Unit 1 Reflection

Clint Gault


In Leading without Authority by Keith Ferrazzi and Noel Weyrich they talk about how there is a new age of change within the workplace. They describe that leading without authority is becoming the twenty-first-century model for organizations by using a new operating system that he describes as co-elevation (Ferrazzi and Weyrich,2020). They continue by saying that co-elevation uses collaborative problem-solving and fluid partnerships and self-organizing teams to create candid feedback and mutual accountability (Ferrazzi and Weyrich,2020). When using co-elevation you are creating a partnership between you and others to work towards and reach a shared goal to further your skills and career. In the first two rules of co-elevation, the text describes that in the first rule we must look first look for people to co-elevate with through mutually supportive relationships within your personal network. In the second rule, they describe how it is up to us to make the change and how it is not about waiting for others to find you but it is about actively seeking out others (Ferrazzi and Weyrich,2020).


Co-elevating yourself with others around you is a way to take charge of your own success while also elevating those around you that have the same aspirations as you. The first step of this is creating and maintaining a professional and personal network. Ultimately you are looking for people that can help you look at ideas and resources with a new perspective, which will help you grow and achieve greater things(Ferrazzi and Weyrich,2020). Using the anecdote that your network is your net worth means if you are not connecting and co-elevating with others you are causing your professional development to stifle while causing yourself to fall behind on the curve of leadership and opportunity. Looking at the Co-elevation continuum, there are five levels of coexistence with the lowest being the resentment state and the highest being the co-elevation state (Ferrazzi and Weyrich,2020). The goal is to prioritize these relationships that are rated as the co-elevation state so you can focus on relationships that need the most attention and are used to achieve shared objectives. On the other hand not wasting time on relationships that are rated minus two on the resentment state and instead focusing on the relationships that are rated in the coexist state and the collaboration state and improving them to the co-elevation state.


I have learned a lot more about co-elevating than what I knew before and believe it will help not only currently in my personal and academic life, but as well in the future for my professional career. Using networking to further advance my career and find better opportunities for myself and my career. Using co-elevation to help my academic success and my running career before that ends sooner rather than later. One thing that really stuck with me from the readings this week was that “When you open channels for discussion, active collaboration, and mutual development, you will be surprised what can follow.” (Ferrazzi and Weyrich,2020). Using the Relationship action plan I will want to prioritize professional relationships that become close to the plus two on the scale so that I can co-elevate with people in my network that want to grow. Another thing I took from the readings was that you can not procrastinate networking and co-elevating with others. In the book, they talk about “maybe the problem is not a something, but a someone” and that really stuck with me as I am the one that is going to have to go out there and make those connections and improve my situation, not someone else (Ferrazzi and Weyrich,2020).


References: 

Caprino, K. (2020, May 26). Co-elevation: How to achieve positive leadership impact without pre-established authority. Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2020/05/22/co-elevation-how-to-achieve-positive-leadership-impact-without-pre-established-authority/?sh=780d0b755f93 

        Ferrazzi, K., & Weyrich, N. (2020). Leading without authority: How the new power of co-elevation can break down silos, transform teams, and reinvent collaboration. Currency.

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