Some of the most challenging leadership situations occur when we are expected to move important work forward, but the people we need to engage do not report to us. We may be leading a project, working across departments, chairing a committee or council, or simply trying to bring colleagues together around something that matters.

Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare^® (HCL-HC) gives us a helpful way to think about this kind of leadership. It begins with Self and with recognizing that how we show up matters.

Are we fully present? Are we listening? Are we curious? What happens in us when someone disagrees, and can we pause long enough to understand our own reaction before we respond? Self-awareness helps us make that choice rather than simply reacting in the moment.

But we also have to consciously move beyond Self to the Connector. This is where much of our influence happens, especially when we do not have positional authority. Connection does not just happen because we want it to. There are things we must do to build relationships and create trust.

The language of the Connector is, I trust you. That does not mean we will always agree. It means we recognize that others bring expertise, experience, and perspectives we need.

Trust needs to be visible in the way we lead. We ask before we tell, listen without immediately offering our own answer, and make room for perspectives we may not have considered.

Most leaders truly do want to build trusting relationships. The challenge is that we may not always know how. Here are three questions that can help us put trust into practice:

What are you seeing that we may be missing? This tells people we value their perspective. We acknowledge that we do not see everything and that they may have insight we need.

What do you think we should do? This goes a step further. Instead of simply asking for input and then supplying the answer ourselves, we demonstrate that we trust the other person’s expertise and judgment.

What will you own? Now we move from input to ownership. We invite people not just to contribute ideas, but to take responsibility for helping to move the work forward.

That last step can be difficult. When no one volunteers or the work begins to stall, our natural response as leaders may be to step in and take it on ourselves. The work gets done, but we may have missed an opportunity for someone else to step forward and own it.

We do not need positional authority to have influence. How we show up matters, and so does the way people experience working with us.

When people know that we value their perspective, trust their expertise, and expect them to help own the work, something begins to change. Participation can become partnership. And partnership gives us the ability to move important work forward, even when we are not the person in charge.

Be well. Lead well.

Want to learn more about Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare^®? Join us at the Rewiring Healthcare: Foundation to Future conference, October 20–21, in Nashville. Learn more and register here.