Influencing Without Authority- HOW???

I met with a Sr. VP of a Fortune 25 company last week and we talked about how to get things done in a highly matrixed organization. The conversation lasted about an hour and we came to the conclusion that the most successful people in a matrixed organization "Influence Without Authority."

When I was at Target, my teams did this everyday as program and project managers. There is a book called Influencing without Authority and here are the "cliff notes" . The book not only talks about people, it also talks about organizations and how they must change. While I agree with what the author says about company change, I have found that it is hard for organizations to turn on a dime and change at their core to become flattened in hierarchy, fast, flexible, focused and fit. If you are counting on that, you'll be waiting a long time. You and your teams have to figure out how to influence without authority in the organization TODAY. While I was at Target, using this book as a catalyst along with the obvious needs of my staff I partnered with HR to create an "Influencing Without Authority" training class for my team. It was so successful that it was rolled out to all of Target.

It is really a pretty simple idea that can be recapped by a phrase your mother used to say, "treat others the way you want to be treated." I could use a cute acronym, but I won't.
There are 6 basic ideas:

Partner- Work WITH the person, not against them. Become their ally.
Ask- Ask a lot of questions to find out about their business. You are their advocate.
Understand- Seek to understand their needs and understand their priorities .
Help- Determine how your project can help them with their needs. Discuss the needs WITH your team to see if they have any ideas.
Explain- Through the process, partner with them explaining the what you are doing as well as WHY. You are not going to be able to meet all of their needs and by explaining what you are doing and why, most people understand and are open. Be sure to explain the benefits to the company, not just to 1 department.
Follow Through- Tell someone you are going to do something and you better follow through. There is no better way to build trust and create a strong relationship. Even if you can't do what you promised, be honest and follow through with that person- it will go a long way.

If someone were working on a project and came to you in this way, wouldn't you be more open to the person? Obviously there is a lot more to influencing without authority, but I think these are the foundation.