How to become more influential as a product designer
A frequent question among Senior Designers is, “How can we enhance our influence?” Influence isn’t just about landing the big idea you placed on the roadmap— there are many ways to drive influence at work.
In this workshop, we’ll explore practical strategies and different ways to drive influence across teams and shape company direction. Learn how to understand different spheres of influence: from managing daily tasks to landing long-term strategic bets.
How do you create space and time to develop and articulate a strong point of view? We'll discuss strategies to anticipate future needs, such as thinking one step ahead of your Product Manager when planning for upcoming cycles.
How do you drive strategic initiatives that make a lasting impact? We'll cover how to identify and champion projects that have larger scope and impact, all while keeping alignment with broader goals.
How do you know when to stop a project? You'll learn how to identify risky projects that could result in poor consumer experiences and effectively communicate why they should be reconsidered—while also presenting alternative solutions.
What are some impactful ways to navigate communication with stakeholders? How to address disagreements with cross-functional partners and senior leaders on high-profile projects
How do you strengthen influence with trust?
Whether you're navigating ambiguity or pushing forward a bold new idea, this workshop will provide actionable insights into how you can build influence at every level.
About the speaker
Ishaan Kansal is a Staff Product Designer at DoorDash, where he leads the Product & Design strategy for the Consumer growth team, a team he helped establish. In this role, Ishaan has driven design for major business initiatives, shipped over 100 experiments, and landed billions of dollars in impact—all while ensuring a high-quality experience for customers. His work spans from attracting new users to refining their discovery and checkout experiences, addressing challenges like affordability and ease of use. He also provides strategic guidance to Wolt, DoorDash’s international team, on balancing growth with quality.
Before joining DoorDash, Ishaan was an early designer at Samsara, where he focused on Camera AI products. As the team’s fourth designer, he introduced several key features for driver safety and coaching, including Safety Reports, Distracted Driving Detection, and Tailgating Detection. His efforts earned him four patents and significantly accelerated Samsara’s growth. Earlier in his career, Ishaan was a Kleiner Perkins Fellow and interned at renowned companies like Facebook and Pinterest, where he worked on design tools and improved content creation workflows.