Although the trend of assigning project and task responsibilities metrixed across different functional organizations started in the mid ‘70s, working across organizational boundaries to get things done have become a norm in today’s “flat hierarchies” (an oxymoron in its own right!). One of the key concerns my clients have during our coaching sessions is how to get things done when those who need to deliver on my clients’ projects are not reporting to them, but are merely assigned—as a shared resource—to them during the course of their project responsibilities. This concern of how to influence diverse team members with their reporting loyalties to different managers does not limit itself to organizational projects or assignments, but extends beyond these boundaries to our everyday lives, too.

Influencing others, even those who do not share an organizational obligation to help you, extends in everyday lives to people engaged in public service such as city officials and others who hold power over you by virtue of what you need to get done with their help. So, if you look at the whole universe of people that one encounters to deal with to get what they want, there must be some mechanisms and tools available to leverage your influence over others when they are not obligated to accommodate your needs. So, how does one get things done without direct authority over someone, who can make or break your mission by how they respond to your asks?

This issue of team members reporting to you without line authority often comes up during transitions individual contributors (ICs) make to line management roles, even though they may already have a management title. It is not uncommon these days to hold a director title with no direct reports. Many director-level roles are individual contributors, especially when they are holding positions in Product Management, Professional Services, and Project Management, among other such roles. Here, again, their entire team is metrixed to them in an accordion model; team members come and go as the project cycle “breathes” through its various phases.

For this group of professionals interview questions that get in the way of their reaching the terminal offer stage typically get hung up around this exact topic: How many people did you manage and how did you manage without authority? A concomitant question that also stumps these candidates: what is the difference between metrixed teams and direct reports when it comes to team management and how will you handle this transition?

This blog is aimed at answering some of these pesky questions that often stump professionals in these situations. This blog is not written just to address these interview questions, but also to guide those who want to be more effective in their roles as metrixed managers.

Here are some of the tools that can help you win teams and influence others and also get you thinking about the right responses to these interview questions:

Enter the WIIFM factor: Direct reports or not, this concept is a powerful tool to get people to consider a perspective that helping you in what you want to get done will also benefit them in return. WIIFM is an acronym of What’s In It For Me. Regardless of the person’s station in life and regardless of their relationship with you (metrixed, direct, or transactional) WIIFM plays a powerful role in getting the person whose help you want to see your point of view with some engagement. In a few cases the WIIFM factor is obvious (e.g., your direct line manager asking for you to do a task is a peremptory point of organizational norm; saying no in such cases may put your job in jeopardy almost immediately!). Even in such clear-cut command-and-control relationships a WIIFM factor can further catalyze the action as a lubricant to convey the order in a more enthusiastic vein. For example, “Joe, if you take on this difficult project I’ll give you the best resources I have, and if you succeed on it, I’ll recommend you for a promotion! Just imagine what it can do for your résumé!” Such strong WIIFM when persuading your own reluctant team member can tip the scales in your favor, with enthusiastic induction.

As your relationship becomes less direct (more metrixed or transactional) your options vary on how to create this WIIFM for the actor you want to persuade. For example if you are a program manager persuading a rock star from one of the functional groups to join your team, you can inveigle them with the appropriate incentive within your power and authority to get them on-boarded: I’ll let you run your part of the project on your own terms, letting you manage your own resources; or I’ll buy you that software tool you were waiting for last year to use on my project and then you can keep it for your own use after the project is delivered, etc.

But, before you ply them with these concessions make sure that you have done your homework on what is important to them to tip their decision in your favor with alacrity. Many often make the mistake of offering these actors what is selfishly important to them personally, which often fails to move the actor’s needle! So, if a paid trip to Hawaii is what motivates you, do not assume that the rock star you are trying to on board has the same attraction to that resort! If you are not sure, simply ask!

The same approach can work in a transactional exchange as well. For example, if the building inspector is complaining about all the variances that they have to audit before approval of the building permit, start by praising their work and simply listening to their plight. Then say, “This plan is so thoroughly developed, you’ll be hard pressed to find any variances.” This challenge alone may be a strong enough WIIFM for them to take on your inspection before they do others’. Besides, listening to their everyday plight has ingratiated yourself to them to be more receptive to you!

Influence without Authority: Running teams that are metrixed to your task or project requires a different type of leadership—influencing leadership—than it does when these teams report to you as their line manager. Although a WIIFM factor plays a role in motivating any team to deliver inspired work, its implied power plays a significant role in how line managers get their work done through their own teams. Here, persuasion and influencing work much more effectively than does ordering your teams around.

Although in such a dynamic the teams may comply with their manager’s “orders,” lack of express commitment may vitiate the quality of what is delivered and how it is delivered. When teams feel coerced under a bullying boss a variety of dysfunctions surface: passive aggressive behaviors; compliance, not commitment; finger pointing; and lack of esprit de corps. All these factors become norms for teams that are run by coercive and bullying bosses and the unfortunate part of it is that these managers never learn to experience the flip side of their dysfunction. They often gloat when their teams shake in terror in front of their manager; the manager wears that as their badge of honor!

Now the Interview Question: Coming to the interview questions discussed earlier, it is best to respond to these questions related to team management in the context of how effective you are influencing teams to follow your lead. You can further assert that influencing without direct authority requires a higher form of leadership than does “leadership” rooted in direct management authority. If you can cite some examples of influencing leadership in this discussion it can be a powerful acknowledgement of how your already effective leadership can further your power when you are given the direct line authority.

This is a powerful argument for influencing those interviewers, who feel that if you have not managed a team directly you are not experienced enough to run your team as their direct line manager. You must learn how to counter this perception using the line of argument presented here. I hope that you can make it work for you!

Good luck!