T R A N S F O R M A T I O N TA B L E S
influence put effort into developing your ability to lead
“Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” – John C. Maxwell
What action step did you commit to last week? What were the results?
INSIGHT Directions: Take turns reading the paragraphs below. As you read, underline the ideas that capture your attention.
Whether you consider yourself to be a leader or not, you are leading people every day. Many people accept the traditional definition of a leader as someone with a title. The truth, however, is that leadership is influence. Influence is simply the capacity to have an effect on the words, choices, behavior, development, or character of someone else. Therefore, through our natural interactions with others, we have the capacity to influence the people around us on a daily basis. Many of us start our career with a new title and have no idea how to lead. Often, we believe that our position gives us the necessary authority to influence our team. In reality, position and title have very little to do with influence. Although we may have the authority to control some limited factors in our leadership environment, influence is really the driving factor that creates cooperation and productivity. Initially, our influence is simply an extension of our relationships. When we have a healthy connection and respect for our team, we can work together to accomplish bigger and better tasks than we could on our own. The best leaders know themselves and know their team. They discover the unique strengths that each individual brings to the team, and they learn how to harness the energy of the team to work toward a greater vision. Ultimately, the best leaders use their influence for a worthwhile cause. Most of us don’t start out as great leaders. The good news is that we can develop and grow as leaders, so we can learn the skills involved in inspiring and influencing a team. First, we must learn how to communicate and connect with our teammates. Then we must produce results and experience some success together. When we have good relationships and we are producing, we can focus on developing other leaders and pass on what we have learned through mentorship. Soon, our experience can compound and we can impact a new generation of leaders. Your vision of leadership may be very different, but it doesn’t matter how young or old you are or what your title is, you can lead and influence other people. You are, in fact, already leading—perhaps as a student, teacher, priest, police officer, politician, or artist. The best news of all is that you get to choose who and how you influence others. You get to determine what impact you want to have on the people around you and on your community.
INFLUENCE
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