Influencing without authority is a critical
job skill for project managers. Keeping the cats herded requires a combination
of strong project management and communication skills. When you combine that
with influencing levers, you can master the most complex projects. Here are
five ways to influence without authority.
Expertise
Expertise is a powerful influencing
factor. Discipline specific expertise is fundamental when
diverse roles are working together in a project. Industry specific
expertise can be critical when you are working in a cross-industry
team. Use your expertise to underpin your recommendations and requests. One
project management example would be explaining the dependencies of a timeline
to justify a deadline.
Information
Information is most powerful when shared.
Influence others by sharing the information you know regularly, clearly and
concisely. As a project manager, you have objectives and timelines.
In complex work groups, roles and responsibilities can be
confusing. Information is a two-way street. Don't forget to gather it as well
as share what you already know. Stakeholder knowledge is key
information that project teams need to bear in mind about the primary sponsor
of the project.
Resources
Having the right resources is a critical
factor to project success. Creative use of resources can be the difference
between success and failure. Influence the budget with
examples of earlier projects. Influence the skills by
outlining the key outcomes required and documenting the skills needed to
achieve the outcomes. Influence the people by keeping a handle
onworkload and prioritization issues.
Relationships
Get to know people, and form deeper
connections and relationships. This enables you to know what to
expect. Foresee reactions and attitudes and prepare for objections rather
than getting taken by surprise. People who trust you will be
much more willing to follow you. Deep, long-standing relationships allow you to
ask for occasional favors. Finally, a sense of camaraderie also
goes a long way towards encouraging people to solve problems together.
Attitude
Your attitude, or how you treat other people,
is one of the most important factors of influence. Be honest and
straightforward - a slip in your integrity will cost you trust for a
long time. Don't waste people's time - be prepared and
organized. Communicate information and urgency but not stress. Your
tone of voice, your choice of words, and acknowledgment of difficult situations
can be your most powerful influence.
Authority
A word about authority. Authority is, without
a doubt, the most direct way to be able to influence others. When you
manage resources directly, you can set their direction and priorities. There is
a time and a place to leverage authority, whether yours or someone else's. For
example, call in the bosses if you can't resolve major resource dependencies.
But not before you have tried to resolve it individually.
Angela Fresne is
a career and life coach, corporate trainer, blogger, and award-winning
marketer. She is launching her own business, Tothelighthouse.org, with the
goal to inspire people to achieve the elusive dream of self-fulfillment,
success, and work/life balance through coaching, speaking, training, and
writing.
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