In my days as a project manager, I led groups that I had no positional power over.

We likely wouldn’t have accomplished much if all I did was to inspire the team to act through my leadership.

By the nature of my role, I had referential power. My referential power came from people I worked with previously, or perhaps someone with positional power.

Regardless of its source, the referential power allowed me to get things moving.

Much like with positional power, the outcomes would have likely been suboptimal if all I used was referential power.

In parallel, I would provide the team with my best leadership. I would build an environment to allow for good collaboration, increased trust, and strong teamwork.

In other words, I’d work on building and fostering an environment where people could do their best work.

You’ve got this.