, spark interest, and drive action.

Walk away with:

The ability to shape messages that land with your audience and build momentum, especially when you’re not the one calling the shots.

Gym - Session 3

Adjust your next communication to influence your stakeholder(s)

Time commitment:

60-minute live session + 30 minutes of pre-work

What to expect:

Use the Whole Brain Model to drive action on a real challenge you’re working on by crafting a message that speaks to what your audience really cares about.

Walk away with:

Clarity on your next action and tools to craft messages that resonate across audiences and earn buy-in, even without formal authority.

90% satisfaction

What Participants Are Saying

“In navigating a tricky situation with an xfn partner, I used Narrative Dialogue to understand where she was coming from and develop a solution to best meet everyone's needs.”

Eliza Worcester

Senior Product Marketing Manager

“I enjoyed learning the Whole Brain Model - it will sharpen the way I engage with different stakeholders and how I position my communication strategy.”

Jessica Rose

L&D Associate

"The whole brain thinking model with the perspective hook feels like a game changer for communication."

Victoria Nelson

Senior Product Marketing Manager

“I've adapted the How/What framework to better coach my team and guide them through problem-solving in more productive ways.”

Stephanie Smith

Customer Success Partner

"The Whole Brain Thinking model has changed how I approach structuring my argument when trying to influence another team to dedicate resources towards a project."

Annie Barco

Senior Product Marketing Manager

“I'm constantly using soundbites when communicating with my core leadership audience: What do you NEED to know and by when in order to do what?”

Sara Becker

Senior Product Manager

"I learned useful ways to communicate more effectively by understanding your audience and using more structured thinking."

Qi Gao

Senior Data Scientist

“I found the points around sparking curiosity interesting. Getting engagement on documentation can be a challenge since people's attention is pulled in so many different ways.”

James Oliver

Senior Engineer

"The whole brain thinking model and applying that to my work was the most useful learning. It helped me prioritize the audience I was trying to persuade and tailor my writing towards that reader."

Rachel He

Senior Product Marketing Manager

The Curious Lion Experience

Zoom like you’ve never seen

Not your ordinary Zoom call

We combine storytelling, music, energizers, breakouts, and hands-on learning to create an unforgettable virtual experience.

Learn from peers across functions

Cross-functional learning provides context

The best learning happens when ideas are filtered through the unique context of those we work with. Our programs all follow our framework for Cohort Learning Experiences.

Get real work done

A structured process for solving problems

We provide hands-on coaching while your people apply our thinking tools to their actual work to ship during the cohort.

Drive business outcomes

Align learning to your business strategy

With a team of strategy consultants and learning consultants working hand-in-hand, we are able to create learning products that drive real business outcomes (and measure this).

Meet Your
Instructor

Andrew is an expert in learning and development, serving in executive roles at global organizations like KPMG. As the founder of Curious Lion, Andrew and his team have developed 1,000s of leaders at clients like Workday, Pinterest, IMG, and USAA, winning numerous awards for their engaging learning experiences.

Kenny is the Domain Manager for the Web Development Domain at Codecademy. He contributed to a wide range of courses and paths at Codecademy, including JavaScript, Bootstrap, Handlebars, Phaser.js, Go, Swift, TypeScript, and Lua.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this virtual?

The program is built to be virtual first, delivering a Zoom experience like you’ve never experienced before. But individual sessions can be delivered in person.

Can this be tailored?

All our programs have a minimum level of customization by our team of strategy and learning consultants. We can discuss deeper customization in our discovery calls.

What audience is this best for?

We see the most success with a cross-functional audience of experienced individual contributors transitioning to leadership and new leaders.

Why the focus on problem-solving?

The core challenge of leadership is not having all the answers. It’s having the right questions. This mindset is at the heart of problem-solving. We teach new and aspiring leaders how to synthesize multiple perspectives into a strategic narrative and communicate clearly to diverse stakeholders.