Using MAP to Advocate for Designers' Strategic Role

Have you ever had a great idea but struggled to get others on board?

You don’t need a title to have influence; you need a strategy.

Fortunately, this week’s guest knows exactly how to build credibility and momentum without formal power.

Tami Reiss is an expert on influence-driven leadership. She’s a keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and CEO of Leader Within, where she helps leaders master influence and maximize impact. Through tools like the LEAD Framework, MAP, the Influence Canvas, and the Confident Communicator GPT, she makes leadership concepts practical and accessible to professionals around the world. Her latest passion project is a rhyming illustrated book on leadership.

In this episode, Tami shares how to use the MAP Framework (Manifest, Assess, Promote) to move ideas forward, align your vision with others, and build relationships that lead to collaboration instead of resistance. We explore what to do when your ideas are dismissed, how to avoid losing your cool under pressure, and why influence is really about connection, not control.

In the extended conversation, Tami shares practical tools for managing crisis moments with calm, rallying allies before big decisions, and communicating risks in ways that help others listen and engage constructively.

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Join the conversation now!

Conversation Topics

• (00:00) Introduction: Why Influence Without Authority Matters
• (02:09) The MAP Framework: Manifest, Assess, Promote
• (05:06) Why Influence is About Connection, Not Power
• (09:15) Manifesting a Vision That Inspires Buy-In
• (12:38) Assessing Stakeholders and Building Relationships
• (17:02) Promoting Your Ideas Authentically
• (21:19) Managing Pushback and Reframing Resistance
• (25:26) Lessons from Great Managers: Buy-In vs. Being Right
• (29:03) Connect with Tami Reiss
• (30:35) [Extended Episode Only] Staying Calm and Building Allies in Crisis
• (34:24) [Extended Episode Only] The “Meeting Before the Meeting” to Gain Real Support

📚 Additional Resources:

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- Read the full transcript here

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Keep up with Tami Reiss

- Visit Tami’s website here: https://tamireiss.com

- Follow Tami on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamireiss

- Follow Tami on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/reisstami

- Subscribe to her Leader Within newsletter here: https://leaderwithin.substack.com

- Watch Tami’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/tamireiss

- View her speaker reel playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/tamireiss — get a peek into the energy she brings to audiences.

- Download the free M.A.P. Canvas here: https://learn.myleaderwithin.com/influence

- Read her blog here: https://learn.myleaderwithin.com/blog/

- Pre-order her upcoming book What Do Product Managers Do? A Primer for Aspiring PMs of All Ages here: https://mascotbooks.com/product/what-do-product-managers-do-a-primer-for-aspiring-pms-of-all-ages/

- Explore her custom GPT, The Leader Within: Tami from Miami, here: https://chatgpt.com/g/g-679afb821a6c81918edef32295c26b8b-the-leader-within-tami-from-miami

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