Leading Without Authority

When you sit with ideas and you want to go places – it is often one
of the hardest tasks to figure out how to lead without authority. Good
leaders know they should unlock the potential of people by giving them
the relevant authority to achieve objectives – but what happens when you
are in an environment in which this is challenging at best?

Some people march into an office and insist that they are given a
chance – but often this has the outcome of being a major career-limiting
move.

One of the most interesting aspects of leadership is to figure out
how to lead when you do not have authority. The frustration of not being
able to express your ideas and creative abilities often limits the
potential you see yourself having in an organisation.

To overcome the lack of authority it is not difficult but requires
some planning and sincere hard work.

One of the most important realisations that you may need to make is
that there is nothing special about leadership. There is no special
formula or technique, or badge that turns you into a leader. A leader
leads in any situation that requires it. Empirical studies over time
have confirmed that leaders emerge out of every situation – even when
leadership is formally repressed.

The second realisation that is important is that you are a leader in
everything that you do. Right now – you have certain tasks and
responsibilities and the best way to get the recognition, as a leader is
to lead within the parameters of what you have in front of you right
now. Great leaders ask questions that include how to involve others,
what have we overlooked, how can we improve, what does success look like
and how can we use what we have to help others? By starting to ask some
of these questions and acting on your responses – you start building
real leadership capabilities. Try it.

The third realisation is that leaders are great at understanding and
communicating why we do what we do. You need to understand why what you
are doing is important and how this impacts the rest of the organisation
and ultimately the client. By talking about it and showing this insight
you begin positively influencing others and creating a deeper
understanding and inspiration for others.

The fourth realisation is that you need to build networks and it does
not help to be defensive. Leaders are enthusiastic and passionate about
their objectives and not passive / aggressive people that pounce on
people for even asking. So you need to build relationships with others
that can contribute to your area. A key measure of leadership is if
others will respect your opinion on a specific matter. In order to have
the respect of others you need to know them as well as them to know
you.

The fifth realisation is that you need to start with the end in mind.
Once you know where you are going – you can work backwards to where you
are now. As a leader without authority – you need to start thinking
about where this is going and what it is going to look like when it is
in an ideal or perfect state. Trying to figure out the next step takes a
lot of energy if you do not know where you are going. But taking the
next step when the end goal is clear is very easy. Your track record
will create the advancement that you require.

Some useful do’s and don’ts in the leadership game includes:

• Do not be tentative. By having a good understanding of how
  something works – you should be able to confidently address this area.
  Your language may betray your lack of confidence through phrases such as
  “probably”, “correct me if I am wrong”, “I guess”, “hopefully”, “I may
  not be right”. Leaders are decisive because they understand what the
  implications are of their decisions.

• Be like a consultant. Consultants seek first to understand the
  problem, then frame a diagnosis, then move to suggesting a solution and
  then through building linkages they unlock potential. Leaders need to
  find the solutions or bring together the people that can find the
  solutions and then create and follow-up on actions from there.
  Consultants also take objections and make it part of the solution, by
  learning from the ideas of what will make a solution acceptable – they
  build wide acceptance of ideas.

• Don’t over-apologize. Everyone can have a point of view – and
  there is no reason to apologize for having one.

• Be humble. Confidence and humility seems like two enemies but
  they actually meet in great leaders. Make others the hero’s and keep
  telling their stories.

• It is important to understand the detail – but not great to talk
  about all the detail. You must focus the message you want to deliver
  around a topic and always take into consideration what you want to say
  to the audience you are targeting.

• Building and do not break down other people. You will need to
  work with the ideas of others and find ways in which ideas can come
  together if you want to be a great leader. Great leaders find the
  contributions that change the game from unexpected places.

• Do not lead from afar. Leadership is hands dirty work where you
  get involved. People also need a sense of safety and they will turn to a
  leader to provide it to them. It is important to set the goals and also
  work with the strengths of people in any situation. A strong center
  leads to a good effort.

To highlight the idea of leading without authority – it may be
interesting to highlight a story to show how this plays out.

There is a story of a man that built houses for his master. He was
generally a good worker and had worked as his master’s builder for many
years. His master came to him and gave him the opportunity to build a
house like none of the ones he had built to date. The master was about
to retire and this was his legacy. The builder was to use the best
materials to build a magnificent structure, a palace fit for a king.

The builder begrudgingly took the work – while the master went on a
long journey. The builder took every opportunity to cut corners and
bought inferior materials, pocketing the difference at every turn. He
messed up on the foundations and every night in his drunken state
begrudged the master for making him do this after so many years of loyal
service.

Whenever the master’s representative came he gave good reports and
happily accepted the further advances and instructions of the master –
while not acting on it. He told the workers that inferior work is okay
and that this house is basically a waste of time.

When the house was finally complete the master came back home and
called for a great feast. In the feast he announced his retirement and
handed over the building business to his servant and to thank his loyal
and trusted builder for all the work he did for many years. As a gift he
gave him the palace that he built on his behalf, to serve as a monument
to all for the future. That night when the builder went home he feared
for his life, as he knew what he had built. The building business
collapsed soon thereafter.

This story highlights that we all have an opportunity to lead in
every situation. How we use this opportunity makes all the
difference.