Leading Without Authority
Cross-functional leadership is where everything gets harder and more interesting.
You have no authority over half the people on your team. Your budget doesn‘t control their resources. You can‘t promote or fire them. But you‘re supposed to get them to prioritize your work, adopt your vision, and move at your speed.
Unless you understand how influence actually works, that‘s not leading. It‘s hoping.
I learned this in peace negotiations. You‘re constantly leading people over whom you have zero authority. You can‘t issue orders. You can‘t threaten consequences. You have to build trust, clarify stakes, and create conditions where people want to move with you. That skill transfers directly to cross-functional leadership.
Most people approach this wrong. They try to be likeable. They accommodate. They hope that if they‘re nice enough, people will come along. That‘s weak leadership. Cross-functional leadership is leadership without authority—Heifetz‘s concept of exercising leadership from a position that doesn‘t come with formal power. It requires clarity, strategic alignment, and naming reality—all in service of getting exceptional work done together.
Step 1: Clarity on What Actually Has to Happen
Before you do anything else, be clear—internally—about what the actual work is and what success looks like.
Not “collaboration.“ Not “alignment.“ The real outcome. What has to be true for this to work? What are you asking people to do?
Get specific. Write it down. This is your north star.
Then get clear on the constraints. Timeline? Non-negotiables? What can flex? What are the hard limits? You need to know this before you start negotiating with other functions.
Step 2: Strategic Stakeholder Mapping
Map your stakeholders using factions analysis. Don‘t look at individuals—look through the person to the faction they represent. Who needs to be on board? Who has the power to block it, even quietly? Who are your natural allies? Who‘s going to push back—and why? Who‘s neutral and persuadable?
Now think about what each faction actually cares about. Not what you think they should care about. What are their metrics? What does success look like for their function? And critically—what do they stand to lose if your initiative succeeds? Because resistance to cross-functional work is almost always rational. People aren‘t being difficult. They‘re protecting something real: their priorities, their resources, their team‘s autonomy.
This is the same work I did in conflict settings—understanding what each party actually needs and what they fear losing. Without that understanding, you‘re guessing. And guessing in cross-functional leadership is how you lose people.
Step 3: One-on-One Conversations Before the Group Meeting
Before you call a cross-functional meeting, talk to people individually. You‘re building alignment privately so the public conversation is confirmation, not negotiation.
The Reality Mirror: “I know you‘re managing [their priorities]. I know that [their constraint] is real. I‘m not trying to make that harder.“ You‘re acknowledging their reality. This builds trust.
The Specific Ask: Don‘t say, “I need your partnership.“ Say: “I need two engineering resources for six weeks. They‘d do X. It would impact Y. Here‘s why it matters.“
The Stakes: “If we don‘t get this right, here‘s what breaks. Here‘s who it impacts.“
The Reciprocal Offer: “What do you need from me? What would make this easier from your perspective?“
Step 4: Create Clear Decision-Making Structure
Who decides what? When? With input from whom? What‘s the escalation path if people disagree?
Get explicit about this early. It prevents confusion later.
As the cross-functional leader, you‘re probably making some decisions but not all. Some belong to individual functions. Some are collaborative. Get clear on the difference. And give people real input within clear boundaries: “I‘m going to make this decision by Friday. I want your thinking by Wednesday.“
Step 5: Maintain Momentum and Manage the Dynamic
Once you‘ve launched, you‘re constantly managing.
Regular check-ins with stakeholders—individual, not just group. Not status updates. Actual conversations about how things are working, what‘s breaking, what needs to shift.
Watch for: commitment slipping, blockages that aren‘t being named, shifted priorities on someone‘s team, fatigue or frustration. Address these quickly. The longer they simmer, the more damage they do.
And deliver on what you said you‘d deliver on. Credibility in cross-functional work is built on following through, being responsive, and not creating surprise work for people.
The Influence Equation
Influence without clarity is manipulation. Clarity with influence is leadership. Robert Cialdini identified six principles of influence—reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity. In cross-functional work, the most powerful of these is reciprocity: when you genuinely help another function succeed, they become invested in your success. That‘s not transactional. That‘s how trust works.
Be clear on the work. Collaborative on the how. Ask for thinking. Listen. Adjust based on what you learn. Then decide. Don‘t re-litigate endlessly.
The leaders who do cross-functional work exceptionally well understand that influence is a form of power—and like all power, it requires discipline, clarity, and genuine respect for the people you‘re asking to move.