19 Tips for Leading those who Don't have to Follow You

Get 19 concise and easy to understand tips  to help you lead those who don’t have to follow you.  Use the handy self-assessment questions to help you identify where you need to improve and put in place the change needed to be a more effective leader.

Summary:
More is being asked of the 21st century organizational leader than was asked even in the late 90s.  Financial belt-tightening is a continued reality, leaders must do more with less, but the problems and issues continue to get more complex.  Moreover,
leaders are required to work in increasingly complex environments of matrix organizations and where key functions are performed by third-party providers.  Challenges for leaders will only get tougher and more complex.

One area in which leaders will  continually find challenges is the leading and inspiring of employees  who don’t organizationally report to the leader.  Whether the situation  exists in matrix organizations, multi-company initiatives, or  cross-departmental projects, the leader will need to operate out of  influence in driving others to produce a desired result as opposed to relying on the phrase, “because I’m the boss.” 

Before we get  too deep, let’s put the concept of “leading those who don’t have to  follow” in context.  Throughout this action guide, I will use an example of a team comprised of members from different departments thrown  together under a team leader to solve an organizational problem.  The  example possesses the following characteristics:

- There is a mandate established by an organizational manager to accomplish something which requires team members from multiple departments within the  organization to get it done.
- A team leader is appointed and held accountable for driving a team to meet the mandate.
- The team leader may be part of the organization or an organizational outsider.
- Either some or all of the team members do not organizationally report to the team leader.
-  Team members are not required to follow the team leader; if the team  leader doesn’t prove himself to the team, the members can choose to follow or not follow.
- Team members and the team leader may or may not know much about each other’s departments.
- Once the mandate is met, the team members will go back to their home departments and the team will disperse. 

This Seminar focuses on five tried-and-true techniques a team leader can implement to help a disparate team align behind a mandate and follow a leader, not because the team has to follow the leader, but  because the team wants to follow the leader.  I have succeeded many  times using these techniques, and have failed a number of times because I didn’t use the techniques to drive my team.  My sincere hope is that  you are able to use the experience in this Self-Study Seminar to lead  your cross-organizational teams and drive success in your organization.

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