How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority

by Clay Scroggins

But instead of allowing that thought to take me down the path of pride and bitterness, I’ve tried to stay low, humble, and hungry.

rainbow-puking unicorn

In these moments, we are most susceptible to believing the lie that we must be in charge in order to get done what we want to get done.

Every good leader is also a critical thinker.

They start by questioning things. Why do we do it this way? Is there a better way? What would happen if we stopped that? Why is this working? What’s the real “win” here?

Asking questions is at the heart of critical thinking. Questions challenge assumptions. Questions uncover the invisible forces behind behaviors and actions.

Being observant is another key leadership quality, because as we carefully observe things, we are able to better determine cause-and-effect relationships.

Critical thinkers are also able to connect things. Similar to the ability to observe, critical thinkers are able to observe and then make connections between seemingly disconnected behaviors and feelings.

Owners see things others don’t see. Owners have more buy-in than others do. Owners care more deeply because their future depends on it.

Cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman says that seventy-two percent of people get creative ideas in the shower.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary says it well: “To fear man ensnares in the sense that one’s actions are controlled or confined by the person who is dreaded.”

Every time I talk about critical thinking with leaders, I ask this question: “What is the key difference between someone who is critical and someone who is a critical thinker?”

Motive.

People who are great critical thinkers want you to win.

no one intentionally steps into a snare.

If you can’t talk about it without getting emotional, you’re not ready to talk about it.

If authority brings us a feeling of control, the lack of that authority makes us feel, acutely, our lack of control.

Worse, when I make decisions to move forward and those decisions get overturned by “those in charge,” I tend to respond by sitting on my hands, passively.

Taking away the monkey bars has led to the walking contradiction we see in this risk-averse, overconfident generation of young leaders.

Anyone who has created anything has done it through intentionality.

The best teammates are those who are willing to share ideas, who are able to withstand their idea not being used, and who understand when they’re asked to carry something outside of their job description for a season.

When you wait for your boss to tell you what to do, your boss then has to think about how to do their job and your job.

Reactivity perpetuates passivity. Passivity causes me to feel stuck.