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

by Clay Scroggins

A small view of God leads to an outlook of despair. An outlook of despair for the future will lead to being consumed with your present circumstances.

There is a confidence that comes from believing that God has you where he wants you.

Hope is a confident expectation of something good to come. The basis of our Christian faith is that our God is a God who is always able, always moving, and always working on our behalf. Even when it feels like he’s silent, he’s never distant.

More important than making the right decision is owning the decision handed to you and making it right.

The greatest benefit I bring my team is not my talents, gifts, experience, or education. It’s my energy.

You are not ready for your boss’s job. Why would I say that? Because you’re not in your boss’s job.

if I’m frustrated with the job I don’t have, maybe I still have work to do.

Followers of Christ know that we are who we are and are where we are today because of God.

God’s mighty hand is strong enough to lift any of us up out of any circumstance, we can trust him and we can have hope for the future.

If you are creating something great, your time will come. And if your time hasn’t come yet, keep working to create something great.

Maybe, if your skills have not been noticed, it’s because your skills have not been developed like they need to be.

Questions challenge assumptions. Questions uncover the invisible forces behind behaviors and actions.

“What is the key difference between someone who is critical and someone who is a critical thinker?” After a few moments, someone shouts out my favorite answer. Motive.

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

And as you learn to think critically, never forget that the towel is the way God leads us, and it is always more powerful than the clipboard.

One of the most dangerous temptations we face when we’re working for someone else is passivity.

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. That’s remaining openhanded.

no one else could fix or ruin my life.

“You will never passively find what you do not actively pursue.”

I saw a bumper sticker that said, “There are two things I hate: Change and the way things are.” And your boss was driving the car.

Great leaders don’t get defensive.

the more passionate and invested you are in the topic or position being challenged, the more personally you take the challenge.

When a leader is feeling criticized by change, it doesn’t mean they are a leader driven solely by insecurity.

Great leaders challenge up with the best motives.

Great leaders are keenly aware of what the boss is most interested in.

Great leaders know what’s core and what’s peripheral.

Great leaders challenge up quietly, but they are not silent.

Existing paradigms can change, but it takes wisdom, patience, and the right strategy. You don’t need authority, but you will need influence. You don’t have to be the one in charge to shift the paradigm and challenge the status quo. You can do it from the seat you’re sitting in right now, but you must still learn to challenge well.

constantly comparing your church to another church is like comparing your spouse to a former relationship. It never goes well.

definitive statements shut down conversation.

An ultimatum eventually undermines your own leadership.

how well you challenge will determine how much you change.

when you decide to challenge up, nothing is more important than the relationship you have with the person you’re challenging.

Choose what’s important to the other person as more important than what’s important to you. The other person is not more important than you, but act as if they are.

Leadership is not simply a matter of authority. Leadership is about influence.

Be convinced that God put your boss in their position.

God created the channels of authority and God works through authority. It’s pretty clear that God is a fan of authority.

The more convinced you are that God has appointed the authorities over you, the more responsible you will be with how you challenge them.

To build trust, practice faithfulness.

Bring up disagreements when emotions are low.

“Hey, this rarely happens, but I’m sure it will. When I disagree with something I see, what’s the best way to bring that up with you?”

Champion publicly. Challenge privately.

If you think you have it all figured out, that you possess all knowledge, facts, and insight about this situation, what will your posture likely be?

“Humans are the only creatures who are able to behave irrationally in the name of reason.”3

There is always information you’re lacking that can help you understand the situation more clearly.

If you can’t stay emotionally neutral about a situation, you’re not ready to bring it up.

You cannot allow your emotions to lead you to say things you would regret if you hope to maintain influence with others.

“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”

Bringing a call for change can be empty if we don’t make it very clear why we are bringing this challenge. What’s the meaning?

Great leaders know how to lead when they’re in charge because they’ve been leading long before they were ever given that authority.