Tag Influential Leadership

Defining Followers

Steve Keating 4 Comments

One of the common statements you hear when discussing leadership is “you may hold a leadership position but if no one is following you then you aren’t leading, you’re only going for a walk.” 

I use that from time to time in presentations myself. I use it because as a presenter you want to say things your audience can relate to and that is a very relatable statement. It gets a few laughs and smiles. 

But true followership goes much deeper than merely following behind some individual who may be aimlessly walking about themselves. People in general have been too impressed with the number of “followers” someone has, particularly in social media. I have a bunch of social media followers. The numbers alone look impressive, especially to people who don’t understand what “followership” really is. 

The reality is I have relatively few people truly following me on social media. At least when I use my definition of “following” or “follower.” 

Using my definition of “following” the first statement in this post would look like this: “You may hold a leadership position but if you’re not positively influencing people to be the best version of themselves possible then you aren’t leading. No matter how many people you’re responsible for leading.”

Influence is the heart and soul of leadership. If you have the ability to influence others, and use that influence to help them challenge themselves to be their very best, then you are an Authentic Leader. 

This is where the massive difference between trying to manage people and actually leading them comes in. Holding a leadership position gives someone the power to force the compliance of their people. They do that through rules, penalties and consequences. But that’s managing not leading. 

Authentic leaders have no need for their people to comply. They have something much better, they have the commitment of their people. Their people are committed because they see first hand how committed their leader is to them. 

Authentic Leaders invest time with their people to help them learn, grow and develop. Oftentimes to develop into leaders themselves. They model successful leadership characteristics and “show” the path to success. Lesser leaders don’t have time to “show” much of anything, they are too busy “telling” their people how something should be done. 

Let me give you a very recent and very very personal example. Some of you may know that on the day before Thanksgiving our 15 month old granddaughter, Daisy, was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She was in grave danger. The doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital in Phoenix are nothing short of miracle workers and we believe God used them to bring Daisy back to good health. In less than a week she was well enough that I felt comfortable traveling to a business meeting. (BTW, after 9 days is the hospital she is back home and doing well)

At the business meeting I ran into a person I’ve known for a long time. He was recently promoted into a very high leadership position. When I saw him I tried to congratulate him on his promotion. He said thanks but immediately shifted gears to what he thought was way more important. He asked how Daisy was doing. He wanted to know everything. He was genuinely concerned. He cared and it showed as he listened intently and offered any help he could. I’d walk over hot coals for that guy. He earns the commitment of people. 

I’ve thought about that brief conversation with him several times over the last few days. It made me remember that as a leader, people are at the center of everything a leader accomplishes. In a brief hallway conversation he influenced me to pay more attention to who people are and a little less to what they do. 

Influence is the essence of leadership!

I also had the opportunity to congratulate another recently promoted individual. He said he had heard about our granddaughter as well and he was “glad” that her being in the hospital didn’t prevent me from attending the meeting. The difference between these two “leaders” was striking.

If you’re an Authentic Leader then you know that your leadership isn’t measured by the number of people in your organization.  It is not about the number of people who report to you. Your leadership is measured by the number of people you influence in a positive way. 

Remember, if you’re not influencing someone to be the very best version of themselves they can possibly be, then they may report to you but they are NOT following you. 

The Myth of Influence

Steve Keating 10 Comments

When asked to provide a definition of leadership I most often describe it as influence. I add that if you have the ability to influence others then you have the ability to lead. 

Ken Blanchard, the renowned American Leadership expert and author of “The One Minute Manager” says that “The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.”

Experienced leaders know that to be true. They also know that whatever influence they have comes from who they are not what they are. They know that their title or position provides no lasting influence. People with little or no leadership experience tend to greatly overestimate the importance of an important sounding title when it comes to influence. 

People with little or no leadership experience assume that if they had a title or a position of leadership then they would have influence too. That’s a myth!

Influence must be earned and a position merely gives you a chance to do that. A position or title gives you the opportunity to earn the respect required to have lasting influence. It gives you a bit of time to demonstrate you deserve to be trusted but in that time you will earn your level of influence whatever level it turns out to be. 

Good leaders earn influence beyond their stated position. They quickly learn that a position doesn’t make a leader but a leader can make a position. 

In order to grow your influence you must first build trust. People who do not trust you will not be open to your influence. To build trust you must do what you say you will do…every time. Consistently following through on your commitments is the fastest way to build your reputation. Being inconsistent when following through with commitments is the fastest way to destroy it. 

Doing something grows influence far faster than saying something. You can be an awesome speaker but words alone will never grow your influence. You need to speak through your actions and when your words and actions are in alignment your level of influence is limitless. 

One often overlooked skill that will quickly grow your level of influence is the skill of listening. You can’t influence people you have zero relationships with. One of the fastest ways to develop a meaningful relationship with someone is to listen to them. REALLY listen. 

Listen as if they are the only person who matters in that moment. Listen to every opinion and acknowledge it as important and valuable. You’ll quickly discover that the fastest way to get people to listen to you is to listen to them. Two-way communication is vital to building influence because if no one is listening to you then you have absolutely no influence.

 

Influence is an exceptional asset in the workplace and in life. It is mandatory if you’re going to lead others. If your goal is to be an Authentic Leader then don’t seek a position of influence, try instead to be a person of influence. 

Who is Influencing You?

Steve Keating 3 Comments

My last post concerned your level of influence with the people you lead. This post is about who is influencing you.

You are shaped and influenced by the experiences of your life and the people you share them with.

If you have ever responded to someone by saying, “I had never thought of it like that,” then you have been influenced by that person. If you’ve ever changed your thinking to match someone else’s then you have been seriously influenced by them.

I don’t think I’m going to like how this sounds but here’s the thing….if you want to be more successful then don’t hang around with less successful people. It’s a sad reality that you just can’t afford some of the people who may be in your life.

You, your life and your level of success are very likely the average of the five people you spend the majority of your time with. Many things and many people can bring you down but they need a whole lot of help from you to keep you down. Don’t help other people keep you down, stay away from those who do not have your best interests in mind. 

Now, there is an argument to be made that you help less successful people by hanging out with them. That may be true…IF your influence on them is greater than their influence on you. In every relationship you are involved in you had best be very honest with yourself about who is the greater influence. The other person’s negative influence may be more powerful than your positive influence, especially if your own success and self-confidence is a bit immature.

The key to determining who is influencing you is to realize that most everyone you interact with is influencing you to some extent. There are virtually no neutral human interactions. Every interaction causes you to feel better about yourself and your circumstances or it causes you to feel worse. 

You are a product of your environment, there is just no escaping that fact. If you want to be more positive and successful then place yourself in a successful and positive environment. You may need to leave some people behind but it’s not likely that they were true friends anyway.

It’s a hard but true fact.

Leading with Influence

Steve Keating Leave a comment

If you had no title of consequence, if you had zero power to punish and reward people – would they still follow you? Would you still get positive results from them? 

The answer to that question is yes if, IF, you are actually a true leader. 

At it’s core leadership is about influence. If you have the ability to influence others then you have the ability to lead. It is not your title or lofty position within an organization that makes you a leader, it’s your level of influence. 

If you’re truly leading people they will commit to you. People don’t commit to companies, they don’t commit to positions and they certainly don’t commit to titles. People commit to other people, period.

If your people are not committed to you then they are not truly following you. They may comply with your requests because you have the power to punish and reward but that simply makes you a boss not a leader. (Just to be clear here I do not use “boss” in a negative sense, I use it just to distinguish the difference between leading and not leading. I have worked for bosses with no leadership ability at all and for bosses who were outstanding leaders.)

The foundations that support influence are perception and visibility. Influence doesn’t happen unless you have improved others’ perception of you and increased your visibility. Once you’ve established the appropriate level of perception, you will have gained a solid reputation and foundation of respect. After you’ve increased your visibility, you’ll become known and valued in your organization. Influence now becomes possible.

So, how do you improve other people’s perception of you while increasing your visibility? Here are four ideas…

Intentionally plan your day. Most people sadly just let their day happen to them. People of influence happen to their day. They focus on the outcome they need from their day and not all the small events that may happen to them during it. They leverage the events that get them closer to their desired outcome while minimizing the impact of the events that don’t. 

Choose to help. My better days are the days I help others be better. My best days are the days when almost no one knows I did it. If you have to tell people that you’re helping others you’re still missing the influence mark; help enough people and you won’t have to tell anyone because lots of people will notice the difference that you make.

Accept responsibility for the outcome. Don’t blame others for your mistakes. You will never learn from a mistake that you won’t admit and when you don’t accept responsibility for your mistakes you at least inadvertently shift the blame to someone else; that does not improve other people’s perception of you. Mistakes happen, they are a part, an important part, of growing. I wouldn’t recommend highlighting your mistakes but don’t try to hide them either.

Recognize others….for their success and yours. People crave recognition! Even people who say that don’t need any recognition literally crave it. It’s a basic human need. So fill that need for others, praise them early and often. Be intentional about looking for good things other people do and be lavish in your recognition. Also remember that it’s very likely that others contributed to your success, don’t forget to share your success with them through public recognition. No one, I mean no one, succeeds completely on their own. So don’t behave as though you did.

Influence is built, little by little, day after day. If you want to earn the commitment of your people then commit to build your influence every single day.

Influential Leadership

Steve Keating 5 Comments

The premier American author on leadership, John Maxwell, says that leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less.

I wholeheartedly agree with that, wholeheartedly with a bunch of conditions. The conditions all have to do with where influence comes from. 

Influence doesn’t just happen, influence, like pretty much everything else in life must be earned. When you’re promoted to a leadership position the position comes with a certain degree of influence. The influence that comes with a position however is very perishable, it comes with an expiration date that more closely resembles milk rather than cheese. It doesn’t last long. 

Soon after being promoted to a leadership position you must begin to earn your influence. Your level of influence rises and falls based on your integrity, your ability to make decisions, the quality of your judgement, and your willingness to demonstrate to people that you actually care about them.

By the way, your level of influence is impacted by those same factors whether you occupy a leadership position or not. That’s why it is completely unnecessary to hold a position of leadership in order to lead. It’s your level of influence that provides you with an opportunity to lead, not a title or a position. 

A good many people in leadership positions fail to realize just how perishable their influence really is. They start thinking they “have arrived” and that people will continue to follow them no matter what. That is simply not the case.

If you’re a person who truly wants to lead then you must work to grow your level of influence every day. You must make certain that your words match your actions. You must make the decisions that non-leaders are unwilling or unable to make. Those decisions must be right far more often then they are wrong.

You also must actually care about the people you would lead. People will not follow an uncaring leader. If you’re not the type of person who is willing to invest yourself in someone else’s success then you will struggle as a leader. That doesn’t make you a bad person, it just means you’re likely a better follower than leader.

To become an influential leader don’t try to become a leader, try to become an influential person. When you develop the qualities required to grow your influence then the leadership opportunities will find you.