Influence

“Leadership is influence, nothing more nothing less.” – John Maxwell

by: Jim Solomon and Bruce LaRue, Ph.D.

Integrator Leaders understand that they must lead through influence. They do so by creating a clear compass heading for their team, while helping them develop the map to get from here to there.

As the leader, your job is ultimately to guide the ship from the helm and not from the engine room. That is, you set the compass heading and priorities while you help your team self-organize to create an ownership mentality in how they accomplish the mission.

The outcome is a flexible organization that can adapt and leverage change to their advantage.

Frances Hesselbein inspired the organizations she led, provided a clear direction, and empowered others to earn her trust. This created a culture that attracted a committed team. Not shy for words, but a humble sole, when asked about her legacy, she replied that she hopes she’s remembered for truly practicing what she preaches. “Mission. Innovation. Diversity. Those words are my battle cry.” And it was through this, her influence, her leadership, that allowed her to change the world.

One of today’s most sought-after executive leadership coaches for top global leaders, Lolly Daskal, instills in her clients her premise: “ultimately, all leadership is about influence. It’s the single most important factor in your impact.” From this, she guides them on a path of influence to minimize their leadership gap.

Compliance or Commitment

Highly capable leaders earn trust and gain commitment from their team when they are authentic, open to feedback, empower subordinates, and incorporate input from their team into decisions.  To earn trust, you must give trust.  From trust comes commitment.

Leaders who try to maintain authority by leading with a command-and-control style are often found to be the most insecure. To compensate, when they feel challenged, they are quick to remind everyone who’s boss. These leaders tend to have difficulty recognizing and rewarding others’ accomplishments, may try to limit information and communication flows within and between teams (creating knowledge silos), and frequently take credit for the ideas of others.

If allowed to go unchecked, these leaders create a dysfunctional culture of dependency where all roads lead to the boss’s desk, effectively making the leader a single point of failure for the organization. This leader is not trusted, is not inspirational, and effectively has a negative influence on the team.

Michael E. Frisina, Ph.D., in his book, “Influential Leadership” shares that “The command-and-control leader is arrogant, unapproachable, intimidating, emotionally volatile, impatient, judgmental, manipulative, and stingy with praise. His immediate staff and management team, not to mention the rest of the organization, are relieved when he is away from the office!”

Lead Like Dabo

Clemson University’s infamous and winningest football coach, Dabo Swinney visibly leads through influence.  He has shaped the culture of the organization, has clearly established their purpose, and has empowered both his assistant coaches and each team member to help develop a path to execute his intent.

Swinney didn’t just build winning football teams; he built an organization founded on the character that guides him daily. His positive approach to life is contagious.  When he arrived at Clemson, he found talent but saw a lack of belief.  He influenced the change in this by believing in the team, even when the team failed to believe in themselves. His belief influenced the level of belief in his coaches and players.  When asked if he was an overachiever he said, “No. I’m an over believer.”

Swinney signs players with potential, but also with the desire to buy into his style of leadership. This produces winning teams in the near term, but most importantly, he influences generations of young men and women through his style, character, and values that last a lifetime.

Leaders at All Levels Influence

James C. Hunter, bestselling author and leadership expert says that “leadership is influence”.  Hunter shares a story about Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines founder, who first had to earn trust from his people.  Kelleher began by trusting them.  He provided his vision, empowered his team to build a path to achieve it, and developed a culture of commitment beginning with his own.

Kelleher would explain that all leaders must have the power to influence and that leaders weren’t just those with fancy titles. “He would say that the most important leaders at Southwest Airlines were his flight attendants, because they were influencing thousands of customers every day. Customers he would never come in contact with.”

Influence through Affirmation

Having worked with hundreds of leaders and their organizations, to include Tim Tassopoulos, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chick-fil-A, Dr. Tim Irwin, writes in his bestselling book “Extraordinary Influence”, that its “affirmation” that leads to influence.

From his research and that of others who have studied brain science, Irwin shows that “Positive influence is the outcome we seek. Affirmation is the means by which we achieve that influence.

If we want to exert extraordinary influence and bring out the best in those around us, we must master the art of affirmation. We must learn how to affirm individuals, teams, and even whole organizations.”

The greatest leaders bring out the best in their organization. They do so by leveraging affirmation appropriately, striking a balance between “I, We, and It”.  It is through “extraordinary influence” resulting in physical, emotional, and social benefits that he says creates successful, committed organizations.

Your Leadership Influence

What are you doing to build a sense of trust and community in your team?

How can you help your team move from compliance to commitment?

How can you get your team to transition from taking orders to taking ownership?

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