“You do not have to control more. You have to influence more. You have to co-create more.” Keith Ferrazzi
This leadership challenge has come up before in my coaching and teaching; leading people who are not in your charge or for whom you have no authority over. I hearken back to my days in Iraq when the concept of “unity of effort” gained popularity. In the military, we strove for “unity of command,” all teams and people under one leader. This was impossible though, when we teamed with other government agencies such as the State Department and USAID. While I did not have authority over those organizations I still had to accomplish missions and I couldn’t do it without them.
As John Maxwell says, “leadership is influence, nothing less, nothing more.” It is common in business that leaders will have to accomplish missions engaging and influencing stakeholders across the company or when designated a team leader for a specific project involving people from other departments or verticals.
Here are some tips from this old soldier:
