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Salescraft Training
Leading Without Authority: Amplifying Influence Through Emotional Intelligence
Unlock the secrets to leading without an official title and discover how influence can be more powerful than authority. Imagine turning a £1 million account into over £6 million in just a year, all through the power of collaboration and empowerment without any direct control. This episode is packed with personal stories and insightful examples showcasing how using persuasion, emotional intelligence, and relationship management can skyrocket your leadership capabilities. We'll guide you through building trust and credibility by being a role model, setting clear goals, and overcoming the unique challenges of leading without formal authority.
Empathy and emotional intelligence take center stage as we discuss understanding team members' fears and aspirations to foster successful collaboration. Discover how recognizing personality types and managing team dynamics can prevent issues before they arise. We also highlight the invaluable support of informal mentors and external consultants in nurturing team growth. Listen to how adaptability and resilience can transform setbacks into success, and learn to navigate the balance between empowering and effectively managing your team. Whether you're a seasoned leader or just starting, this episode offers actionable insights to enhance your leadership journey.
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Graham Elliott
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Hello, again In this podcast, I want to talk about leadership without authority.
Speaker 1:So what am I talking about? Well, it's simply when we have to step into a leadership role, but we don't necessarily have the the people that we're leading, but nonetheless and I'll certainly give you examples of this but nonetheless, there are situations where we need to take on a management role, and I think it's a really good thing to have to do to step into a leadership role without the job title, so without that automatic authority, because it changes the way we have to operate as leaders in order to get things done. So, somebody who has the job title or a direct management role over a team of people, to some extent they can use the stick method, which is kind of I don't want to say my way or the highway, but you get what I mean. If you want things done in a certain way, you have the authority to really force that onto people, whereas if you don't have that title, in order to reach the objective that you're trying to get to, you have to use the carrot way of doing things. It's a much more consultative way of working with people and it certainly requires a higher level of emotional intelligence to be effective in that. So I'm just going to talk through a few aspects of this, hopefully to get you thinking, maybe recognize some areas where you already are strong and maybe highlight some areas where you're perhaps not so strong right now, but to give you some ideas where you might be able to step into a leadership role and be effective in that role without having to have the job titles go along with it role and be effective in that role without having to have the job titles go along with it.
Speaker 1:So, when it comes to influence over power, when you don't have authority, often the way you get things done is to use your influence. So basically, what I mean by that is that you're inspiring through action, knowledge and really the ability to persuade other people to get things done, and part of that will be sharing a common vision. So I'll come to that. But really the whole basis of this style of leadership is on your ability to create and manage relationships with other people. Expertise is a part of that, because that builds credibility and it also helps to motivate people towards reaching a particular goal. Now, another important aspect of that is building trust and I've already mentioned credibility. So, again, without a formal title, you really need to be able to build strong relationships that are based on trust, and that means operating ethically, being as good as your word, all those kind of things that we need to basically walk our talk in order to show that we are trustworthy, that people can depend on us, because, again, having built that trust, it also builds confidence in what we're able to deliver. And obviously, the key things there are to be consistent, to demonstrate integrity and also think, to lead by example. So walk the talk, show that you're, I guess, as a leader, leading from the front, rather than giving directives and sitting back and letting other people take the risk or do the work, or whatever it might be. Now, another aspect of this is collaboration and empowerment, and this, I think, is really important.
Speaker 1:And if I had a role, there was one company and this was, in fact, a company where I changed a £1 million account into more than £6 million in 12 months, and part of achieving that was to work with other groups within the business that I was in. So I was based in the UK. That's where our sales office was. We had a service group there as well, because these were physical test equipment, so it needed to be shipped from Japan, where it was made, but it would be supported locally. And in order to get what was, in fact, my biggest order there delivered on time, I really needed to work with those guys to make sure that they knew what was going on. They knew when we would be in a position to schedule in the acceptance testing, the installation, the customer's premises and then the acceptance testing for the client.
Speaker 1:These were the kind of normal steps for us and, of course, as a salesperson, I had no direct management over anybody. So you know, in one sense, although I was running this major account, I didn't have any direct reports. So I was having to work with other people to get them on side and to get things happening in a way that was very smooth, that was particularly smooth for the client, but also prove that the manufacturer we were representing could rely on us to get things done quickly, so that we were, if you like, the top agent for them overseas. So a lot of that was sitting down with people on a regular basis talking about where we were at, what the steps were, that we're going through, the potential delays that might happen, but where I envisage we might need to start having people available, all this kind of thing, and I'd also do that with accounts anybody else involved in the process, and it's.
Speaker 1:I think one of the key things is to look at where a delivery, in this case, could go wrong and just anticipate the different stages Some of them might not be as obvious as others, but anticipate where things might go wrong and then just make sure there's a strategy in place to deal with that. And also and it's not just going through timelines it's also about building up the trust with the other people involved in the process and, as I say, these aren't direct reports, but building up trust with those people so that they are also willing to do what it takes to meet deadlines, get things to happen. So that collaboration, I think, is an absolutely fundamental part of it. That collaboration, I think, is an absolutely fundamental part of it. And if you're in a sales management role and you have direct staff, another way of building that collaboration is to set clear goals and objectives. Make it clear what the objectives are for the group, whatever it is.
Speaker 1:However, you describe the group of people that you are managing, and that's one level, but also, at another level and I like to bring it down to the personal level, make sure that each individual is engaged, committed, that they can see where adhering to this particular path will help them in the future. So this, in my case, was often a question of sitting down either formally or informally, because I'm a big believer in formal reviews, and the reason for that is that it keeps the business accountable as well as the individual. So to me it's definitely a two-way thing. It's an opportunity for feedback, both upwards and downwards, if you want to think of it that way. But I believe it's a great way to open the paths for communication in both directions, so that anything that might become a hidden resentment gets handled very early on, so that it doesn't become a problem.
Speaker 1:So this steps into the aspect of vision and inspiration. So this, when you're managing a group, when you do have direct reports, it's definitely about sharing the vision, but all the other things I've spoken about also apply. So leading from the front, being consistent, being ethical, operating with integrity, building trust, all of these things are really important and, of course, the vision part of it is absolutely vital as well when you're dealing with groups who you don't have any direct management control over. So, again, in the situation that I've just been talking about relating to the installation of this really big order. It was also sharing the vision with the people involved. So it wasn't just a case of ticking boxes, putting things together, doing whatever, but it was actually just talking about that, if we got this one right, there was opportunity to build on this, which meant more work for everybody, more money for everybody, job security, which meant more work for everybody, more money for everybody, job security all these other things, other aspects that people want from a role where they're employed. So this, I think, is another reason why having these skills and developing these skills of leadership without authority really come into play when you're getting things to happen, and this doesn't always have to be within your own organization. It can also be with clients, depending on the kind of relationships and the way that you work with your clients. This can also apply and it's certainly a technique I've used in some roles to get things done. Where I've been looking at more strategic relationships, long-term relationships, it's definitely building up that trust. Strategic relationships, long-term relationships it's definitely building up and that trust, those relationships and having that leadership position within that group of people and companies and businesses.
Speaker 1:Now, empathy and emotional intelligence are really important here. So what do I mean about that? Empathy is about understanding where other people are coming from and also, by the understanding, their fears, what might be holding them back and also their aspirations, what can incentivize them, to help them, to help you, to help all of you work towards a particular outcome. So that's what I mean there, and emotional intelligence is being able to, first of all, recognize your own shortcomings. Emotionally, it's about emotional maturity, emotional integrity. It's about self-management, first of all, and then it's about reading other people and recognizing when people are under stress, for example, or if there's too much pressure to meet a particular deadline, and if one person fails, the whole thing can collapse. So it's about managing relationships and reading other people as well as managing day to day.
Speaker 1:So one of the things and again talking about the online sales program that I run, consultative Selling one aspect of that is recognizing different personality types and also how they behave when they're under pressure. This is really important, because if somebody is starting to struggle a little bit, for whatever reason, they might not own up to it, they might not be open and you might not know there's a problem until it becomes too late, until things start to fall apart. So it's really important to be able to recognize where things are going wrong and recognize the types of people you have in the group that you're working with, the group that you're leading, and also to know what the signs are when each of those people start to get put under a bit of pressure and it reaches a point where they may be getting close to their limits, and obviously you don't want to drive people that hard. A bit of stress, a bit of pressure is fine, but you need people to be functioning well and if they're not doing that, then the whole endeavor will fall apart. Leading from within is another way of looking at it, because you're leading from within a group. You're not the manager of the group as such. So, again, it's about taking initiative, it's about creating opportunities for other people, it's about maintaining that engagement in the goals that you're striving for, and it's about empowering people and giving them clear direction about what's expected of them and when things need to be completed, but also making sure that they have the resources they need to be able to achieve the job. There's a fine line, I think, between overmanaging and empowering. So empowering to me is stepping back and letting them handle it, but equally, that emotional intelligence needs to be there to just recognize when they're handling things and when things are starting to go a little bit pear-shaped, to use a phrase.
Speaker 1:Adaptability and resilience are other aspects of this. So one of the key things when you're in a leadership role without the authorities, you need to be able to adapt very quickly to changes, because you might not be able to insist that particular things are carried out at a certain. If somebody within the group has been put onto another task and that can impact the overall outcome, then you need to be able to look at other ways of handling it. So maybe you can change the sequence that things happen. Maybe you do need to speak to their line management and just again emphasize the importance of having certain things done and work together to look at how that can be achieved. So I think this working together, this aspect of collaboration, is very important, and resilience as well, because when you don't have the authority of a title, you don't have the authority of hierarchy, the chances are you're likely to have to deal with knockbacks. Things won't always go the way you'd like them, so it's always good to have a plan B in your back pocket and be able to handle the setbacks and build those relationships up so that the other people within the group are prepared to go with you and be a little bit adaptable themselves, so that the final outcome happens when it needs to happen.
Speaker 1:But the way you got there might not have been the way you originally envisaged it. So I guess the kind of examples one example might be a team member who leads by suggesting solutions and rallying the team without having managerial authority. That's one example of somebody leading without the authority of a job title. It might be an informal mentor. So it might be somebody who is sitting on the edge of the process, and this might be a role that you have from time to time. Or it might be a permanent role, but someone who's guiding others through by using their own experience, their own expertise and just helping them get through each step, just recognizing what needs to be through each step, just recognising what needs to be carried out at certain points. It might be clarifying an outcome, it might be dealing with an issue, it might be stepping back and looking at another way of achieving an outcome. But again, if you're in that mentorship role as an informal mentor and I've had that from a sales training perspective, when I haven't worked for the company, I've worked for them in as much as they'd hired me as an external consultant.
Speaker 1:But that is definitely a situation where I would be working with individual salespeople and the kind of things I'm looking for are, first of all, what are the individual strengths and weaknesses?
Speaker 1:What do we need to do to build the weaknesses up? What do we need to do to help them to feel more confident to all the things to help them be successful, in this case, in a sales environment? But what also would happen sometimes? Patterns would begin to emerge about management styles that they have to deal with that really weren't helping them to be successful in a sales environment, whatever that might be. And obviously in that kind of a situation, it just happened to me as the external consultant to also do what I can to remedy those issues, and this would often mean talking to the hierarchical manager.
Speaker 1:It might be the sales manager, it might be someone more senior, but it's definitely often the case that when I've dealt with external as an external consultant, yeah, some of the issues are down to training of the individual salesperson. They'll have their own issues that they've got to deal with and that's all perfectly normal. But equally, there are situations where part of the problem is the management style that's being used. So there's, and that you obviously need to be fairly tactful in how you handle that. And that does require a bit of emotional intelligence and empathy as well for the manager, because you don't know until you start talking to them what is driving them, what might be putting them under pressure, and that pressure unfortunately can go down to the individual salespeople and have a negative impact on the whole group. So these are just some of the things to think about.
Speaker 1:Again, these are fairly short podcasts but I hope they're giving you something to think about. But I strongly believe that leadership without authority is a really important skill set really to build up, because it's just not one thing. As I've already described, I've gone through the different aspects that make leadership without authority effective, and if you can develop those skill sets, you also, if you're in a sales environment, it will definitely help your sales ability, your ability to work with other clients, and if you're not in a sales environment, if you're in a more of a management role, it will definitely help you to work with your peers so other parts of the same business, and if you deal with external companies, it might be a supplier, it might be a local agent, whoever it might be. Having that skill set can make you very, very effective in getting a good outcome with whoever it is that you're working with. So that is it for this podcast. I hope you found that useful and I'll speak to you in the next podcast. So bye for now.