Working in a pharmaceutical or biotechnology company often means interacting in a cross-matrix environment. Project teams are made up of people with different responsibilities. They represent different functions, and they all come together to work on a project. Team members may have conflicting priorities and motivations, and even the team leaders are not their direct managers. Therefore, learning to “influence without authority,” that is, to influence others without directly managing them, is a useful skill for succeeding in this work environment
Cross-functional or Cross-matrix environment means that there are different functions represented on a project team. For example, a therapeutic development team may include members representing Discovery, Translational Research, Clinical Development, Medical Safety, Toxicology, Project Management and Pharmacology. Each person is responsible for representing a specific function, but no one directly manages a person from another function.
When do you need to influence without authority?
To complete our responsibilities at work, we often have to rely on others outside of our direct line of management. These might be people who also work on the same project. Oftentimes, the challenge is that team members have other projects and responsibilities that pull them in other directions. For example, a discovery lead may need a pathology lead to review immunohistochemistry staining of a potential new target. However, the pathology lead may have a queue of other projects to do in addition to reviewing new target identifications.
Another challenge could be that the responsibilities are in conflict. For example, a biomarker lead may want to collect additional samples to understand the mechanism of a therapeutic. However, a clinical lead may want to limit sample collection to enroll and execute the trial more efficiently.
Given that projects have interdependent activities requiring multiple team members to work together, how can you make sure that projects progress? I share several proven strategies and techniques in this post to successfully influence without authority.
Get to know team members on a personal level
People are more likely to help those that they know personally rather than someone they do not know. Exerting influence without authority is a lot easier when there is a level of trust established. In general, people are less likely to act if a request for help comes from a stranger. This is just human nature.
One way to get to know your matrix partners is to set up one-on-one introductory meetings with them. Usually, this should happen when you first start a new job or project. Ask your team members about their roles and background. Try to understand their perspectives. Doing this is paramount prior to making requests in your role. Understanding what people value will help you shape your arguments in a fashion that has more impact. Having others understand your role and needs will hopefully avoid conflict in the future when you provide input.
Moreover, I find that I have a lot in common with colleagues. I do enjoy spending time with them when I can. For example, when I was a biomarker lead, the clinical scientist on my project worked in the next cubicle. We were often chatting or joking with each other. Because we had a close relationship, I was familiar with our clinical development status at all times. Therefore, I could effectively prioritize samples and sample analysis. I also knew his research background, so I had regular meetings to share data. I trusted him with communicating complex datasets on my behalf given our relationship and his background.
Introduce ideas in a way so they take root
When there is a novel idea or a concern to be addressed, it is better to feel out the idea in a small group setting rather than introduce the idea within a large group setting. You want to avoid having people feel defensive when challenged during a large group environment. When I meet with key stakeholders individually, I can give them my perspective. I can share my ideas in an informal and relaxed environment. After that, when the larger meeting occurs, I sometimes find that they have incorporated my ideas into their plan or already addressed my concerns. I view this as a win!
Another way to influence without authority and introduce an idea so that it takes root is by understanding the perspective of the decision maker. One example described in a recent episode of Hidden Brain is how employees at Apple convinced Steve Jobs to make the iPhone. They knew he was against making iPhones. Therefore, rather than saying “Let’s make an iPhone,” to which he immediately would respond “No!” they had to plant the right seeds. They would say “Oh, you hate your phone; if you could improve it, what would you want?” and “We made the iPod so that people carry all their music in their pocket; what would it be like if people could carry other aspects of their life in their pocket?” By appealing to his sense of curiosity and imagination, they planted the right seeds for their ideas to take root.
Sometimes, a great idea needs nurturing so that it can move forward at the right time. Change does not often happen overnight. In fact, big ideas sometimes happen incrementally, and/or team members introduce them slowly over time.
Appeal to impact
Each person in a cross-functional team has a unique objective that they value. For example, the safety physician values safety. The clinical lead values clinical efficacy and progressing clinical development in a timely manner. The biomarker lead values demonstration of pharmacodynamics, while the clinical pharmacologists value demonstration of pharmacokinetics. When presenting an idea or a business need to the greater team, it is important to state WHY something is needed and what IMPACT it has. It is important to frame the need in terms of what the team or stakeholder values. Just simply asking for something is not enough. An effective strategy to influence without authority must include relating the need to the impact of the overall program.
For example, in a previous role, I asked the clinical development team for a budget for a mouse experiment. After I presented my request, the team admonished me to show WHY the mouse experiment was important. The clinical leader had difficulty in understanding how a mouse experiment would help the clinical program to move forward. I quickly learned to frame preclinical experiments and data the way the clinical team valued them. I had to make the connections between preclinical data and clinical implications. Moreover, I needed to be clear and state the impact upfront and then again with the request.
It’s important to present data and results in a way that is easy to understand by all team members, no matter their expertise. I also learned that I could adjust the level of details and specifics for different teams. Some team members wanted more details than others. In addition, I coached discovery and translational scientists to adjust their presentations according to the audience.
Once I learned these skills, getting my requests or needs fulfilled became easier.
Find common ground to influence without authority
Negotiations might sometimes feel like a tug-of-war. Thus, psychologists have found that the best negotiators often lead with generating an understanding and building towards a common goal. They tend to think about the success of the other party, as much as their own. Within a project, one should initial the conversation with the mutual goal and establish common ground during the conversation. Then, ask questions about how the other person feels about the proposed solutions so that you can understand their perspective. Keeping both perspectives and the uniting goal in mind, most people can work together to find a solution that works for all parties that moves the project forward.
Recruit advocates
We may often have a good idea but not be in the best position to present that idea in the most influential way. Therefore, one strategy to exert more influence without authority is leveraging relationships with others so that they can promote the idea. Your colleagues or team members might already have an established relationship, be in a more influential position or can appeal to the values of the people you are trying to influence better than you can. For example, if you anticipate that there will be conflicting opinions or challenges to your proposals, meet with others that you know will agree with you ahead of time such that they can either present your idea on your behalf or show support during the meeting.
In my previous translational science role, I needed to influence a particular V.P. to endorse a translational plan. Therefore, I would first talk to my molecular pathologist lead. He always provided relevant clinical insights and could advocate for me as needed.
Be Prepared
In addition to meeting with advocates ahead of major meetings, it is also important to understand the perspective of others who may not agree with your plan. Understand what the pain points are, why they are pain points as well as what your team members value. Clarify if there are any misunderstandings. Addressing or acknowledging the limitations of your proposal will make you appear more credible. In addition, you will appear well prepared during the larger meeting.
One of my associates would always meet with another lab member before his presentations. Because the other lab member was very vocal, he wanted to get his perspectives and input prior to the larger meeting. This way, he could revise the presentation upfront and acknowledge the concerns and limitations without being caught off guard.
Demonstrate value
Often, when you are new to a particular team or project, one way to establish credibility and influence without authority is to demonstrate value. Is there value that you can bring that can change how people think about you? Having a few easy wins upfront will help you establish some authority in your particular subject area. Helping others and having them understand how you can help them will encourage them to be more accepting of your ideas and concerns.
You may wonder, “Well, how do I bring value?” This is where the one-on-one conversations you have with team members can come in handy for investigating the best approaches. Ask them what keeps them awake at night when it comes to the project. Think about what you might be able to do to help solve some of those problems. Maybe that’s utilizing your network to identify the right key opinion leader who can provide clinical insights about a treatment landscape. Or, maybe it’s an analysis of existing data that can help a team make some decisions when there is no other available evidence to support the decision.
Think about the “how” to influence without authority
Nurturing a respectful, amicable working relationship is key to mediating work-related questions and concerns in the future. However, in a virtual world now, getting to know your colleagues personally is a lot more challenging. Previously, when working in person, there were more opportunities for coffee hours, occasional lunches and other informal gatherings. Now, influencing without authority in the virtual work environment requires additional effort. I suggest setting up regular meetings with key stakeholders. Ask them how they are doing on the personal level: ask about their week, the weather, the pandemic, etc. Find what you have in common, and talk to them about that prior to launching into work-related issues.
Make a list of goals for your position. Then consider how to accomplish those goals. Consider not just what you accomplish but also how you accomplished your goals. If you have to bully people to get your job done, then you are not doing your job.
For each of the tasks needed to accomplish your goal, outline all the people you will have to interact with to complete those tasks. Go out of your way to treat those people with respect and kindness. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there something you can help them with?
- Are there people that can help you influence them?
- Are there things that they value that you can use in your presentation or discussion?
- What is the common goal that unites you?
Using all of these tools together will help you accomplish your goals and also help to establish a more thoughtful and pleasant working environment.
Have perspective
The overall goal for every company is to succeed. Therefore, it’s important to recognize the goals of the company, not just of the individual. Aligning with the goals of the company should help prioritize projects and objectives. Unfortunately, I have worked in environments where everything is treated as critical. When every objective is critical, then nothing is actually critical. Everything marked as “high priority” when it is not leads to a toxic workplace. That is because team members try to push others out of the way to get their objectives accomplished.
A helpful perspective to maintain is that your project may not be the most valuable. Other work may be higher priority. It may mean being creative when there are limited resources. Indeed, you may have to be realistic about what a team can accomplish. In fact, you may need to invite innovation for how something needs to be accomplished. This may mean paring down the project to only the components that are truly important rather than doing everything at once.
Sometimes, unrealistic timelines come from upper management. I suggest always setting realistic expectations with yourself and with team members. Fabricating or accepting unrealistic timelines in order to get something accomplished is not recommended. If you state when something is higher priority versus lower priority and demonstrate where timelines come from, then people will be more likely to accept your plan of action. When something comes along that is truly high priority, you will have strong relationships in place to execute in a timely fashion.
Show appreciation
When people feel valued, they want to continue working with you in the future. You can motivate people so that they feel the work they did was valuable and appreciated.
One way to show appreciation is to send your team members a thank you email. You can also CC their managers or send additional emails to inform their managers. You may also show appreciation by leveraging workplace awards. If someone went out of their way for you, a workplace award associated with money or a small gift is a nice way to say thank you.
You can also show appreciation by leading by example. When I managed my own laboratory, during the long experiments, I worked late nights and drove my lab members home after midnight on occasion. When I moved into an individual contributor role and relied on a translational research laboratory, I worked collaboratively to design the experiments and results interpretation. If there was a way I could help, including re-graphing data and ordering the reagents, I tried to make my collaborators feel appreciated.
Even now that I am not in the laboratory, I am always looking for ways to help my colleagues help me orchestrate my proposed strategies and tactics. When someone needs help, I enjoy jumping in. I demonstrate to others that I appreciate and value the work that they do. It also helps me feel more like a team member rather than a dictator. I also always try to review the work that others do for me in a timely manner with constructive comments as needed. Giving my time is often the best way to show appreciation.
Finally, giving credit to others is important. When you are presenting the work of others, acknowledge that they did the work. If the person who did the work is more junior than you, then it is important to consider whether you can step out of the way and provide others the career development opportunity to present that work. If that can be the case, then also give oversight as needed to coach them for the audience and opportunity. Your ability and track record for providing career development opportunities will inspire and motivate others to continue working with you.
Last thoughts on how to successfully influence without authority
In the workplace, everyone feels that their objectives are the most important. They feel that they need to accomplish their goals to move ahead - whether that is a promotion or getting the project to an important milestone. Therefore, success in the cross-functional environment means influencing team members to endorse your ideas or priorities even if you have no authority over them.
What do you think of these strategies? Do you have other strategies that have worked for you?