Leading Without Authority
Jean of Arc: Leadership vs. Management
“Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,
Let your spirit guide us through.
Come lead your France to victory;
Joan of Arc, they are calling you.”
from This Way Out by Jack Wells
Leading without authority is just a little bit harder!
Although, essentially it is the same thing as leading with authority.
The goal of leadership is to get others to willingly cooperate and engage, rather than following your directives because you’re in a position of authority. So, it does not matter if you have authority.
To get others to follow you willingly is actually at the core of leadership vs. management:
I am a manager when I have authority over others. I can hire and fire, assign tasks, judge performance, and determine pay. That does not necessarily require any true leadership skills. Because I hold power, others are obligated to do what I say.
Now, if this is all I do, I am not a leader. People are likely not engaged, do not trust me, nor believe in the mission, and be all-around negative.
Matt Russell applies four pillars to lead without authority:
1. Build Trust: Trust Comes First
2. Create Alignment: The Power of Communication
3. Cultivate Momentum: Take Action and Others Will Follow
4. Inspire Belief: Find the Greater Purpose
And he describes their impact as such:” … these pillars enable you to win people’s hearts. They inspire others to follow you because they want to, not because they have to. This is superior to authority because when people want to follow you, they will always give you their best; while, if they only follow you because they have to, they will always give you the bare minimum that they can get away with.”
I am a believer in his third pillar, as I have seen time and time again the power of action. Too many mid-level “leaders” are merely executors of what has been handed down to them; they seem to fall victim to circumstance. Instead, act on your ideas and do not ask for permission. Others will follow you.
Think, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc): Born the daughter of French peasants, she had no authority. However, she was able to gain the trust of King Charles VII, align the soldiers and generals by turning the legalistic feud between two royal families into a religious war, took actions time and time again, and to this day, is a symbol of French national liberation.
With or without authority, you want to be a leader, not a manager. And display these core leadership skills:
1. Empathy – Start with listening, and then respond with honest compassion and understanding.
2. Integrity – To me, integrity is a sum of traits: honesty, sincerity, truthfulness, transparency, ethical, strong moral values.
3. Passion – Passion is contagious. Your excitement will ignite the passion of the team.
4. Humility – Appreciate those around you, be grateful for your role, be gracious towards others, be open to feedback, and understand that you are not perfect.
5. Accountability – Take responsibility for the results, and in the process, take a little more than your share in the blame, and a little less in praise. Accept the blame for the team result, and do not play the blame game.
6. Inspiration – Provide those around you with the unconscious burst of creativity. It is not your brilliant idea that advances the team, rather your ability to inspire others.
7. Decisiveness – I have found that my days as a leader were filled with quite literally hundreds of decisions. A few major ones (hiring, product innovation, M&A, …), and many, many small and micro-decisions. What they all have in common is the fact that not making a decision was holding up everything and everyone around me.
8. Reliability – Do not be erratic. Those around you, especially those that rely on you, count on your consistency and dependability.
9. Positivity – Positivity is contagious. Even negative Nancie’s will eventually become infected by your positivity.
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Matt Russell – How To Lead When You Have No Authority