Move 1: Reframe the partnership around the final outcome

I anchored every session to one outcome. The one big goal everyone already wanted.

The social norm puts C-level on one side of the table and the specialist team on the other, both spending the hour managing that tension instead of working the problem. I kept bringing every session back to the one goal that connected us all, an e-commerce platform that worked for customers and, through that, worked for the business. It was the only way for everyone to win.

Aligned on the final outcome, C-level and my UX/Product team faced the same direction, free of the default script.