Organizational Savvy for Technical Experts
Creating impact & being effective in large companies is incredibly hard. But you don’t need a $100k MBA. You need Organizational Savvy.
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Course overview
Play smarter. Get promoted faster. Learn how to operate in large organizations.
**This course is run in an active small-group cohort format and thus capped at 12 students. You won't be lost in a crowded 200 person seminar-style passive consumption class. It includes 3 one-on-one coaching sessions (post course) with me to work directly on your specific challenges. Set up a call to discuss. See FAQ. **
The #1 reason why promising careers get stalled
Succeeding in large setups is not just about technical competence (domain mastery) or self-competence (high performance). What derails careers is the third missing piece of organizational savvy. The deciding factor is often your OQ — organizational quotient.
It's the difference between a flourishing vs a floundering career:
▸ Flourishing: designated as a "hi-po", diverse opportunities, higher visibility
▸ Floundering: corporate cog, career-by-default, lost in the crowd, dead-end roles
Have you said any of the following?
⦿ "I hate playing politics"
⦿ "My work should speak for itself"
⦿ "No idea how that guy made VP"
Does the following apply to you?
⦿ Not seen as a "hi-po" (high-potential)
⦿ Being passed over for promotions/key roles
⦿ You've been told that you lack "executive presence".
⦿ Getting outplayed by peers.
⦿ Radio silence or fluffy feedback from manager
If these sound familiar, a lack of organizational savvy is the likely culprit.
Technical experts & "the nerd ceiling":
- What served you well in early career becomes a liability later on
- You’re not considered “leadership material”
- Promotions stop becoming automatic
- Impact and effectiveness have less to do with you directly
Don’t spend $100k on an MBA that teaches you how to run businesses. Succeeding inside large businesses is a different game onto itself.
Aim of the course:
You'll learn to overcome barriers and blindspots, and identify key levers for increasing impact. You'll be equipped with tactics & strategies to go from:
- Functional expert → strategic thought partner
- Powerless → increased capacity for action
- Another cog in the machine → lynchpin
- Clueless victim → astute pro with high organizational acumen
Change your career’s arc and your impact and value to the organization.
Who is this course for
01
Technical & Domain Experts - SMEs, Engineers, Researchers & Specialists who want to increase impact & position themselves better
02
Engineering managers & technical leaders who want strategies to increase effectiveness when operating in organizational complexity.
03
LEADS & STAFF engineers wanting to improve their standing, increase impact, & move into leadership roles.
Learn Strategies for Overcoming Common Stumbling Blocks
Problem: Not seen as a “Hi-Po” (high potential)
- You will have a clear understanding of what it takes to be considered a “hi-po” (high potential). All companies have some version of this. You will learn how managers gauge your promotability.
Problem: Lack of “executive presence” or “x-factor”
- Managers often struggle to articulate why you didn’t get promoted or weren’t considered for that plump role. The mistake is to look inward when the solution often lies outward — shaping the environment and your perception.
Problem: Overlooked for promotions despite high ratings
- Performance & promotability are NOT the same. By learning how power & influence works within the context of organizations, you will position yourself in alignment with not just your wants, but also your stakeholders and the organization.
Problem: Getting outmaneuvered by peers and rivals
- The reality of organizational life is that you’re always in competition especially if your ambition is to go higher up the ladder. Even the best projects are competing with other equally valid contenders. You’ll learn positioning and how to identify supporters and detractors.
Problem: Inability to "get sh*t done"
- Standout careers require standout project successes. And invariably this means working through others with competing priorities. A key skill is to overcome organizational dysfunction.
The Solution: Master the 4 pillars of organizational savvy
- You’ll learn, practice, and implement frameworks for leveraging POWER, building INFLUENCE, managing PERCEPTIONS, and understanding the STRUCTURES & SYSTEMS that influence both yours’ and others’ actions.
What’s included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Sheril Mathews in a real-time, interactive format.
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
Certificate of completion
Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
Maven Guarantee
This course is backed by the Maven Guarantee. Students are eligible for a full refund up until the halfway point of the course.
Course syllabus
8 live sessions • 30 lessons • 8 projects
Bonus
- 📄
1-on-1 coaching call #1
- 📄
1-on-1 coaching call #2
- 📄
1-on-1 coaching call #3
- 🌇
Challenges of working inside large organizations
- 💡
The intelligent vs the stupid - stance & approach
- 📊
Diagnostics (rating and locating)
- 📄
What it really takes
- ✍️
Capture results and populate prompts in course workbook
Submit by Apr 8 - 🧑🤝🧑
How org charts mislead
- 🏛️
What creates authority
- 🔦
Identifying and leveraging networks
- ✍️
Capture reflections & populate prompts in course workbook
Submit by Jan 31 - 🗺️
Mapping stakeholders, supporters, detractors
- 🧰
How power is used
- 🏠
Building your foundation
- ✍️
Capture reflections & populate prompts in course workbook
Submit by Jan 31 - ♟️
Dealing in influence, not positions
- 🗣️
Technology of talk
- 🔎
Lenses for decoding organizations
- 🗽
Handling power differentials
- ✍️
Capture reflections & populate prompts in course workbook
Submit by Jan 31 - 🌇
Types & structures of orgs
- 🏔️
Top, middle, & bottom: how location influences actions
- 💢
Common paradoxes & contradictions
- ✍️
Capture reflections & populate prompts in course workbook
Submit by Apr 19 - 😎
ILT & its effects
- 📈
Performance vs promotability
- 🤖
Stagecraft of meetings
- 🪜
Using the ladder of inference
- ✍️
Capture reflections & populate prompts in course workbook
Submit by May 1 - 🪞
Art of seeking critical feedback
- ⚖️
Balancing assertiveness & inquiry
- 📌
Commitment mgmt
- ✍️
Capture reflections & populate prompts in course workbook
Submit by Feb 9 - 📄
Your plan + systems
- 📄
How to engineer developmental opportunities
- 📄
What stands in the way
- ✍️
Capture reflections & populate prompts in course workbook
Submit by Feb 9
Individual 60-min coaching call #1
This course includes three 1-on-1 coaching calls to focus on your specific challenges.
Individual 60-min coaching call #2
Individual 60-min coaching call #3
Apr
2
Workshop 1: What they don’t teach in school (& your MBA)
Apr
4
Workshop 2: Power in Orgs (part I)
What they don’t teach in school (& your MBA)
Establish the context for the course, the major challenges and stumbling blocks, run diagnostics, and how to set yourself up for success. 90-min workshop followed by 30 minutes of open Q&A.
Power in organizations (part I)
Apr
9
Workshop 3: Power in Orgs (part II)
Apr
11
Workshop 4: Building CREDIBILITY
Power in organizations (part II)
Building CREDIBILITY
Apr
16
Workshop 5: STRUCTURES
Apr
18
Workshop 6: PERCEPTION mgmt (part II)
STRUCTURES
PERCEPTION mgmt (part I)
Apr
23
Workshop 7: PERCEPTION mgmt (part II)
Apr
25
Workshop 8: Strategy, Plans, & Actions
PERCEPTION mgmt (part II)
Strategy, Plans, & Actions
The 3 Pillars of Successful Careers
Meet your instructor
Sheril Mathews
Sheril Mathews
Executive Coach | Leadership Advisor
Background
- I’m a founder & operator at Leading Sapiens — a leadership coaching and advisory practice. Before LS, 20 years in various management & technical roles in corporate America gave me a first-row seat to many of the things that work, and even more that don’t.
- Now I help high performers, managers, and execs to level up their game to avoid costly mistakes.
- Given my engineering background, I have zero tolerance for BS or snake oil promises. I bring the same analytical rigor into the more “softer” arts of leadership and organizations.
Writing and research
- I've researched leadership and organizations extensively. My in-depth articles have been endorsed by Harvard Business School and NYU professors and have graced the front page of Hacker news.
- Some are used as references in B-school and executive education classes. 8,000+ folks read my pieces each month.
- Newsletter: thelsweekly.substack.com
- Blog: leadingsapiens.com
Why this course?
- I believe the corporate game is “beautiful” if you know how it’s played and understand the deeper nuances. Otherwise you’re constantly in danger of getting lost in the crowd & feeling like just another cog in a big, heartless machine.
- We spend several thousand dollars and years getting an education. Yet, most of us don’t know how to navigate the world of work. More importantly, how do you play & win?
- There are too many talented folks unnecessarily struggling due to lack of a practical playbook. This course aims to fill that void.
Have questions?
Set up a call or email me:
What people are saying
Don Springer
Princy George
Alex Sourov
Casey Moninghoff
Alex Nesbitt
Sandra Macele
Gaurav Singh
David Wu
Linus S
Learning is better with cohorts
Active hands-on learning
This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects
Interactive and project-based
You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams
Learn with a cohort of peers
Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you
Small-group format
Active small-group cohort format capped at 12 students
Course format & schedule
3-5 hours per week over 4 weeks
Tuesdays & Thursdays
10:00am -12:00pm CST
- We meet twice a week for 4 weeks starting April 2nd.
- Format is live, interactive 90-min WORKSHOPS with frameworks and exercises followed by 30-min open Q&A.
Bonus: 3 personal coaching sessions
1 hr sessions at your chosen time
- Course includes three 1-on-1 coaching sessions with me to focus specifically on your challenges and implementation plan.
- You also get a 20% discount on future coaching engagements.
Get employer reimbursement
No brainer ROI
This course will have a positive impact on not just your career but also your organization.
Download the reimbursement template
Use the attached template to present it to your manager.
Click here for the template.