Cross-Functional Influence, Preventing Burnout, and Managing Underperformance [Office Hours #016]

Your questions. Answered.

👋 Welcome to a 🔒 subscriber-only edition 🔒 of our Office Hours newsletter. Every Tuesday, we tackle reader questions covering the most demanding challenges of management and leadership. (We share our best free content on LinkedIn).

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In this week's edition, we answer:

1. How do you lead a cross-functional team where you don’t have formal authority over all the members?

2. How do you prevent burnout in a high-achieving team that always goes above and beyond?

3. How do you give feedback to someone who’s underperforming—but doesn’t seem to realize it?

Let’s get started…

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Question 1:

Amara from Nairobi
How do you lead a cross-functional team where you don’t have formal authority over all the members?

Response:
Dear Amara,

Leading without formal authority is one of the true tests of leadership—and it’s increasingly common in today’s matrixed and project-based organizations. The good news is that influence doesn’t depend on title. It depends on trust, clarity, and shared purpose.

1. Build Relationships Before You Need Them

Start by investing in relationships. Take the time to understand each team member’s role, motivations, and constraints. Ask questions like:

• “What’s most important for you in this project?”

• “How can we collaborate in a way that works well for both of us?”

This builds goodwill and establishes you as someone who respects their expertise and time.