How to Get Results Without Authority
In one of my interviews I had to share situations about how I managed projects without official authority. As it wasn't one of the standard interview questions, it caught me a little off-guard and I improvised a weak answer. In working with other companies and during my MBA experience, I often work with teams helping them get projects done without any authority. The interview experience made me go home, review my experiences, and document some of the things I have done in this situation. As usual, the ideas I express below are not novel, I learned many of them from people much more adept at this than me. I just want to express what has worked for me.
- Building Trust: For example to build trust with the Product Development Manager, I made sure to read up on issues surrounding software development such as project management methodologies (Waterfall or Agile) and best source codes to use (.Net or Java). I would solicit his opinions on these topics. Our conversation demonstrated that I had taken the time to understand his perspective and strengthened our trust.
- Aligning Goals: It is less important for people to see why you think your project is important than it is for them to recognize why it is important to them! I often spend my most of my time in new places or groups talking to people to better understand their goals. Don't be afraid to dig into their initial responses to try and discover what are their key drivers. Once you understand what motivates them, try to present your projects in ways that highlight how they align with theirs.
- Tailoring Communications: It is not only languages that create communication barriers between people. Personality types, education, job titles, and work cultures are other barriers that effective communication must navigate. Always modify your communication style in a way that best resonates with your audience.
- Let Others Lead: In meetings, I let team members shape the agenda and drive the meeting. Their ownership builds their commitment to the project. I try to operate as a person who documents the meeting - trying to highlight consensus or interesting ideas - adding my insight where appropriate and driving the discussion forward.
- Note Actionables of Team Members: When a team member undertakes to perform a deliverable for the team, I try to clarify the "what" and "when" during the meeting. That way the member has committed to the team to perform the deliverable; not to me individually.
- Follow Up: In addition to sending out a recap of the meeting and actionables,it is critical to meet with key individuals before and after important meetings to get their feedback on how they see the project is progressing. The act reinforces your interest in their input, helps you gather important information, and, most importantly, ensures that they are never surprised by something in a meeting (the one thing that can seriously derail any meeting).
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