291 : The Consolation Prize
You've seen the phrase a hundred times. 'Influence without authority.'
It shows up in leadership programmes, competency frameworks, and performance reviews like it's a skill you can simply learn.
Here's what nobody seems to remember: the people with the most influence in your organisation almost never have the most seniority.
Those people shape the decision before the meeting starts. They build trust so consistently that people seek them out, not because they have to, because the thinking gets better when they're involved.
That's a kind of power no organisation chart can grant, and no restructure can take away.
So why do most of us still chase the title first? Why do we assume authority is the prerequisite, when the evidence keeps saying it's the consolation prize?
Authority lets you announce things. Influence lets you achieve them. Most leaders live between those two positions, some never choose where they should stand.
I wrote about what actually making the choice this week. Four habits. None of them are what "influence training" teaches you.
The people who choose influence over authority
Matt
Stuff I'm Reading
- If you're sitting with uncertainty right now, Simone Stolzoff's five questions for navigating the unknown are worth ten minutes. Influence often means acting before you have the full picture.
- Wes Kao wrote about what to do if you're not detail-oriented. The answer isn't "try harder." It's "build systems that compensate." Practical and honest - the Matt in the example is not me!
- Casey Newton has the best argument I've heard for why AI won't take your job. Your job will survive. You just won't recognise it.
- And MIT Technology Review named what many of us are feeling: AI malaise. The technology is clearly here and not going away. We just don't have the tools to measure what it's actually doing to us yet. Worth the read.
Finally. Landmarkr. I absolutely LOVE this daily guessing game that takes you somehere new!
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