How to have more influence as a QA leader

Quality leaders often hire me because they think they have a communication problem.

They’re not assertive enough. Or they’re too direct. They have impostor syndrome. They’re not smooth or articulate enough. They don’t have that elusive executive presence that makes people take them seriously.

But no. That’s usually not the problem.

In fact, it’s rarely the problem.

The people I work with are responsible for Quality. But way too often, they’re excluded from the conversations and decisions that impact it.

Quality is seen as a roadblock. So people keep them at the periphery, and they’re brought in late. Sometimes at the very last minute. Usually, when something has already gone off the rails. Or is about to.

So their job becomes firefighting. Clean-up. Fixing things they didn’t get a chance to prevent.

They’re expected to save the day. And often, they do.

And if they don’t… they get the blame.

It’s thankless. Stressful. And exhausting.

And by the time people come to me, they’re pretty beaten down and feeling hopeless.

They think the solution is to get better at influencing.

Be clearer. Be more persuasive. Be more confident. Present more data. Find the right words. Prove credibility. Speak up more.

So they work on all of that.

And nothing changes.

Because that’s not actually the problem.

They’re trying to influence decisions that have already been shaped… sometimes already made.

You can’t influence after the fact.

So this isn’t an influence problem. It’s a positioning problem.

Influence doesn’t start when you open your mouth. It starts with whether you’re in the room in the first place.

If you’re not part of the conversation, you’re not influencing. You’re reacting.

Most people are asking: “How do I say this better?”

But they should be asking:

• Where do I actually need to be involved? 

• Which decisions impact Quality before they become problems? 

• Who is already in those conversations? 

• Why am I not there today? 

• What relationships would change that?

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Your authority doesn’t come from being persuasive. It comes from being present early enough to matter.

Now…yes, I know what you’re thinking (because I’ve seen it often enough in my practice)... this can feel unrealistic.

And yes, sometimes the environment is rigid. Sometimes you won’t be invited in, no matter what you do.

But that’s not always the case. Even when it feels like it is.

Most people don’t test the edges of what’s possible. They get stuck in “this is just how it is” before they’ve explored what could be different.

But when you shift that, things start to open up. And now the work becomes not about figuring out how to be more persuasive, but about becoming more strategic. 

And that reframe means now you’re figuring out where decisions are actually being shaped. You’re thinking about what relationships need to be built, repaired, or nurtured. You’re creating reasons to be included earlier. And you’re strategically positioning yourself, and Quality, as part of the process, not a compliance checkpoint at the end. 

That’s what changes things.

Let me ask you this: If nothing changes in how you communicate… but you were included earlier in every decision… What would that change?

This is what coaching is all about.

It’s not about learning scripts and memorizing frameworks. It’s about seeing what you aren’t seeing. Understanding where you’re being excluded (and why), and mapping out a practical way to change that.

The goal changes from being able to say things better to being in a position where what you say actually matters.

Use this to help you start building those relationships.... so that you can have more influence as a QA leader.