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Leadership
Leading a Project Before You Lead People
You do not need a title to lead. Running one project well is how most people find out whether they want to.
Leading without authority is its own skill, and it is the one most likely to be tested before anyone gives you a team. Nobody has to do what you ask, which means everything rests on clarity and follow-through.
What makes the difference
- Write down what done looks like, and get people to disagree with it early.
- Make the next step obvious for every person after every conversation.
- Surface problems while they are still small and cheap to fix.
- Give credit specifically and publicly; take responsibility quietly.
Do that once, visibly, and the conversation about a formal step up tends to start on its own.