12d (edited) • Influence & Communication
🧠On Influence Without Authority
Something most people notice pretty quickly once they step into a leadership role is this:
You’re expected to get things moving — but you can’t actually tell many people what to do.
They don’t report to you. They might not even be in your team. In some cases, you might not have a team at all.
You might still be accountable for the outcome. You might be the one explaining it upwards. You might even be the one catching the heat when it doesn’t land.
And yet, the final decisions sit elsewhere. This is often where leadership starts to feel quietly draining.
As an expert, influence was fairly simple. You knew the thing. You explained the thing. People listened — because they knew you knew the thing.
Now you can explain it perfectly and it still doesn’t land.
So you try again.
More detail.
Clearer logic.
Another meeting.
Another PowerPoint.
That usually doesn’t help.
This isn’t because you’re doing it badly. It's because leadership influence works differently from technical expertise — and almost no one explains that when you step into these roles.
For now, don’t worry about fixing this or doing influence “better”. Just notice where you’re already being asked to operate without authority.
đź‘€ A few reflections to sit with:
- Where are you carrying responsibility without real control?
- Who do you need alignment from, rather than approval?
- Where are you explaining more but getting less movement?
- What part of this feels most tiring right now?
No need to share unless it’s useful.Noticing is enough for now.
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🧠On Influence Without Authority
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