“Influence Without Authority” was a popular class I taught at my company; But more importantly, it was a concept that helped change the direction of my professional career.
Several years ago, I was promoted to senior project manager position. And I truly believe that this would not have been possible without understanding the importance of influence without authority. It is essential for employees to understand this topic in today’s workplace. In fact, I believe his career success may depend on it.
Like many project leaders, I was responsible for doing the impossible – and I had no idea how it could be done without authority. Then I thought about the class I taught to so many people.
In most companies, project leaders have little opportunity to offer merit increases or promotions to team members. That was my case. Like many of you, I too had a lot of passion for my work. But I soon realized that passion alone didn’t pay the bills – I had milestone dates and project deadlines to meet.
Frankly, my entire project team was made up of borrowed resources. I didn’t review their performances, and I was probably as low on their food-chain priorities as you could get.
So, what did I do? I just told the truth. I shared the hard facts with my project team. I said, “Many of you probably feel overworked and underpaid… and I understand your situation. So I’m not here to try to pull a blindfold over your eyes. I have something to give you. There are only two things – recognition and visibility. This is the only pay-cheque I have to give. If I succeed, you will also succeed. And I will make sure you are recognized for your efforts.”
The team worked hard as always. I was amazed by the individual skills displayed among the group. In some cases my role became that of a learner rather than a leader. I thought to myself, “This is the perfect opportunity to use my influence – even though I have no authority.”
I immediately responded by writing to each of their managers. I appreciated them for allowing me to borrow such talented resources. Managers shared my comments with their staff and offered to help me in the future. My feedback about his performance made a big difference. Many project team members included my positive comments in their performance reviews. It was a win-win situation.
In the final analysis, the project was a huge success! Plus, I learned some important lessons about leadership and influence. Being a “glory hog” is death for any professional. Share the wealth—enough to go around for everyone. In other words, taking credit for other people’s work doesn’t help your cause.
An important core competency of leadership is “integrity”. I couldn’t offer a merit increase to my project team. But I offered to give them recognition.
Last line – Give respect to the one who deserves respect!
Developing influence without authority is an important skill. In my case, it helped change the direction of my professional career.
