Developing the Leader Within You - Influence

We will continue our leadership journey, learning new skills and refreshing old ones, with John C. Maxwell's book Developing the Leader Within You.

Leadership is influence. That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

In the introduction of the book, Maxwell states: The key to success in an endeavor is the ability to lead others successfully. And, as we have heard before, Everything rises and falls on leadership.

A leadership proverb: He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk.

Leadership is the ability to obtain followers.

Insights about influence:

• Everyone influences someone.
  
  • No one is excluded from being a leader or a follower.
• We never know who or how much we influence.
  
  • Big events leave marks on all our lives and memories.
  • Think also of the little things or people who influenced you in a powerful way.
• The best investment in the future is a proper influence today.
  
  • The issue is not whether you influence someone. What needs to be settled is what kind of an influencer you will be!
• Influence is a skill that can be developed.
  
  • Robert Dilenschneider, CEO of Hill and Knowlton, discusses the idea of the "power triangle" in his book, Power and Influence. "The three components of this triangle are communication, recognition, and influence. You start to communicate effectively. This leads to recognition and recognition in turn leads to influence."

The Five Levels of Leadership

Through his years in leadership and the business of leadership, Maxwell has created a model reflecting the various levels of leadership. He has also created a teaching tool to assist others in understanding their levels of leadership so they can increase their levels of influence.

Level 1: Position

This is the basic entry level of leadership. The only influence you have is that which comes with a title. People who stay at this level get into territorial rights, protocol, tradition, and organizational charts. These things are not negative unless they become the basis for authority and influence, but they are poor substitutes for leadership skills.

Real leadership is being the person others will gladly and confidently follow.

Characteristics of a "Positional Leaver."

• Security is based on title, not talent.
• This level is often gained by appointment,
• People will not follow a positional leader beyond his stated authority.
• Positional leaders have more difficulty working with volunteers, white-collar workers, and younger people.

Most of us have been taught that leadership is a position. Frustration rises within us when we get into the real world and find that few people will follow us because of our titles. Our joy and success in leading others depend on our abilities to keep climbing the levels of leadership.

Next time, we will explore the remaining levels of leadership.

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc