Lateral Authority at C-Level: How HR Teams Prepare Executives for Influence Without Direct Authority

When CxOs fail to make progress at board level, the reason is rarely a lack of technical expertise. More often, something else is missing: the ability to convince peers, committees, and cross-functional stakeholders without being able to rely on formal authority. Lateral authority is not an additional competency at C-level – it is a fundamental prerequisite for effective leadership. This article shows how HR leaders can specifically develop and measure this competency – and what role Sharpist's digital coaching platform plays in this.

The Topic in a Nutshell

What Does Lateral Authority Mean in Concrete Terms at C-Level?

Lateral leadership describes the ability to influence people and collaborate with them without relying on formal authority. As Management Circle aptly puts it: instead of directive authority, it builds on communication, expertise, trust, and shared goals. This applies with particular sharpness at C-level: a CFO cannot instruct the CMO. A COO cannot direct the CTO to reallocate resources. Decisions within the executive committee arise through consensus, coalition-building, and strategic persuasion – or they do not arise at all.

Distinction: Lateral Leadership vs. Formal Hierarchy

Formal hierarchy operates through directive rights: those at the top decide, those below execute. Lateral authority follows a different logic. It arises not from position, but from credibility, trust, and the ability to move others voluntarily. As Jürgen Peterke describes in his Springer chapter on leadership and lateral leadership, lateral leadership is not a substitute solution for missing hierarchy, but an independent form of leadership based on personal influence. For HR, this means: anyone who limits C-level leadership development to classic leadership competencies fails to address the actual bottleneck.

Why Is This Issue Intensifying Especially at Board Level?

At middle management level, conflicts can be escalated upward. At C-level, there is no higher authority left – at least not in day-to-day operations. CxOs are simultaneously representatives of their function and members of a collective leadership body. This dual loyalty creates structural tensions: the CFO optimizes for cost discipline, the CMO for growth, the CHRO for talent retention. Without lateral influence competency, decision-making gridlock, silo thinking, and – in the worst case – strategic fragmentation emerge, permeating the entire organization.

The Three Drivers Making Lateral Authority Indispensable Today

Lateral leadership is not a new concept. However, three structural developments have made this competency more urgent at C-level today than ever before. HR leaders should understand these drivers in order to build a convincing internal case for development needs.

Matrix Organizations and Shared Responsibility

Most large enterprises today operate in some form of matrix structure. As executive coach Andi Roberts describes in his practical guide to matrix leadership, decisions cross functional boundaries, responsibility is shared, and programs depend on individuals who report to someone else. Jay Galbraith identified three matrix types with differing authority balances: functional matrix, balanced matrix, and project matrix. The leadership challenge differs fundamentally depending on the type – and so does the coaching strategy. HR is well advised to diagnose which matrix constellation the respective executive operates in before launching an executive coaching program.

Flattening Hierarchies in the Context of New Work

Under the banner of New Work, traditional hierarchical structures are increasingly being dismantled, as the Grün Consult Institute describes. Decision-making paths are becoming shorter, and responsibility is being decentralized. This is intentional in many organizations – but it confronts C-level executives with a new challenge: they must provide direction within flatter structures without being able to rely on the backing of a clear hierarchy. Those who lack this competency lose effectiveness – and teams at all levels feel the impact.

Hybrid and International Leadership Teams

Hybrid work has further eroded traditional leadership mechanisms. Informal conversations at the edges of meetings, spontaneous exchanges by the coffee machine, non-verbal cues in in-person meetings – all of this is absent or significantly reduced in hybrid and international teams. Lateral leadership is therefore shifting more strongly into digital communication spaces, where trust and credibility must be built more deliberately. For HR, this means: strategies for distributed leadership must be explicitly integrated into executive development programs.

The Sandwich Reality of the C-Level – and Why Classic Coaching Often Falls Short

C-level executives find themselves in a structurally exceptional situation: they bear responsibility for far-reaching decisions while simultaneously facing high expectations from supervisory bodies, shareholders, and employees. As Consulting Haag describes, strategic decision-making, complex organizational structures, and high expectations are part of daily life. Added to this is the isolation of the role: CxOs have few peers with whom they can openly discuss lateral leadership challenges without fearing political implications.

Classic group workshops and standardized leadership training fail to address this reality for several reasons. First, confidentiality is lacking: C-level executives rarely speak openly about their own competency gaps in lateral leadership when board colleagues sit in the same seminar room. Second, the practical relevance is too abstract: lateral authority develops through concrete, often politically sensitive situations – board dynamics, resource conflicts, strategic disagreements. These cannot be trained through generic role-play. Third, one-off interventions fall short: as the Manager Institut emphasizes, lateral leadership is a practical competency developed through regular reflection and behavioral practice – not through a single seminar.

Core Competencies for Lateral Authority at C-Level

Based on the model developed by Stefan Kühl, Thomas Schnelle, and Thomas Krizanits, as well as the findings of the Harvard Business Publishing Global Leadership Development Study 2024, four core competencies can be identified that are decisive for lateral authority at C-level. HR leaders can use these as a diagnostic framework before setting up a coaching program.

Creating Mutual Understanding

Lateral leadership begins with the ability to develop shared strategic narratives that go beyond departmental interests. This sounds trivial, but it is not: competing priorities frequently clash within the executive committee. Those who possess lateral authority succeed in establishing a common framework in which all parties find their perspective represented – without anyone feeling overlooked. This ability requires discursive communication skills and can be trained.

Building Trust

Trust is the foundation of lateral leadership, as Andi Roberts describes in his analysis of lateral leadership. At C-level, building trust is particularly demanding because CxOs simultaneously compete for resources and attention. Those who nonetheless build a personal foundation of trust with peers gain informal influence – the decisive lever in lateral leadership situations. Coaching helps executives reflect on their own behavioral patterns that build or undermine trust.

Navigating Power Dynamics and Informal Coalitions

Lateral leadership operates in the spaces between the organizational chart. Successful C-level initiatives often depend on informal social networks that are not visible in the formal organizational chart. Those who understand these networks and actively shape them, rather than relying solely on formal decision-making paths, significantly increase their effectiveness. This competency is particularly difficult to develop because it requires political sensitivity – and precisely for this reason, it is a central topic for executive coaching.

Conflict Competence at Eye Level

In lateral leadership situations, conflicts frequently arise from competing priorities and the absence of formal authority, as Andi Roberts describes. Those who cannot resolve these conflicts constructively risk decision-making gridlock or unnecessarily escalate issues to senior management. Conflict competence at eye level means: remaining objective, acknowledging different interests, and developing joint solutions – without power games and without anyone losing face.

Core Competencies of Lateral Authority in Practical Context

How Coaching Makes Lateral Authority Trainable at C-Level

The ICF/PwC Global Coaching Client Study 2024 shows: 86 % of organizations that tracked coaching ROI reported positive returns with a median of 5 to 7x. However, not every coaching format is equally well suited to developing lateral authority at C-level. HR leaders should observe three principles when designing programs.

Individual Coaching Instead of Group Format

Lateral leadership is a politically sensitive topic. CxOs rarely speak openly about weaknesses in peer influence when board colleagues are present – this would be perceived as political weakness. As executive coach Christoph Kopp emphasizes, confidentiality is the top priority in C-level coaching. Only in a protected 1:1 setting can CxOs openly reflect on their own behavioral patterns and work on real leadership situations.

Diagnostics Before Coaching: 360° Feedback and Stakeholder Analysis

Lateral influence competency cannot be measured through self-assessment alone. HR should employ structured diagnostics before starting a coaching program: 360° feedback from peers, direct reports, and supervisory bodies, as well as a stakeholder analysis showing in which lateral constellations the executive faces particular challenges. This diagnosis forms the foundation for an individually tailored coaching program and later enables progress to be measured.

Ongoing Support Instead of a One-Off Intervention

Lateral leadership competency does not develop in a single workshop, but through repeated reflection on real situations. This means: HR must design programs that run over several months, combine coaching impulses with concrete practical tasks, and create regular opportunities for reflection. According to the ICF Global Coaching Study 2025, the coaching industry is at a record level – 122,974 coaching practitioners worldwide, +15 % since 2023 – which shows that organizations are increasingly investing in continuous development rather than one-off measures.

ROI and Measurability: How HR Demonstrates Success

CHROs face increasing pressure to demonstrate the ROI of executive coaching investments to senior management. This is particularly challenging in the area of lateral authority, because influence and trust are not direct KPIs. Nevertheless, measurable indicators exist: improvement in leadership index (as at IKEA, with +8–10 %), increase in leadership competencies (as at LVMH, with +18 %), retention of key personnel during restructuring phases (as at Miro, with 100 % retention), as well as qualitative pulse surveys that capture changes in collaboration and decision-making quality within the leadership team.

Traditional vs. Digital Executive Coaching: A Comparison

The Sharpist Approach: Hybrid Coaching for Lateral Leadership Strength at C-Level

The proven benefits of executive coaching only fully unfold at C-level when the format meets the specific requirements of this level: confidentiality, scheduling flexibility, practical relevance, and measurability. The Sharpist Hybrid Journey combines precisely these elements into a continuous learning experience.

At its core is 1:1 video coaching with an executive coach precisely matched from a pool of over 1,500 ICF- and DBVC-certified coaches – available in 55+ languages, with a 97 % matching success rate on the first attempt. The certified coach network includes coaches with proven experience at board level, allowing HR to ensure that CxOs work with someone who truly understands the complexity of their leadership situation.

Between sessions, the Sharpist AI coach is available around the clock – with no appointment needed. This is particularly relevant for C-level executives who want space for reflection and sparring immediately before a difficult peer conversation, a board presentation, or a stakeholder conflict, but cannot book a session. With 5 selectable coaching styles and full data encryption, the AI coach offers the confidentiality standard that C-level executives expect.

The Hybrid Journey is complemented by micro tasks, individually assigned by the coach, which can be completed in a maximum of 5 minutes – for example, preparing for a lateral influence conversation with a peer or reflecting on a past conflict situation within the executive committee. This personalized coaching approach ensures that coaching insights do not remain confined to the session, but become embedded in day-to-day leadership. HR teams maintain a constant overview of activation rates, progress, and coaching outcomes via the L&D dashboard – with no administrative burden.

Conclusion

Lateral authority is not a peripheral soft skill at C-level – it is the prerequisite for keeping executive committees capable of action, matrix organizations functional, and strategic transformations successful. HR leaders who recognize and address this development need make a measurable contribution to organizational effectiveness. The decisive levers are:

Sharpist supports HR teams in meeting all these requirements within an integrated program – scalable from a single CxO to the entire executive committee. Schedule a personal consultation now and discover how the Sharpist Hybrid Journey can make an impact within your organization.

FAQ

What Is Meant by Lateral Authority at C-Level?

Lateral authority at C-level refers to the ability of board-level executives to influence and persuade peers, committees, and cross-functional stakeholders without formal directive authority. Since no CxO role has override authority over other CxOs, lateral influence competency is a decisive factor in whether decisions within the executive committee are reached or blocked. It is based on trust, credibility, strategic communication, and the ability to shape informal coalitions.

Is Digital Coaching Really Suitable for C-Level Executives?

Yes – provided the format meets the specific requirements of this level: confidentiality, scheduling flexibility, and practical relevance. Digital 1:1 coaching with experienced executive coaches offers the same protected space for reflection as in-person coaching, but is significantly more flexible in scheduling. Sharpist customer results such as +18 % leadership competencies at LVMH and +8–10 % leadership index at IKEA Switzerland demonstrate that digital coaching has a measurable effect at leadership level.

How Long Does It Take to Build Lateral Authority Through Coaching?

Lateral leadership competency is not a skill that develops within a few weeks. Experience shows that 6 to 12 months of continuous support are necessary to embed lasting behavioral change. This reflects the principle of ongoing support rather than a one-off intervention: coaching insights must be tested, reflected upon, and adapted through practical tasks in day-to-day leadership – an iterative process that takes time.

How Can HR Measure the Success of Executive Coaching for Lateral Leadership?

Direct metrics are difficult to isolate, but proven approaches exist: 360° feedback before and after the coaching program, leadership index measurements via pulse surveys, observation of decision-making quality and speed within the executive committee, as well as retention data for key personnel. Digital coaching platforms such as Sharpist also offer an L&D dashboard with real-time analytics, providing HR teams with a structured basis for demonstrating ROI to senior management.

How Do I, as an HR Leader, Start a Coaching Program for Lateral Leadership at C-Level?

The first step is structured diagnostics: where are the concrete competency gaps within the leadership team? Which lateral constellations are particularly challenging – board dynamics, cross-functional projects, post-merger integration? Based on this analysis, an individually tailored program can be designed. Sharpist supports HR teams from the initial needs analysis through to ongoing reporting – with minimal administrative effort and maximum transparency regarding progress and outcomes. Success rates of coaching programs depend significantly on careful preparation – this step is worth the investment.