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Leadership is influence

• 20-12-2012
• Communication
• by admin

“Leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing else”
….that’s what I have come to learn from on of my great mentors and teachers, who I had the privilege to meet last year in the United States, but also, whom I have read and I have learned from, for so many years.

I am talking about John Maxwell, one of the most appreciated teachers and authors on leadership, in the world.

There are many definitions, interpretations of what makes a leader. There are also many types of leaders. But the bottom line is this: leadership is influence. And that is what makes a leader: the ability to intentionally influence.

Yes! Charisma, vision, ability to inspire, action and ability to stimulate action in the right direction…yes, these are important ingredients of leadership. But the bottom line is whether you, as a leader, have the ability to influence your team, your people in such a way that they bring out the best of them and, consequently, improve results.

Many so called leaders make the mistake of closing themselves in their office and focus only on strategy and figures. That’s good as long as it is only one component of your leadership activity. Because one other major component is actively influencing the behaviors of people you need to deliver top performance. Yes, you have people for that, but people need to look up at their leader, to listen to him and to understand and grasp its vision and plan.

Let’s look at it this way: strategy, budget and operational planning are all the brain of it all. On the other hand, people and what & how people deliver are the heart of it all. Your business cannot live long without the heart. Beating the proper way.

Therefore, great leaders all around the world, in both politics and business, have continually developed their ability to intentionally influence and thus gathering highly effective people around them.  They don’t bet it all on their intuition  or experience! No no! They actively learn leadership principles and how to become a person of influence. True leaders are keen on developing effective and measurable techniques on how to articulate and be clear when it comes to leading change and influencing behavior. It’s not about power point presentations or motivational posters or financial incentives. It’s about knowing and believing in what you do, it’s about setting clear expectations and use the skills and mindset of a communicator and negotiator to send out those expectations, it’s about managing relationships,  developing trust and likability, building rapport and controlling your own personal emotions and interests in favor of the overall positive outcome. It’s about people and intentional influence.

“He who thinks is leading and has no one following him, is only taking a walk”. I love this quote! Keep it mind, write it down, say it forward…it is such a precious thing to remember when it comes to leadership.