Okay. We'll get started since we are short on time. Hello, everyone. My name is Anushka.It's really nice to meet you guys, and thank you so much for sharing your time on a Thursday afternoon. So today, we are going to be talking about something that a lot of our team members face and you face on a daily basis as well as how do you lead a team when no one reports to you. So here we go. Let me get started. I'm not sure why the slides are not changed. Okay. So you know that meeting where you have the data, the logic, the road map, and somehow the decision still doesn't stick? Or maybe you finally get an agreement, and a week later, someone new joins the thread and reopens the debate.

That's when you realize that your work isn't just about, like, shipping features or completing your projects. It's also about managing and moving people. And the tricky part is sometimes none of those people actually report to you. And to explain that, today, we're going to take a small detour, not to a framework or not to a case study, but to a zoo. So hang on tight and grab the nearest imaginary seat belt and get ready. Before we move on to the zoo, we all have to chat windows, so I just want a one word check-in with you guys. If your week had to be an animal, which one would it be? Can we get some responses in the chat for the same?

I know we are one day closer to Friday, but it's Thursday. So oh, jaguar, honey patcher, tiger, cat. Wow. I love all of those. The rest of you guys can keep your animal a secret because we will be seeing more familiar ones as we progress. I am not sure. I'm having a hard time with the slides, but here we go. So once upon a time, there was a zoo that was preparing for a really grand showcase. It was one of the biggest ones that they had ever attempted. Every animal had a rope. The elephants moved the props, the owls managed the lighting, and the seagulls, they made announcement. And the hippos, well, they were convinced that they could direct everything from the pond. But there was one problem.

The animals did not report to each other and certainly did not report to the zookeeper. They were independent, proud, and sometimes wildly unpredictable. The animals at the end of the day. The funny thing is these animals were always performing together even when they did not realize it. Their rhythm, their hesitation, their instincts, all of it shaped the show. And the performance only worked when all of them moved together. That part feels familiar. Right? Everyone on our teams is constantly performing, whether they know it or not. Every yes, every delay, every silence, and every idea. Leadership, especially without authority, is about noticing that performance and helping it also move all of them in the same direction. Now comes the zookeeper. The zookeeper's job was very simple to describe but very hard to comprehend and also very difficult in practice.

They had to bring the whole zoo together without any control, without any authority, and without any promise that these animals would listen. The only tool was influence. That is what most of us do on a very regular basis, guide, influence, and move people that do not report to us at times. So the zookeeper began the journey. They went to the visitor desk and got a map that usually everybody gets so that they could make their way through the zoo. The zookeeper first went to elephants because nothing could move until they did. The elephants were strong, very steady, and also very essential to the showcase, but they were also very cautious. They had seen these keepers come and go with new ideas, rush timelines. The elephants would not move until they trusted someone that actually asked them to.

So the zookeeper slowed down. They showed up early. They kept their promises and helped in small ways that were never noticed even on the program sheet. They followed through and through again. They showed up on time. They made sure these elephants were fed. Their places were cleaned. And after seeing all of this, one of the elephant moved. They stepped forward, then another one, and then another. Soon, the whole herd began moving together in quite agreement. The zookeeper then realized that influence begins at the moment where people believe you're reliable, they believe you're trustworthy, and they find that kind of trust in you. The second morning, the zookeeper actually made their way to the Owl's Tower. They had actually earned their trust to be invited in. From up there, the zoo looked really, really different. You could see how the hippos were actually guarding the pond, not out of ego, but out of fear of change.

How the seagulls kept wailing, not from wanting the like, the interruptions were just not because they loved yelling on top of their lungs, but was because they just wanted to be heard. They could see how the elephants hesitated not from stubbornness, but from pride in doing different kind of things. Right? The owl then said that it is very easy to lead when everyone agrees, that but the true leadership actually starts when you see what others see, and sometimes you don't like it. The zookeeper then realized that they had been so focused on getting things done that they had stopped asking why others resisted. So they began to pause more, listen more attentively, and ask better questions rather than always jumping into solutions. They learned to lead with curiosity and not conviction. There there was still the hippo, strong and steady, very unsure of its instincts. It would not move until they felt that the water was settled.

So in the story, zookeeper does not push. They do not demand. They initially focus on calming the pond. They first listen without jumping into solutions. They acknowledge that there is a weight that this hippo carries. It looks very steady on the surface, but it's actually carrying like a whole set of pressures that you rarely see. So they actually bring in data, different kind of examples, and clear explanation of how the showcase would help this entire zoo and not just a little corner of it. Little by little, the water becomes still, the tension eases, and the hippo can finally see the value without being threatened or rushed. With that calm water and a clear path, even the hippo begins to move. Then the night came. The zoo grew very uncertain. It was the night of the showcase.

The animals were actually a little bit confused about the next step, even though the zookeeper kind of brought them together. That was because the lights went out. The elephants still waited. The seagulls kept debating. The hippo stayed still. The zookeeper at that point was like, oh, it's already like a panicky and a chaotic situation, so let's not yell and make it even worse. How about instead of shouting orders, our little lantern? The little lantern, they gathered everybody close and explained why the showcase matter. They told each animal how their part actually helped the whole performance come alive. One by one, the animals moved. Not because they were ordered to, because they finally understood where they were going. That is the difference between control and clarity. People do not follow orders. They follow understanding.

When you share why something matters and those folks are able to relate to it, they will find their how on their own. And that is what these animals did as well. Even though the lights were out, there was a lantern, it was a beautiful setting, the mood was right, the vibe was right, they were able to perform to the best of their abilities. So when the dawn actually arrived, the elephants moved the props, the owl shaped the lighting somehow, the seagulls guided the crowd, even the hippo took took its place in the front and actually finally got out of the pond. The zookeeper did not command them. This simply created conditions where every animal could perform well. That is orchestration. That is leadership without authority, and the performance here will only shine when everyone plays their part with trust and purpose.

Something that the zookeeper learned throughout this journey was initially they got like a visitor's map. It was very clean, colorful, printed. It tells you about the paths that you're supposed to take. But the map inside the zoo, which the zookeepers actually use, is very different than the visitors map that you get because it talks about the dead ends. It talks about the detours. It talks about the paths where things get narrows, the corners where things usually get stuck. Every workplace has both of these two different maps, the one that is printed and the one that is real. And most of the confusion comes from when we are trying to navigate the zoo with the visitor brochure than the real brochure.

And that is why influencing without authority is actually really confusing at first because you're just using the wrong map. You think decisions follow very clear path on paper, but inside the zoo, decisions follow people, pressure, different kind of relationships, timing, and also purpose. And that kind of map has three different more important parts, which is people, power, and purpose. To survive our zoo that we do live on a very everyday basis, you need a map. My personal map has three different parts, which is people. But people are not just people that you work with. You're also working with different kind of instincts, goals, and their fears. Power is how decisions actually get made, but it's not usually or always what the up chart really says, but it is what really happens.

And purpose is why the zoo really exists, the shared mission that actually keeps moving everybody in the same direction. So the real foundation of influence, every team, every project, every decision that we try to move runs on these three forces. People are the instincts, the relationships, the hesitations, and the emotions in the zoo. They are the elephants that need the trust. They are the owl that look at things from a different level. They are the hippos who need the calm and the seagulls who arrive really quickly and leave quickly. They arrive loudly and they leave really quickly as well. Power is how decisions are getting made. It's not the visitor map that we looked at earlier. It's the real map. The informal routes, the quiet approvals, the trusted knots, and the places where things either speed up quickly or come to a halt.

And purpose is the shared why. It is the thing that gives the animal direction when things start wandering. When team loses sight of purpose, movement becomes guesswork. When they understand it, the whole Zoom moves with full clarity. When these three connected when these three are connected, the intersection is a very strong foundation of influence. You do not have to push people. You don't have to physically do things or mentally do things. People just move with you. So before you try to influence any kind of decision, pause and reflect. Who are these people? Where does the real power lie? And what is the purpose that these folks actually care about? Getting those three lined up can help things move quickly. Now you would be like, okay. How do I build this influence? Influence is a lot like credit.

When you join your team, your balance starts at zero or sometimes even negative if they had, like, a really bad predecessor. Every time you make an ask to your team members or folks that you work with or you need help, you make like a small withdrawal. The only way to have something to draw from later is to actually make deposits early. Small moments, consistent moments, and these are the things that helps you build that kind of reliability and trust. For example, a few months earlier in my role, things in our sprint started slipping. Engineering was, like, really understaffed and the release date kinda looked impossible to meet. I asked the tech lead, like, what were we going to do if engineers were, like, fully tied up in fixing production issues that are kind of unrelated to the features.

So instead of being like, oh, let me escalate this and we need to get it done, I sat with them. We rescoped things, and we adjusted times transparently, and we communicated that to leadership as well. And the engineering team and I did build a relationship of trust. So when in the future we needed something really quickly due to some kind of issue, they stepped in themselves when it comes to help because they have built that kind of trust with me, and they know that I will not ever try to throw them under the bus because we all are moving towards the same goal at the end of the day.

Now comes another question. So since we've talked about the zoos hidden map, I do want you guys to take ten seconds and think of a person that shows up for you when you really need it. And don't think about their title. Maybe think about the name that pops up in your mind. So it's going to be a ten seconds really awkward pause till you guys think about it. If you guys do really feel comfortable, if you would be able to share the relationship that you have with these folks in the chat, it could be like a manager, a colleague, a colleague in a neighboring team, a mentor, or a peer. Would love to see those names in the chat. Mhmm. Product leave, Amanda. Good one. Anybody else has any other relationships? Mhmm.

Manager, primary PA, a teammate who was assigned who was my assigned mentor when I started. So as you can see with some of the examples that Laura, Whitney, and Amanda shared, notice how some of them are actually not formal lines on the chart. They are the network that makes this influence possible. Like, the org chart sometimes is actually really great at showing structure, but it's not as great as showing it never tells you, like, the full story. What actually helps you getting things done is your trust lattice. That is the group of people who will actually try to, like, answer your message faster, help you when something breaks, or even help you unblock a decision even when it's not their job.

Like, for example, Laura mentioned that it was a teammate that was assigned as a mentor that when she started. Pretty sure that this mentor did really help her, like, get up to speed with things, but this mentor is not somebody that she reports to. So the question becomes now is how do you build that kind of network? You also have to contribute equally to that relationship. You respond when people ask for help in the smallest ways. So now if Whitney has to help somebody, she would try to help the primary BA or Amanda would look at the product lead or Mandy would look at the controller and try to help them whenever they can. You keep your words so that the teams know that they can actually count on you.

You also try to stay curious about their challenges so that you could be of need when they need it. You celebrate their work with the same energy you want for your own work. These little things then add up over time. They create this pattern of reliability that people would notice. People would always know that, okay, I can always count on this person to help me out whenever I need. And when people trust how you work, they will move with you even without needing any of this formal authority. Now coming to how do you actually also win over people? So the way that we can do that is you build relationships. How would you build relationships? Every time I join a new company or a new team, I make sure to have a lot of, like, one on one calls before with before joining any team with all of my team members so that I can know them personally.

I can know them what they like, what they don't like, what are their motivations, what are their goals. And sometimes I also do these calls on a quarterly basis, monthly basis, weekly basis, depending upon the cadence that is comfortable for the both of us. And throughout these relationships, I would try to support each other's goals. Recently, I had a team member who really was into an engineering team. He wanted to learn about how things work in finance and p and l. I made sure to connect him with the right persons and help him wherever he needs to be. The other thing is you always want to share the credit openly where it is due. People really love when you acknowledge and also appreciate their work.

And it's not something that you just need to do because you want to win over people. It's also because it's necessary. The other thing as a leader is you show vulnerability. When I did join the team, I did let them know that, hey. Sometimes I have a squirrel brain of sorts. I try to, like sometimes I'll just go around. You can always like, I'll get chatty. You can always reel me in or okay. There were some people in my team as well or leaders that did come into meetings and be like, hey. I do have ADHD or I do have some mental health issues. So when you be open, when you be vulnerable, the team is also they also kind of feel comfortable talking about things or sharing their, issues if they need any help.

The other one is align on incentives. As we know, we're all working towards a certain purpose. So what are the different kind of incentives that this person has to help meet that goal? If we are able to align on that, that is also something that is helpful. And last but not the least one is involve leaders only when needed. You really don't need to always loop in people or loop in managers and stuff like that. Maybe some things can be handled at your own level as well. So that is something that has been helpful so far. Now the other part is, I know when I talked about all of these animals, you guys definitely had somebody that popped up in your head or like, oh, this person is a hippo in my team or this person is a seagull in my team.

So as we saw, there are different kind of personalities. So you cannot control the zoo, but you can always learn to navigate it. Each personal personality has, like, something different, something useful, something unique that they bring to the table. And if you know how to handle their instincts, you can do really well. As Mandy said, she knows a few seagulls. So what we do with those folks is every time they drop in and they do drop in in the meeting, they drop something in, and then they just fly out. Every time we have those discussions, just document those things and close the loop. So when these seagulls come back, you can be like, hey, this was a decision that we took, and this is now what we'll be doing next.

The next person is Hippo, which is the highest person's opinion. With these folks, it's always helpful to align with data, align early as well so that it's not like you've built this massive project, and now they're like, oh, we can't do this. Like, absolutely not. It's always better to get any kind of feedback early. And the last one is OWL. I do know some folks that try to that they tend to stay quiet. They do know that they need to share opinion, but they would not. With these folks as well, it's better to get them in the room as soon as possible so we can deal with those things sooner than later. And it's not like, again, the case where you've build out something massive, and they're like, oh, maybe we can't do this because of technical feasibility reasons or something else.

And I know Mandy said that she knows a few seagulls, but the other thing is something I've realized along the way is it's not only these specific people that are the seagulls or the hippos and the owls. I have also been the hippo at certain point of time personally when I've pushed too hard or the seagull when I've given, like, late feedback or the owl when I stayed quiet. So self awareness also comes where you realize that, okay, I'm being this person, so how do I help my team better to move in the right direction? The last one, which is also something really important that a lot of us have to face on a very regular basis is managing up. So managing up is like managing these hippos. They don't move when you push them. They move when they trust that the water is calm. I personally have learned to combine empathy for leadership with clear data backed insights instead of saying, hey, here is what I think we should do.

I would rather say, hey, this is how we can reduce the risk or increase the value or bring in the revenue or that kind of shift turns your resistance into partnership. And this is not a lab study, the one that you see on the slide here, but it just comes from watching different kind of moments across a lot of teams that I've worked with. Whenever I saw someone trying to, like, influence without any authority, I paid attention to what worked overtime. And overtime, a pattern emerged where commands actually rare rarely move people. People try to get tend to get really startled by that. Emotion alone will sometimes only get you, like, part of the way. And data helps, but pairing it with empathy works even better. The real unlock happens when you give people the context that they need and the value that they gain. That is when your influencing actually becomes partnership.

So, yeah, I do know we are a little bit closer to our time, but I do have a couple of key takeaways for you guys. So the key takeaways that we have are just we need to build trust before we need it. Make those small deposits. See beyond your own bias. Even though sometimes it's difficult, we do need to, like, step in other people's shoes to understand what their motivations are, what their apprehensions are, and map influence and not titles. It's not always the titles. It's probably people that are your mentors, your colleagues, your side teams that you work with. And lead with context and not control. Shouting orders has never helped anybody. So as much as context you can get, as much as data you can bring in, as much as customer feedback you can bring in, that is always helpful.

And every time you're trying to explain something, if you're able to explain the why, people will find the how on their own. And the last two ones are managing with empathy and evidence and also navigating different kind of personalities wisely. And I know I in the amount of time that we had, I could only cover three of them, but you guys are pretty aware. A lot of the folks are lions, unicorns, orange cat, tigers, jaguar, or other animals. So the moral of the story here is we cannot always, I would say, you don't need to tame the zoo. You just need to understand it well enough to move it together. So, yeah, that's about it and open to questions.

And there are some food for thought questions as well. Okay. Amanda, what happens if there's a non bottleneck leader on a cross functional team that is very close minded? Amanda, what I have personally done in those situations is if I know that there is a leader in my team that actually works really well with somebody else, I would try to talk to that person to understand what is this person's motivation or what is their communication style, what really works with them, and try to see if I can do the same with this person.

And sometimes even having a basic coffee chat is helpful to build that relationship and have that kind of icebreaker sessions. So I personally feel that is something that is helpful. And sometimes I would also talk to, mentors and figure out, okay. There is this kind of person in my team. How would if you were in my place, how would you go about it? So, yeah, Amanda, that is what I would personally do. Thank you, hopefully. Okay. Just food for thought questions Put you guys to think about later what helps you move your team without formal authority. Just think about what your other leaders or peers are doing or what are you doing currently.

The other is which animal do you really need to understand to be better in your world right now, and what actually gets tricky with them? So try to think about this one as well. And the most important one, who is the one person in your trust lattice that you want to invest in more after today, and what is the one small deposit you can do this week to make a deposit with them? So yeah. Thank you so much, everyone. It was really lovely to present, have you guys be a part of this presentation. Would love to stay connected and chat more as well. I've posted a LinkedIn link in the chat. So thank you so much for your time. And, yep, I hope you guys had a fun ride in this small little zoo of ours.