Influencing without Authority: Change People’s Opinions by Showing You Care

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When I was a junior product manager, just starting out, I had to learn to get consensus on projects before the company would sign off on them and before the team would start working on them.
It was a two-stage process: Get sign-off from the higher-ups and get sign-off from the team that would be working on it.
Here was the catch: Nobody worked for me. I had no authority over anyone at all, just a head on my shoulders, some data analysis and visualization skills, and a big mouth that wanted to tell people what to do.
It didn’t always work out.
So, I had to learn… how do you influence people, change their opinions and their behaviors, when you don’t have any place in the hierarchy and nothing to threaten them with?
There’s no hint of them losing their jobs if they disagree with you and that’s a good thing!
Can you imagine an immature person firing a project manager because he or she didn’t get what they wanted? I can imagine it, but it’s not a pretty picture.
Anyway, I learned that it’s really not too difficult to influence without authority. It comes down to you having showing three basic characteristics:
1. You CARE about the person you're talking to and trying to persuade.
2. You CARE about your customers and the people you're trying to help.
3. You CARE about the company you work for, their bottom line and their strategy.
Let's get into what caring looks like in practice in this podcast episode.

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