Your business success increasingly depends on whether you can make an impact without relying on direct authority.
Whether you are an individual contributor, a project manager or a team lead, you will face diverse challenges where you need to align team members and persuade stakeholders towards common goals. Perhaps you need to influence or persuade people in other parts of the business.
It’s one of the most essential skills for anyone looking to create positive change and make a lasting impact, regardless of their role.
The Power of Influence vs. The Power of Position
How do you build the power base you need to guide the behaviour of others when they are not in your team?
A great leader understands that leadership is not defined by job titles. True effective leadership comes when you can inspire action through persuasion and trust. While someone in a senior position may command obedience, an adept influencer earns commitment.
This is especially critical when working in cross-functional teams, where you must collaborate with subject matter experts and peers over whom you have no direct control.
Whether you can do this or not hinges on your soft skills, with emotional intelligence (EI) being one of the most essential characteristics. EI allows you to read a room, understand motivations and build the rapport necessary for effective persuasion skills.
Essential Influencing Skills
To become an adept influencer, you must develop a leadership style that is built on several key concepts. This involves understanding the different types of personal power you can cultivate, from your expertise to your network.
The essential influence without authority skills you need include:
- Building Trust with Others: People support those they trust. Being reliable, making a good impression and demonstrating integrity are essential.
- Communicating Clearly: Whether you are a business analyst explaining complex data or a project manager outlining a vision, your message must be clear and compelling. You need to connect with both logic and emotion.
- Negotiating for Mutual Gain: Influence is a two-way street. Finding win-win solutions is one of the most effective strategies for gaining long-term buy-in.
Influencing Without Authority – Top Tips
1. Strategic Persuasion
Don’t just present problems; present well-researched solutions. When you want to influence a decision, your argument needs to be robust and your proposal, compelling.
How you do it: Before a meeting, do your homework. If you’re suggesting a new process, prepare a one-page summary that outlines the current issue, your proposed solution, the benefits for the team or company, and a potential first step. Use data and evidence to back up your claims.
2. Relationship Building
Influence is often a social currency. You cannot expect people to support your idea in a crunch meeting if you’ve never spoken to them before. Your network is your net worth when it comes to informal influence.
How you do it: Be genuinely curious about your colleagues’ work. Schedule coffees with people from other departments.
3. Expert Credibility
People naturally listen to and trust those who demonstrate deep knowledge and competence. When you establish yourself as a reliable source of insight, people will seek out your opinion.
How you do it: Share valuable insights without being asked. If you read an industry report, summarise the three key takeaways and email it to your team. Volunteer for projects that play to your strengths. Consistently deliver high-quality work.
4. Active Listening
True influence comes from understanding the motivations, pressures and goals of the person you’re trying to influence. You can’t frame an argument that appeals to them if you don’t know what they care about.
How you do it: In your conversations, practice active listening skills. Paraphrase what you’ve heard to confirm your understanding.
5. Shared-Goal Framing
Connect your suggestions to the bigger picture—the team’s objectives, the company’s mission, or a shared value like ‘efficiency’ or ‘customer satisfaction.’ This moves the conversation from “my idea” to “our success.”
How you do it: Always start with the ‘why’. Explain how your proposal helps achieve a goal that everyone in the room cares about.
By weaving these practical steps into your daily work, you’ll stop waiting for authority and start building the influence you need to drive change and make a greater impact.
Source: benjaminball.
