Friday Forum: Managing People -- Leading Without Authority: Leading from Anywhere
Some of the most important leadership you do has nothing to do with your org chart. You lead peers, partner teams, and stakeholders who don’t report to you, and no title will do that work for you.
In this session, we’ll start with a basic question: what is authority, and where does it actually come from? From there, we’ll look at how to lead from wherever you sit.
Topics we’ll explore:
What authority is, and how formal authority differs from the influence people actually grant you
How trust, credibility, and clarity do the work a title would otherwise do
Building alignment one person at a time before the formal decision
Leading up, across, and into teams you don’t manage
This is for you if:
You’re responsible for outcomes that depend on people who don’t report to you
You manage people and still need to move work through teams outside your control
You want practical ways to lead without waiting for a bigger title or scope
Not for you if:
You’re looking for a script to win every disagreement
You want a lecture with no room for discussion
Come with a real situation where you need to move something forward without the authority to mandate it. We’ll work through it together.
Join Seattle Tech Forum for our monthly virtual meetup for people managers! Whether you’re in tech or not, if you manage, mentor or lead people in your organization, this is a place for you to connect with a like-minded peer group.
Have questions or other inquiries related to this series? Reach out to us at info@seattletechforum.org.