There were many speculations about why this is occurring, but one of the more interesting comments of the day was one from one of our more senior board members and instructors on the need for young professionals to practice the “art of influence without authority.” Many of the younger students in his classroom he noticed were convinced that leadership was synonymous with a position and many were struggling with issues of influence and persuasion while lacking official authority and power.

Influence without authority, on the other hand, requires a high-touch, people focused approach that involves winning people over and requires a lot of additional energy. Any manager can easily enact a new policy that forces people to change. A true test of leadership (and a situation that many young leaders find themselves in) is to produce change without the organizational and authoritative levers and power to make it happen.

The reaction from many of these young leaders is one primarily of frustration, specifically slanted towards positional authority as an end goal to producing change and becoming a leader (“if I only had the authority I would be a great leader”). Influence requires an entirely different skill-set and is one that is great (if not essential) to practice. The next time you get frustrated with your lack of authority to produce change, think about what this situation is trying to teach you and how you can practice the art of influence to win people over.

Are there times when you’ve been frustrated with your lack of positional authority? What are some additional ways you could practice the art of influence without authority?