August CMM (In-Person)
Leading Without Authority Through Work Clarity
Andrew Toro & Chris Snell
Project managers are often expected to lead outcomes without owning the reporting relationships, resources, or functional decisions needed to deliver those outcomes. In cross-functional teams, this challenge becomes even harder when the project is already moving, ownership is unclear, decisions are delayed, risks are hidden, or the project leader does not fully understand how the work is actually being done.
This session introduces a practical leadership premise: knowing the work is how project leaders earn trust, create clarity, and lead without direct authority. When project leaders understand the work, they gain more than information. They gain credibility. They are better able to ask the right questions, engage the right people, show respect for the people performing the work, identify risks earlier, and influence both team members and formal decision-makers.
Participants will explore how to start where the project actually is, create clarity where the work is most unclear, and expand influence from there. The session connects practical leadership behaviors with the information project leaders need for communication, stakeholder engagement, risk identification, issue management, decisions, and follow-through.
Learning Objectives:
- Why leading without authority is difficult in cross-functional teams.
- How knowing the work creates credibility and influence.
- Why understanding the work shows respect and builds trust.
- How to identify where clarity is needed first.
- How work clarity improves the information used for planning, communication, risk, issues, decisions, and follow-through.
Speakers
