4 Ways to Build Influence at Work Without Waiting for a Promotion

Over two decades, I have held twelve corporate roles of increasing responsibility and scope. Some came with positional power and authority. Some don’t. Ultimately, it didn’t matter when it came to my ability to make an impact and advance my career.

The reality is that you won’t always be the boss with decision rights, but you can always be one leader. In fact, the higher I climbed, the more often I found myself leading cross-functional initiatives that required buy-in from other teams and approval from senior stakeholders.

What I learned along the way is that INFLUENCEnot authority, is what drives real progress. You don’t need permission to become a great leader, just the right mindset and relationships.

Leadership is about relationships, not rank

Regardless of your title, cultivating influence in an organization begins building strong relationships to solve problems. In this way, you will naturally gain allies who are willing to follow your lead. Not because you have to. But because they want to.

I have found that the most powerful influence you can gain comes from awareness. For example, knowing when to give up short-term decision rights to build a better long-term relationship. Trust me, your willingness to be flexible will be remembered in future interactions.

In the topic of DECISIONthe biggest mistake I see people make when “acting as a leader” is trying to hold all the decision rights simply because they are the most senior person on a project, not because they have the most knowledge. Don’t fall into this trap.

A self-aware leader knows who in the room is most knowledgeable about a topic, and then lets them own the related decisions. This not only results in better project outcomes, but builds trust.

Here are some more tips to become more aware as a leader to drive impact:

• Admit if you are not prepared to make an informed decision and ask for clarification.
• Invite others into the decision-making process if you lack experience or knowledge.
• Look for context and potential cross-functional impact before making a decision.

The best way to build credibility with peers and senior management

Instead of trying to prove yourself at the beginning of a big project, commit to learning. The first 30 days should be spent understanding the landscape. Meet with stakeholders. Ask questions to understand their priorities, concerns, and how this project will affect their team.

Most importantly, define who has the right to make the final decision to avoid confusion and obstacles. By the end of these conversations, I try to have clarity in three areas:

• How the project affects each department.
• Who has the right to decide.
• Where there is scope and inconsistency.

What to do when roles are unclear in a cross-functional project

Cross-functional projects are rarely neat and organized at first. Often, responsibilities overlap and ownership of decision rights is not yet defined.

In these situations, leadership is about creating clarity. Here’s how to gain momentum:

• Plan a cross-functional workshop to build a common timeline for completion with key points. At least one representative from each team must be present.
• Ask workshop participants to share information with relevant teams to get feedback and bring it back to your workshop group if something was initially missed.
• Present the finalized project roadmap by highlighting all key leadership points to define decision rights for each, resource alignment and finalize a timeline.

Impacting outcomes through collaboration: a case study

I was once responsible for the launch of a completely new brand, tasked first with developing a product description and instructions on how to use it. All this information had to be put together in the package, a process that required closure COOPERATION with highly specialized teams focused on medical, legal and regulatory requirements – none of which reported to me.

Even at the earliest stage of the project, I knew that every packaging decision would ultimately shape how I could market, educate and talk to consumers about the brand later down the road. However, I had no official authority over the teams making the calls, so here’s what I did:

First, I addressed an often-overlooked (but simple-to-solve) obstacle that can hinder collaboration: proximity. These specialized teams were physically working on the other side of the building, so I made the decision to physically go and sit with them for half of the week. Even if I was working on something unrelated to our project, I made it a point to be present and available.

As the weeks went by, this choice led to team members randomly calling me out in hallway conversations about our packing simply based on proximity. It also allowed me to listen and learn from those teams about how they work and what drives their decisions.

Entering their world, I also had the opportunity to call out to explain ours marketing strategies and gives a broader context about consumers. Ultimately, this allowed us to build together a packaging recommendation that met all medical, legal and regulatory requirements, while still giving the marketing team plenty of room to promote the brand effectively.

Ending influence versus authority

No, your title does not dictate how much influence you can have within an organization. But it should affect how you earn it. Cultivating influence always comes back to awarenesswhether that means deferring to someone with less authority but more expertise to build trust or leading with curiosity, not control, as a newcomer to a project.

When people see that you are taking the time to understand their perspective and create rapport, trust naturally begins to build and they will be more willing to support your recommendations.

Over two decades, I have held twelve corporate roles of increasing responsibility and scope. Some came with positional power and authority. Some don’t. Ultimately, it didn’t matter when it came to my ability to make an impact and advance my career.

The reality is that you won’t always be the boss with decision rights, but you can always be one leader. In fact, the higher I climbed, the more often I found myself leading cross-functional initiatives that required buy-in from other teams and approval from senior stakeholders.

What I learned along the way is that INFLUENCEnot authority, is what drives real progress. You don’t need permission to become a great leader, just the right mindset and relationships.