Being Right Isn’t Enough: Influence That Scales
Beyond Being Right: Building Influence When Great Ideas Aren't Enough
Being technically right isn't always enough to create real impact. Many talented professionals watch their best ideas stall — not because the thinking is flawed, but because the how of landing that thinking with others is missing.
This practical session introduces two frameworks for building influence at work:
The three ingredients of influence:
Clarity of purpose — a clear "why" strengthens conviction, prioritization, and resilience
Thriving relationships — trust is a prerequisite for influence and creates receptivity to ideas
Skillful advocacy — ongoing advocacy sustains alignment and moves work forward
The three contexts that shape decisions in organizations:
Technical
Organizational
Business
Together, these frameworks help attendees understand why good ideas often stall, how to build trust and alignment around their thinking, and how to communicate in ways that resonate with different stakeholders — from domain experts to managers to senior leaders.
What you'll learn
Why being technically right is often not enough to create real impact
The three key ingredients of influence: clarity of purpose, thriving relationships, and skillful advocacy
How a clear "why" strengthens conviction, prioritization, and resilience
Why relationships are a prerequisite for influence, and how trust creates receptivity to ideas
How ongoing advocacy helps sustain alignment and move work forward
The three contexts that shape decisions in organizations: technical, organizational, and business
How to present the same idea differently to domain experts, managers, and leaders
How to expand beyond purely technical arguments so influence can scale across the organization
Who this is for
Professionals — including immigrant professionals — who want their ideas, judgment, and contributions to land more effectively at work, build credibility across different audiences, and grow toward promotions and more senior roles in U.S. workplaces.
Why it matters
Many immigrant professionals struggle not because they lack competence, but because their judgment, ideas, and concerns aren't landing with the right people. This session helps attendees communicate more effectively across audiences, make their contributions more visible and credible, and build the kind of influence that supports promotion and growth into more senior roles.
Format
30-minute presentation, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A.
A follow-up resource will be available for attendees who'd like to go deeper after the session.
About the speaker
Shine Garg is a former Staff Software Engineer with 15+ years of experience building complex systems and leading large-scale technical initiatives at high-growth technology companies. In her most recent Staff role, she drove architectural work that influenced engineering practices across an organization of 400+ engineers.
Today, she is the Founder of Uncharted Path Breakthroughs, where she coaches software engineers and technical professionals through career transitions — including growing their influence, communicating their value more effectively, and stepping into more senior roles. Her work is especially relevant for professionals navigating U.S. workplaces where strong work alone isn't always enough to get ideas heard, build credibility, or advance.
This session was a finalist for LeadDev's StaffPlus conference (New York, 2025) and was presented at the LeadDev San Francisco in-person meetup (August 2025).