The Internal Champion in Exile
Your original champion has lost internal power and new stakeholders dislike the product, but he won't admit he can't protect the account.
15 min
Duration
About this persona
Kevin Williams championed this platform eighteen months ago and shepherded the initial rollout. Since then, the company reorganized. Kevin was moved to a role with less budget authority. The new VP of Operations came from a company that used a competitor and has been vocal about preferring it. Kevin has not told you any of this. He keeps scheduling QBRs as if nothing has changed and saying things are going well when they are not. Getting through a session with Kevin requires gently surfacing what has changed and helping him figure out what he can actually do -- without embarrassing him.
Scenario
You are an account executive or customer success manager. Kevin is your main point of contact at the customer — he championed the platform purchase eighteen months ago. He scheduled this QBR and opened with assurances things are going well, but you've heard through a separate contact that the new VP of Operations has been pushing for alternatives. You need to understand the real state of the account.
Skills tested
- reading between the lines
- gentle surfacing of difficult truths
- helping someone help you
- understanding organizational dynamics
- protecting a relationship while getting real information
What you'll practice
- How to surface what someone is not saying without making them feel exposed
- How to help an ally understand what help actually looks like
- The difference between what someone says and what the account situation actually is
- How to get actionable information from someone who is managing your perception
Personality traits
Practice this conversation
Create a free account to start a session with The Internal Champion in Exile. Your performance is scored across 6 communication dimensions.
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