How I Didn't Do It · A Personal Reflection

How I Did It is a monthly series from Between Seasons, exploring the human side of influence. Influential professionals share candid stories about how they made change happen - or why it didn’t - and the real-world reflections and lessons that followed.

You might be expecting a guest interview - and that’s coming in the months ahead. But first, I wanted to begin with a story of my own.

This Series - How I Did It - isn’t just about showcasing success. It’s about exploring the reality of influence: how it works, when it doesn’t and what we can learn from the moments that fall flat.

This is one of those stories. A moment that unknowingly led me to this very point, and one that planted the seed for Butter Field - and for this series.

So, take a seat, my friend - it’s story time.

Early-ish in my career, I was leading a strategic development project to help a brand explore “what’s next?” for their sustainability agenda. I was deeply passionate about the circular economy and saw a clear opportunity gap for the business.

To me, it was obvious - circularity (and sustainability) was intrinsically linked to customer loyalty and innovation. I poured myself into a strategy proposal articulating just that. I benchmarked, built cross-functional business cases and tailored a pre-read and pitch deck for the leadership team. I polished until it sparkled.

I believed this wasn’t just a good idea - it was the right idea. Right for the brand’s customers and the business, and it was rooted in global best practice.

But when I finally shared it?

It didn’t land.

Since studying design at Parsons - where “you are your own brand” was drilled into us - I’d always considered myself a step ahead in the strategic communications department. I understood that alongside being a sustainability professional, I also needed to be fluent in marketing - at least internally.

In my mind at the time, that meant the verbiage and visuals mattered. So, I’d spent weeks refining the message clear, making the visuals compelling, pressure-testing the language. I’d ran it by colleagues and revised the deck a million times.

But none of it mattered.

Because from the view of the leadership team, the message and the messenger didn’t align.

They saw me as a “sustainability expert” - and in their minds, sustainability didn’t include customer loyalty or digital innovation. So, they couldn’t connect the dots between what I was saying and the opportunity at hand - not because the strategy wasn’t good, but because I wasn’t seen as the expert to be pitching it.

That experience really challenged me.

At first, I assumed I’d done something wrong. Maybe I hadn’t nailed the message, or led with the right hook, or maybe the strategy wasn’t solid enough. I’d always believed that compelling storytelling, strong visuals and good ideas would carry the day. And often, they do.

So, it must’ve been me, right?

But over time (and with the benefit of distance) I began to see it differently. I started to understand something deeper:

influence is relational.

It’s not just what you say, or even how you say it.

It’s who they trust to say it.

As I replayed the experience in my mind and in conversations with mentorthe dynamic became clear. The questions that were (and weren’t) asked. The limited lived experiences around the table. The “contributions” from leaders who saw themselves as the real experts on loyalty and innovation.

Once I understood that trust was just as pivotal as strategic clarity, I started thinking differently. I stopped trying to always be the voice in the room.

Instead, I planted seeds - I shared ideas with the people the leadership team already trusted and who they saw as authorities on customer loyalty and innovation. People who weren’t the decision-makers, but we’re the ones whose opinions shaped the decisions being made.

It wasn’t immediate - but it worked. The idea started to spread, and not because it came from me, but because I knew who they’d listen to.

And that, I’ve learned, is what real influence looks like.

Real-world influence doesn’t always look like a flawless pitch or a perfectly executed campaign. Sometimes, it looks like misfires, relationship-building, ego-checks and slow-burn momentum.

Although the original strategy didn’t get approved - the lessons stayed with me and changed how I work.

Strategic communication - the message and the medium - remains a cornerstone of my practice, but now I do the work before the work. I prioritise trust development and relationship building and I nurture a strong network of allies.

I learned to check my ego. I now ask:

Because the answer shapes how I show up.

More than anything, I’ve come to understand that influence is a multilayered practice that involves yourself as much as it does others, and it starts long before you deliver the pitch.

We often think we need to be the one in the spotlight - the one to deliver the message. But sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is step back, plant the seed, and let someone else carry it forward.

This experience taught me that, and it shaped how I support sustainability professionals today - it’s one of the seeds that grew into Butter Field.

And it’s also why I’m launching this series.

Because influence isn’t reserved for the loudest voices - it’s a skill that can be learned, and a practice that can be honed.

This series, How I Did It, might just turn out to be my most favourite thing I’ve ever made. I’m so looking forward to learning (and sharing) lessons on leadership and life from influential professionals in and beyond sustainability.

I hope you enjoy it, too.

Stay tuned for next month when we welcome our first guest to Between Seasons to share a real-life account of influence in practice.