Template: Strengthen influence and presence in your current organization. User-facing name: Lead Where You Are.
Status: draft. The name, template and stages are Kate's (12 October 2026). Everything else is Proposed: drafted by Claude from Step Up's recipe and the prototype, for Kate to confirm. Rules every plan shares are in plans/shared.md.
1. Plan card
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| Intended user situation | A leader whose work is solid but under-seen inside her own organization. She wants more influence and presence where she is, without necessarily asking for a new title yet. |
| Desired outcome | The people whose view matters know what she does and why it matters, hear it in the terms decisions are made in, and come to her; and she is framing the internal opportunities she wants. |
| Common constraints | Limited time, internal politics, a manager who may not advocate for her, a matrixed organization where credit is shared, and discomfort with self-promotion. |
1.1 How people arrive here
- Refinement answer: "My ability to influence where I am" under What are the areas you're seeking to build or enhance?
- Direction answer: none of Kate's examples routes here yet. A proposed one: "I want senior leadership to know what my team delivers."
When another plan fits better
- She wants to ask for a broader role now → Step Up.
- The audience she cares about is her field, not her company → Make Your Mark.
- A specific internal conversation is set within about 30 days → Make the Move.
1.2 Stages and success signals
| Stage | Success signal |
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| 1. Map the stakeholders | She has named the people whose view of her work matters most, what each cares about, and how each hears about her work now. |
| 2. Sharpen strategic communication | Her role and a recent win are written in her leadership's language, and her regular updates use it. |
| 3. Create visible moments | She has led or presented at least one moment the right people saw, and more people outside her team know what she does. |
| 4. Frame internal opportunities | She has named a problem that should come to her by default, framed it as an opportunity, raised it with the right person, and recorded the answer. |
2. Action playbook
The agent recommends the step whose trigger matches her situation now.
Stage 1: Map the stakeholders
1.1 Name the five to eight people whose view of her work matters most
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | She chose influence where she is as her main need, or can't say who decides what happens to her work. |
| Done when | She records each person's role, what they care about this year, and how they hear about her work now. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The stakeholder list, a completion timestamp. Kept private to her. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: stakeholders. Signals: none directly; it decides where visibility work points. |
| Tool | None in V1. |
| Follow-up | None. |
1.2 Write the story of what she owns, in the words her leadership already uses
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | Her stakeholders are mapped, and she describes her work in her team's terms rather than the business's. |
| Done when | She saves the statement and confirms it is accurate. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The saved statement, its edit history, her confirmation. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: strategic communication. Signals: the base for internal updates, and for LinkedIn later. |
| Tool | Positioning Builder. Onboarding's one-sentence statement is the first version. |
| Follow-up | None. |
Stage 2: Sharpen strategic communication
2.1 Reframe one recent win as impact on the business
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | She has a statement of what she owns, and her wins are described as activity rather than outcomes. |
| Done when | She records one win with its business outcome, the stakeholders it served and her role. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The reframed win, a completion timestamp. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: strategic communication. Signals: source material for internal moments and published content. |
| Tool | Positioning Builder, adding her wins. |
| Follow-up | None. |
2.2 Use that language in her next update to leadership
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| Horizon | Short-term, recurring |
| Trigger | She has a reframed win, and a regular update, review or 1:1 is coming up. |
| Done when | She confirms she sent or gave the update. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | Her confirmation, the date, an optional note on the response. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: strategic communication. Signals: none of the six; this is internal. |
| Tool | None in V1. |
| Follow-up | After the update, the Loop asks whether anyone responded. |
2.3 Complete a weekly Signal Background reflection
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| Horizon | Short-term, recurring |
| Trigger | The plan needs current context, or she has not updated it recently. |
| Done when | She submits a reflection with at least one update, or says nothing material has changed. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The reflection, her self-reported update, the date. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: current context. Signals: keeps all six signal interpretations current. |
| Tool | None. |
| Follow-up | None. |
Stage 3: Create visible moments
3.1 Lead or present one moment the right people will see
For example: an all-hands slot, a leadership review, or a cross-team session she runs.
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| Horizon | Medium-term (30 to 60 days) |
| Trigger | Her communication is sharpened, and the people on her map rarely see her work first-hand. |
| Done when | She marks the moment done and says who was there. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The preparation, the date, who attended, an optional outcome update. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: visible moments. Signal: speaking (internal). |
| Tool | Situation Brief to prepare. |
| Follow-up | The day after, the Loop asks how it went and who responded. |
3.2 Get to know three people outside her team
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| Horizon | Medium-term (30 to 60 days) |
| Trigger | Most of the people who know her work are on her own team. |
| Done when | She records three conversations, each with who it was and what they now know about her work. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The three conversations she records, their dates. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: visible moments. Signals: none of the six; this is internal. |
| Tool | None in V1. |
| Follow-up | After each, the Loop asks whether it led anywhere. |
3.3 Share a point of view on her area where people inside will see it
For example: an internal post or newsletter, or a LinkedIn post about the work where her company allows it.
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| Horizon | Medium-term (30 to 60 days) |
| Trigger | She has a reframed win or a view on her area that others would benefit from. |
| Done when | She marks it published and says where. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The artifact's lifecycle state, the channel, its versions. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: visible moments. Signals: published content, and LinkedIn when posted there. |
| Tool | Thought Leadership Builder. |
| Follow-up | A week later, the Loop asks what response it got. |
Stage 4: Frame internal opportunities
4.1 Name one problem that should come to her by default, and frame it as an opportunity
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | She has had visible moments, and sees a recurring problem in her area of strength that nobody owns. |
| Done when | She records the problem, why she is the right person for it, and what she would do first. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The framed opportunity, a completion timestamp. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: internal opportunities. Signals: draws on her visible moments as proof. |
| Tool | Situation Brief. |
| Follow-up | None. |
4.2 Raise the opportunity with the right person
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | The opportunity is framed, and a natural moment to raise it is coming, such as a 1:1 or planning. |
| Done when | She has raised it and records the answer. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The preparation, the date, the outcome. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: internal opportunities. Signals: the outcome changes what comes next. |
| Tool | Situation Brief to prepare. |
| Follow-up | The day after, the Loop asks how it went. If it opened a bigger role, the agent offers Step Up. |
3. Feedback
Kate, 14 Oct. Which steps ask her for feedback, and of which type. The types and their answers are in plans/shared.md, section 6. Proposed, all of the table: the source names no feedback.
| Step | Asks? | Type | When ExecHQ asks | What her answer changes |
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| 1.1 The five to eight people whose view matters most | No | None | | Recording them is done |
| 1.2 The story of what she owns, in her leadership's words | Yes | Is this right? | As soon as it is drafted | "Yes, that's it" completes the step; "Change it" reopens Positioning Builder |
| Stage 1 ends | Yes | Stage check-in | When 1.1 and 1.2 are done | Partly or Not yet: Stage 2 opens with the person or the words she is least sure of |
| 2.1 One recent win, reframed as business impact | No | None | | Recording it is done |
| 2.2 That language in her next update to leadership | Yes | What came of it? ("Did anyone respond?") | 2 days after she says she gave it; each time she gives one | It went well: who responded goes on her map, and it is evidence for 3.1. Nothing yet: normal for an update; asks again with the next one |
| 2.3 Weekly Signal Background reflection | Yes | Anything new? | Weekly | Something new: an upcoming review or 1:1 brings 2.2 or 4.2 forward. Nothing has changed: the plan goes on |
| Stage 2 ends | Yes | Stage check-in | When 2.1 and 2.2 are done | Partly or Not yet: another update before a visible moment. Stuck: one step, and offers talking it through |
| 3.1 Lead or present one moment the right people will see | Yes | How did it go? | The day after | It went well: who responded goes on her map. Mixed or Not the way I hoped: another moment, with a different audience. It hasn't happened yet: asks after the new date |
| 3.2 Get to know three people outside her team | Yes | What came of it? ("Did it lead anywhere?") | 7 days after she records each conversation | It went well: that person goes on her map. Nothing yet: normal; the next conversation is offered |
| 3.3 A point of view where people inside will see it | Yes | What came of it? ("How did it land?") | 7 days after she marks it published | It went well: the view feeds 4.1's opportunity. Otherwise another channel inside |
| Stage 3 ends | Yes | Stage check-in | When two of 3.1 to 3.3 are done | Partly or Not yet: one more visible moment before she frames an opportunity |
| 4.1 One problem that should come to her, framed as an opportunity | No | None | | Recording it is done |
| 4.2 Raise the opportunity with the right person | Yes | How did it go? | The day after she raises it | It went well: if it opened a bigger role, offers Step Up. Mixed: what they asked for next becomes the next step. Not the way I hoped: another problem, or the same one framed differently. It hasn't happened yet: asks after the next 1:1 |
| Stage 4 ends | Yes | Stage check-in | When 4.2 is done | Yes: the plan is complete, or offers Step Up. Less sure: offers whether another plan fits better |
4. Signal emphasis
Internal only, never shown to her. A dash means the plan does not recommend work in that signal in that stage. Most of this plan's work is internal, which none of the six signals measures; see the open questions.
| Signal | 1. Map the stakeholders | 2. Sharpen strategic communication | 3. Create visible moments | 4. Frame internal opportunities | How it adds to influence where she is |
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| LinkedIn | — | Foundation: settle language her profile can use later | Primary: post about her work where her company allows | Evidence: a profile that supports how she is seen inside | Colleagues and leaders look too |
| Press | — | — | — | Evidence: use any coverage of her work as proof | Outside credit is noticed inside |
| Speaking | Foundation: note the internal forums her stakeholders attend | Foundation: practise the language she will present in | Primary: lead or present internal moments | Evidence: carry how they went into raising the opportunity | The most direct way to be seen by the people who decide |
| Podcasts | — | — | — | — | Rarely relevant to influence inside |
| Published content | — | Foundation: turn a win into a point of view | Primary: share a point of view internally or publicly | Evidence: point to it when raising the opportunity | Shows how she thinks to people who don't see her work |
| AI discoverability | — | — | — | Evidence: check her public picture matches how she wants to be seen inside | Matters little until she looks outward |
5. How the agent behaves on Lead Where You Are
It adds to the rules every plan shares (plans/shared.md, section 5).
- Their language, her work. It translates her work into the terms her leadership uses, never into jargon of its own.
- Generous with credit. In a matrixed organization, visibility that takes credit from her team backfires. It helps her show impact while naming who she did it with.
- Careful with politics. Her stakeholder map stays private. It never suggests going around her manager, and helps her bring a manager along rather than past them.
- Small, regular moments. It favours steady visibility (updates, 1:1s, one session) over a single big push.
- No promise of a role. It helps her be seen and trusted; it never says that leads to promotion.
6. Open questions
- Routing. None of the direction examples routes here yet. Is the proposed answer above right?
- Internal signals. Most of this plan is internal, which the six signals don't measure. Should internal visibility (updates, internal talks, cross-team relationships) be a signal of its own, or be recorded only as plan progress?
- The stakeholder map (1.1). It needs a place to live and has no V1 tool or screen. Is it V1?
- Overlap with Step Up. Stage 4 here and Step Up's stage 3 both end in asking for something. Is the line between "frame an internal opportunity" and "ask for broader scope" clear enough?
- Pace. No suggested period per stage yet. The prototype uses four weeks a stage.