The Executive Influence Intensive
Build the credibility, clarity and trust your role now requires.
A 12-week private 1:1 coaching for Directors and VPs navigating visibility, difficult stakeholders, organizational complexity and a bigger leadership mandate.
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Make your judgement clear and credible in senior rooms
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Navigate demanding stakeholders, politics and unclear expectations
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Lead through your team instead of becoming the bottleneck
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Handle high-stakes conversations with greater clarity and authority
You are not struggling because you are not capable.
You have the experience. You earned the scope you have.
But leadership at this level is no longer only about having the answer or delivering the work well.
You are now expected to make your judgement visible before every detail is known.
You need to influence people whose priorities do not align with yours.
You need to manage up well and speak in senior rooms in a way that makes them trust you.
You may be working harder than ever but still wondering
“Why does it feel so hard to get traction at this level?”
The answer is not a lack of intelligence or effort.
It is usually a gap between your current leadership approach and the one your current role now demands.
Executive influence is not about becoming more political.
It is not about being louder, more performative or having all the answers.
It is about the ability to make sound judgement visible, build trust across competing priorities and create enough alignment for important work to move forward.
That means knowing:
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What to say when you don’t have all the answers
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When to challenge, and when to align
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How to influence a difficult stakeholder without feeling reactive
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How to delegate, yet stay close to the work and scale yourself
This is the work we do in The Executive Influence Intensive: helping you lead with more credibility, clarity and trust in the situations that matter most.
This program is built for you if …
You are a Director, VP or a senior leader navigating a larger or more visible mandate
You have strong ideas but they do not always land with the clarity or authority you intend
You need more influence with senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders
You are over-involved in work your team should own but delegation has not created the leverage you expected
You are managing up through unclear expectations, conflicting priorities or a demanding leader
You are technically credible but want to operate with more strategic confidence and executive judgement
Client Results
Ling equipped me with tools and strategies that allowed me to lead with clarity, confidence, and resilience.
She created a space where I felt supported, yet continuously challenged to push beyond what I told myself was possible.
Her thoughtful guidance enabled me to not only overcome obstacles but to grow into a more strategic, self-aware leader.
I worked with Ling for 6 months as I was transitioning into a new leadership role with broader scope and additional expectations.
Her coaching played a significant role in the success of that transition.
Ling drew upon a wide range of different frameworks, listen patiently to understand, and was direct and pointed when the situation calls for it.
Ling quickly grasp both individual working styles and company culture, two critical but often overlooked aspects of leadership success.
She helped me navigate the complexities of Shopify’s culture, enabling me to effectively engage with other leaders, and align with company values.
Ling’s coaching accelerated my onboarding and empowered me to contribute meaningfully from the start.
What we will work on
This program is built around four leadership capabilities that often determine whether leaders become trusted, influential leaders at the next level.
01 – Executive credibility and strategic communication
You may have strong thinking, but if you lead with too much context, caveat, or detail, your recommendation can get lost.
We will work on how you communicate a clear point of view, frame trade-offs, make recommendations, and stay grounded when challenged.
You will build: a senior-meeting preparation practice, a leadership narrative, and practical communication structures for high-stakes moments.
03 – Leadership leverage and delegation
If you are still the person every important decision comes back to, your competence may be limiting your capacity.
We will identify where you are rescuing, over-functioning, or holding work that no longer belongs to you and create a more effective approach to delegation, decision boundaries, and managing through others.
You will build: a leadership-leverage map, delegation plans, and decision-boundary practices.
02 – Managing up and stakeholder influence
Your mandate depends on people with different incentives, priorities, and assumptions. Waiting for perfect clarity or trying to navigate the politics alone creates unnecessary friction.
We will map your stakeholders, clarify the dynamics around your most important relationships, and prepare for conversations that create alignment, access, and trust.
You will build: a stakeholder map, managing-up strategy, and tailored plans for live conversations.
04 – Grounded leadership identity
At this level, certainty is not always available. You need to remain steady enough to decide, challenge, align, and lead even when the situation is ambiguous or highly visible.
We will strengthen the internal leadership stance that supports sound judgment, sustainable pace, and more confident presence.
You will build: a leadership identity brief, a pressure-response practice, and a 30–60 day continuation plan.
You are not alone between sessions
Leadership challenges rarely arrive neatly on coaching days.
A stakeholder escalates. A senior meeting changes direction. You need to prepare for a difficult conversation. You leave a meeting wondering whether you should have pushed back more clearly.
That is why this engagement includes bounded asynchronous support between sessions.
You can send an email when a live situation needs reflection or preparation. I will respond within two business days.
What You Walk Away With
This is not generic coaching. You leave with practical tools built around your real leadership context.
Stakeholder Map
A clear view of the people who can enable or derail your mandate: what matters to them, what they need to see, and how you will engage them.
Senior-Meeting Preparation Practice
A simple method for preparing your point of view, recommendation, key trade-off, and clear ask before high-stakes conversations.
Managing-Up Strategy
A practical approach to creating clarity, surfacing risks, and building trust with your manager or senior sponsor.
Leadership-Leverage Map
A view of where you are holding too much, where decisions are bottlenecked, and what you need to delegate differently.
Difficult-Conversation Preparation Tools
Preparation and debrief tools for feedback, disagreement, stakeholder tension, and high-stakes decisions.
Leadership Identity Brief and 30–60 Day Plan
A concise articulation of how you lead at this level, plus a plan to sustain the changes after the engagement ends.
Investment
The Executive Influence Intensive
12 weeks of private 1:1 coaching
- 6 × 60-minute private coaching sessions
- Tech Executive Leadership Diagnostic and debrief
- Personalized stakeholder, influence, delegation, and communication tools
- Bounded asynchronous email support between sessions
- Leadership Identity Brief and 30–60 day action plan
- Access to the private Leadership Practice Library as it is developed
Investment: $2,900
Common Questions
How do I know whether this is the right fit?
If you have a current challenge involving executive presence, stakeholder influence, managing up, delegation, or leadership confidence and you are ready to act on it, the best way to know is to Apply for the program where we can schedule a call if it is right for you.
What happens after I apply?
After submitting the application, I will personally assess if you are the right fit. If you are, I will provide you with a booking link to schedule a call with me.
In the call, we will clarify the leadership challenge, the outcome you want, what is at stake, and whether my approach is the right fit.
If it is, I will recommend the appropriate engagement and you can decide whether to enroll. If it is not, I will tell you honestly.
Can my employer pay for coaching?
Yes. Many clients use professional-development, L&D, or executive-coaching budgets.
If employer funding is available, I can provide a concise program overview, expected outcomes, and documentation to support an approval conversation.
What if I am newly promoted?
This Intensive is a strong fit for new Directors and VPs who are now navigating the lived reality of senior visibility, managing up, stakeholder complexity, delegation, and a larger mandate.
If you need deeper, longer-term support for a complex first-six-month transition, we can discuss a more comprehensive Executive Transition Partnership.
Is this therapy or consulting?
No. This is executive coaching: a confidential, structured partnership focused on how you lead, decide, communicate, influence, and create results in your professional context.
It does not replace therapy, legal counsel, HR guidance, clinical support, or employment-placement services.
Why work with me
I am Ling Abson: an executive coach, former Director of Engineering, and former executive coach at Shopify.
I understand the technical-leadership world because I have worked in it.
I also understand that your challenge is rarely solved by a generic leadership model or a polished script. Real leadership happens inside specific power dynamics, stakeholder relationships, organizational history, ambiguity, and pressure.
My coaching is direct, practical, and grounded in your real context.
I will help you slow down enough to see the system you are operating in, make better choices about how you show up, and prepare for the conversations and decisions that shape your credibility and influence.
Former Director of Engineering at Fullscript | Former Executive Coach at Shopify | Coached and advised 600+ tech leaders | ICF Professional Certified Coach