Mapping the political landscape: your GPS for influencing
Why you need a map
Wise product and transformation leaders know that leadership isn’t just about setting strategy and providing direction. It’s also about navigating terrain. You need to be continuously charting and adjusting your path towards your destination, because the straightest line from here to there is rarely the most realistic option. You’re going to need to zig zag your way across the landscape for various reasons to get to your end destination
Wise product and transformation leaders also know that in organisations, the toughest terrain to navigate isn’t physical. It’s political. Every initiative you lead requires cooperation from people with different priorities, different pressures, and different levels of power. Some will champion you. Others will resist. Most will sit in the middle, waiting to see which way the wind blows
Without a clear map of this political landscape, you’re flying blind. Just like you risk getting lost and getting trapped in perilous conditions whilst trying to climb a mountain without a map, you risk wasting energy on the wrong people, being blindsided by hidden blockers, or missing the allies who could accelerate your success
A political landscape map is your GPS for influencing. It shows you who matters, how they’re connected, and where you can make the biggest impact. Product and transformation leaders who skip mapping often:
lobby the wrong people, mistaking formal authority for real influence
get surprised when a “done deal” unravels because of unseen opposition
miss opportunities to activate allies who are willing but are under engaged
Mapping turns vague impressions into a clear, actionable picture. It’s the difference between wandering aimlessly looking for the path and truly navigating
The three key players
There are many ways to categorise your stakeholders. This is simply one way to help you get started, and it helps you look at the people around you using the perspective of a politician seeking votes for an upcoming election. So what are the three types of key players?
allies. They actively support your agenda. They’ll advocate for you even when you’re not in the room
blockers. They resist or undermine your agenda either openly or subtly from behind the scenes
swing voters. They could go either way. It really depends on timing, framing, and trust
Swing voters are often the most important people to focus on. Move one influential swing voter to become an ally, and the momentum shifts dramatically in your favour. The same goes for when an influential swing voter suddenly becomes a blocker. It could drastically change the trajectory of your campaign against you
How to build your own map
Think about the people around you, including those who are loud and those who are silent:
list the key players for your current priority initiative. Include the formal decision makers and the informal influencers
categorise them. Are they an ally, a blocker, or a swing voter
note their motivations. What do they care about? What do they fear? What pressures are they under?
draw connections. Who influences whom. How strongly?
Your map doesn’t need to be fancy. It doesn’t even need to be in a digital format. A simple sketch using a whiteboard, a scribble using pen and paper, or a data dump onto a spreadsheet are good enough because they can reveal patterns you hadn’t seen before
Decoding and leveraging the patterns that surface
So what patterns are we looking for exactly? There are endless possibilities. The most important thing is to look at the map you draw with a beginner’s mindset. Look for what you can learn or confirm, not what you think you already know. Here are three common patterns to get you started:
a single blocker influencing multiple swing voters
allies who aren’t connected to each other (i.e. lost opportunities to build coalitions of the willing)
isolated stakeholders who could be brought in with the right approach
Example 1: The hidden blocker
A General Manager in Product assumed that her biggest challenge to successfully getting her product built and out to market was convincing her direct superior, the highly opinionated CEO of their business unit. In reality, a peer in another business unit was quietly and successfully influencing key decision makers to go against her project because they saw it as a threat to their projected revenue. Once she realised this, she built trust and an alliance with this peer. Resistance melted away because they found a win-win solution where they moved from being competitors to collaborators
The lesson: the person with the highest seniority and the loudest voice isn’t always the one with the most influence
Example 2: The under-utilised ally
A Director in Transformation discovered a mid-level manager who was well liked across all departments because they had a reputation for being consistently reliable, practical, and executed with excellence when their peers failed to do so. Because of their track record they had earnt the trust of, and therefore informal influence with, senior leaders within the organisation. By involving him early, the director gained a credible advocate who could champion her initiatives when she wasn’t there in the room
The lesson: allies aren’t always the most senior people in the room. Sometimes they’re the invisible connectors who have respect and reach across the organsiation
Example 3: The swing voter that tipped the balance
In the lead up to an important product launch, one influential but undecided stakeholder in operations was holding back. Their support was key because they provided the crucial bridge between changing the business and running the business. Customers would have a fabulous experience if the operations teams valued and supported the product, but they would have a terrible experience if the operations team treated it as another thing on their to-do list and they did the bare minimum for it. By reframing the initiative in terms of the operations team’s KPI’s, the Head of Product converted the Head of Operations into an ally. Within weeks, the rest of the “wait and see” crowd followed
The lesson: moving one swing voter can shift the whole system
Maintaining the map
The political landscape is a dynamic one. Alliances shift, priorities change, and people move roles. Update your map:
during key moments such as when you do your quarterly planning activities or after a major organisational restructure
to track shifts in stances. For example, allies can drift away, and blockers can soften their stances
to plan your moves deliberately if you know you have a big decision to influence. Don’t leave it to chance
Common mistakes leaders make
Common mistakes occur when you rely on logic too much or when don’t question the obvious enough. When you:
treat the map as static data: it’s a living document because as relationships and agendas change, so do the politics
overly focus on formal authority: your political landscape map is not your formal org chart and titles don’t equal influence
ignore informal influencers: the “shadow cabinet” often matters more than the official one
try to convert every blocker: sometimes it’s better to contain than convert, focusing on a few to win the masses
Once you’ve mastered the basics of understanding the political landscape, you can then:
plan targeted engagements: who you want to meet, in what order, and with what message
connect allies who don’t know each other yet: coalitions are stronger than individuals
focus on converting one highly influential swing voter: a shift in their stance will cascade through to the people within their span of influence
reduce a blocker’s influence by strengthening your allies around them: give people the ability to make an informed choice on who and what to support
influence through proxies: sometimes the best way to reach a stakeholder is through someone they already trust
Play the game without losing yourself
Mapping the political landscape isn’t about manipulation. It’s about creating clarity. It helps you see the system as it is, so that you can navigate it with integrity. It helps you create realistic plans and plot an easier pathway to success
The goal isn’t to “game” people. It’s to align your initiatives with the realities of how decisions are made, whilst staying true to your values
Your homework for this week
Who’s one swing voter you could move to ally status this month? What’s your first move?
Things you could do to help you with this:
choose one initiative you’re leading right now
build a simple stakeholder map of allies, blockers, and swing voters
identify one swing voter to focus on
plan a conversation that frames your initiative in terms of their priorities
Why this matters
Without a map of your political landscape, you’re guessing. With a map of your political landscape, you’re deliberate. You know where to invest your energy, who to engage first, and how to build momentum
Product and transformation leaders who map the political landscape don’t just survive organisational politics, they shape it
Want help to map your political landscape or to have the critical conversations that give your product, project, or program its best chance of success?
Let’s work on this together. Here are three ways:
Influencing for Impact: This practical 2-day workshop is for you if you want to influence a decision maker, influence a change in customer or colleague behaviour, or influence someone to buy something from you
Executive and Leadership Team Coaching: Work directly with Lai-Ling to problem solve for your specific situation in a confidential setting. This is for you if you want to develop and execute on a game plan that is 100% tailored to you
Leadership Development: Invest in the product and transformation leaders in your company with leadership development that is customised for their role. This is for you if you want your people to learn about people and politics