In the last article, we focused on choosing your first strategic win, a targeted initiative that delivers measurable value and begins to reposition you inside your organization.

But one win, on its own, does not make you an intrapreneur.

What you do next is what matters. How you expand your influence, how you build coalitions, and how you turn a single success into sustained momentum is where the real shift happens.

Early in my career as a travel manager, I realized something important. I thought I had the best job in the company. I could meet with anyone, from the C-suite to division presidents to managers and travelers across the organization. All I had to do was say I was from the travel team and there to help.

That access opened doors. But there’s more to the process. Access alone is not enough. It’s what you do with that access that creates influence.

I chose to approach those interactions not as a policy enforcer, but as an internal consultant on travel. That meant I did not show up with answers first. I showed up with questions. I listened, not casually, but intentionally. What was working? What was not? Where was travel slowing them down? Where were they finding workarounds? What frustrated them about the process?

Those conversations built something more valuable than quick fixes. They built credibility. Because I was not just there to say, “I’m from corporate and I’m here to help,” which can go over like an ill-timed call from the IRS. Instead, I took the position of someone trying to understand their world before trying to change it.

Alignment & Alliances

Intrapreneurs expand influence by earning trust first, not asserting authority.

Of course, listening alone is not enough. At some point, you need to connect what you hear to what the business requires. In my case, I was clear about two things: we needed to improve compliance and we needed to manage costs. Those were non-negotiables. But the path to achieving them was not through tighter enforcement. It was through alignment.

The question became how to bridge traveler needs with program objectives. That is where coalition building begins.

When you have already demonstrated that you understand their challenges, the conversation shifts. You are no longer imposing a solution. You are co-creating one. A sales leader may highlight that approvals are slowing down client meetings. A finance partner may point out inconsistent expense data. A traveler may simply say it is easier to book outside the system.

Instead of dismissing those perspectives, you connect them. If approvals are streamlined, productivity improves. If booking is simplified, compliance and data capture improve. If policy reflects how people actually travel, leakage is reduced.

Now you are not merely asking people to follow the program. Rather, you are demonstrating the ways the program can work for them.

That is influence. It comes from relevance, not control.

Nurturing Partnerships 

Your first strategic win from the previous article is what gives you the credibility to start these conversations with confidence. It shows that you can deliver results and makes others more willing to engage. From there, momentum builds through relationships.

And yes, influence is not always built through large initiatives. Sometimes it comes from smaller, thoughtful actions. I had access to upgrades and lounge passes through supplier relationships, and I used them intentionally. Not as giveaways, but as a tool to foster connections, reinforce partnerships and recognize engagement.

If someone leaned into the program, participated in a pilot, or helped drive change, I acknowledged it. You do not need a formal budget to build goodwill. You need awareness and intent. Over time, those moments create positive associations with the travel program and humanize what can otherwise feel like a set of rules.

The shift you are aiming for is subtle but powerful. You move from program manager to trusted advisor, from policy owner to problem solver, from gatekeeper to partner.

Once that shift takes hold, your ability to drive change accelerates. New initiatives face less resistance. Stakeholders involve you earlier in decisions. Leadership begins to see you as someone who contributes to business performance, not just program oversight.

That is when intrapreneurship becomes sustainable.

Next Step: Solutions & Structure

If you think back to your first strategic win, that was your entry point. This is where you build on that success. You expand your reach, deepen your relationships, and connect more dots across the entire organization.

And you keep listening.

Because the more you understand about how different parts of your organization experience travel, the better positioned you are to design solutions that actually work for each.

If you want to expand your influence starting now, focus on three practical actions: 

•Be intentional about who you meet with and why. 

•Lead with questions, not answers. 

•Translate what you hear into aligned, actionable improvements.

Do that consistently, and your role will begin to evolve in ways that are both visible and meaningful.

In the next article, we will take this one step further. Influence and coalition building create momentum, but sustaining that momentum requires structure. How do you turn a series of wins into a repeatable approach? How do you embed intrapreneurial thinking into how your program operates over time?

Because intrapreneurs do not just build influence. They build systems that make that influence scalable.

And that is where the real transformation begins.

Greeley Koch  is an award-winning speaker, educator and consultant who has helped shape the business travel landscape for decades. He is the Managing Director of 490 Consulting, Advisor to Acquis Consulting and a Strategic Partner to 3Sixty.  Greeley is also a faculty member at NYU’s Tisch Center of Hospitality, where he teaches and mentors future leaders and startups alike. A former procurement leader and industry association executive, Greeley has reinvented his career through intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship. He’s delivered sessions on four continents, always customizing his message to the local business culture. He believes innovation doesn’t just come from the top – it comes from within.