OM DENNE EPISODE
How do you influence people who don't report to you? How do you build trust across teams, disagree with leadership without damaging relationships, and get work done when everyone has different priorities?
In this episode of Middle Manager Mastery, I sit down with Nishith Kumar, Head of Partnerships at NextHealth and former leader at Uber, to unpack the practical skills every middle manager needs to lead through influence rather than authority.
Drawing from over two decades of experience across fintech, mobility, and healthcare, Nishith shares real stories about stakeholder management, cross-functional leadership, escalation, constructive dissent, and building relationships that accelerate execution.
Whether you're managing projects across teams, navigating matrix organizations, or preparing for leadership roles, this conversation is packed with actionable frameworks you can start applying immediately.
About Nishith:
He has spent 20 years building the partnerships that move industries forward. He scaled ecosystems across fintech, mobility, and healthcare, and he knows what it takes to lead without a title in some of the world's most complex organizations. Today, as head of partnerships at NextHealth, he is writing the future of how healthcare connects.
Timestamps:
00:00 - "You don't lose because your idea is wrong—you lose because you pitched it in your language, not somebody else's."
00:08 - Introduction to Nishith Kumar and today's topic: influencing without authority.
00:53 - The challenge of leading cross-functional teams without formal authority.
01:39 - The Uber connected-car story: why the idea initially failed.
02:37 - Stop selling the feature. Start selling the future.
03:23 - Speaking the language of every stakeholder.
04:00 - Understanding what keeps different teams up at night.
05:33 - Why relationships are built through work, not outside of it.
06:01 - The three foundations of strong professional relationships.
07:05 - The Christmas Day story: relationships that saved a critical deal.
08:16 - Why relationships are the infrastructure behind execution.
09:41 - Not every relationship needs the same level of investment.
11:21 - Learning the hard way: waiting too long to escalate.
11:30 - The two types of escalation every leader should know.
12:50 - Escalate outcomes—not people.
14:13 - Finding bridges instead of creating conflict.
15:23 - Shruti's framework for solving cross-functional blockers.
17:11 - Executing a strategy you don't completely agree with.
18:24 - Becoming the bridge between strategy and execution.
19:14 - Three questions every middle manager should ask before executing.
19:39 - Why global strategies often fail without local context.
21:02 - Challenge assumptions, then commit to execution.
22:08 - Focus on the intent behind the strategy.
23:03 - Why leaders must keep repeating the "why."
24:48 - The right way to disagree with leadership.
25:16 - Why timing matters when expressing dissent.
26:11 - Replace "I disagree" with "Let's stress-test this assumption."
28:22 - Bring solutions, not just problems.
29:08 - The power of thoughtful language in difficult conversations.
31:22 - Help people look good while influencing change.
33:16 - Resource constraints create clarity.
34:12 - Building a single source of truth.
36:03 – Accountability comes from clarity, not authority.
37:55 - Final advice: Assume people want the same outcome as you.
