Managing Beyond Authority: Getting Results without Pulling Rank

Builds skills to help people manage the political terrain, use expertise and trust networks, and establish long-term credibility, while also achieving short-term results.

Overview

This award-winning program was developed with Stanford University to address a very common, but challenging, situation that leaders face in today’s organizations. The situation occurs when a leader needs to achieve bottom-line results, but doesn’t want to or can’t rely on position power to achieve them. Executives face this situation because their initiatives often require a greater level of commitment, initiative, and energy than can be achieved through power alone. They have position power, but know they can’t use it. Project managers face this situation because the project-management environment gives them very little formal authority. They have little if any position power, but know they must accomplish their project goals.

Managing Beyond Authority uses two Harvard Business School case studies, challenging models, and engaging practice to show participants how to build, maintain, and exercise the kind of credibility required to achieve results without relying on formal authority.

Objectives

Participants are able to:

• Analyze the organizational dynamics that are driving or impeding a decision.

• Build support and understanding for an initiative.
• Establish long-term relationships of trust and credibility.
• Manage priorities and resources with managers across the organization.
• Hold project partners accountable for deadlines and deliverables.
• Address performance problems with people who don’t report to them.
• Deal with angry customers, partners, employees, and managers.
• Keep projects on track despite the complexities of your project-based matrix environment.

Tailored to Schedules and Participant Needs

Interact has three standard versions of Managing Beyond Authority, each designed to work optimally within a different set of time parameters. In addition, Interact creates custom versions to meet customers’ exact needs.
 

Six “Half-Day” Sessions

This version is designed to be trained in six half-day sessions conducted once a week with an optional seventh session that serves as a review to reinforce and refine the skills.

 

One “Two-and-a-Half Day” Sessions

This version is designed to be trained as a two-and-a-half day seminar.

 

Two “Half-Day” Sessions

This version is designed for participants who have already completed Interact’s Performance Problem Solving program. It includes both Harvard Business School case studies and the strategic influence skills. It omits all of the tactical skills built in Performance Problem Solving.

Tailored to Categories of Employees

Interact has tailored versions of Managing Beyond Authority to meet the needs of different categories of people. This tailoring comes from practice cards that have been developed using focus groups composed of employees from customers we have served. Below is a list of applications that Interact has already created. These cards are ready for you to use. In addition, Interact creates custom versions to meet a customer’s exact needs.

Executives and Managers: The focus of this version is on managers who have a lot of authority, but who need more from their people than obedience can provide. These managers know they need understanding, alignment, and commitment, not people following orders.

Project Managers and Individual Contributors: The focus of this version is on project managers and individual contributors who have little or no formal authority. These people often have a lot of responsibility, but little position power. They must be able to get things done without pulling rank, because they have no rank.
 

One version for all industries or choose from a variety of industry-specific situations.