The Influential Leader
Let me introduce you to my definition of an Influential Leader: "giving someone, something they didn't even know they needed or wanted but once they have it, they can't imagine living without it and now can't wait to give it away."
If that definition has got the wheels turning and your superpowers engaged then we are going to have some fun together and make a difference!
One of my mentors is leadership legend, John Maxwell who says "leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. Great leaders know that leadership is not about authority or a title. It is about influence. The ability to influence those around you to reach above & beyond what they think is possible is what makes great leaders."
Everyone has influence and everyone is a leader but that doesn't make you a great influencer or leader which brings us to this newsletter. I am looking forward to sharing my influential leadership experience, strength, and hope with you and create a space for you to share yours with me and other Influential Leaders!
Let's talk a bit about leadership and what it is and isn't. The way I look at the hierarchy is that anyone can manage a process if they have the relevant manual. However if the process requires people then that adds a significant level of complexity and that is where leadership surfaces. Each of us has our own "leadership system" that is perfectly designed to achieve the results we are getting: great, good, bad, or ugly.
I use what I call an Influential Leaders Growth Graph to ascertain what an leadership system looks like and what what it could look like.
I use John Maxwells 5 Levels of Leadership on the vertical axis of my graph and the 4 styles of leadership on the horizontal axis of my graph. We are then able to identify where your leadership system currently resides and then identify where you would like it to be.
Here is a sample Influential Leaders Growth Graph:
The first step is to identify where you currently reside on the graph using the following explanations of each of the graphs headings
The 5 Levels of Leadership (the vertical access)
Position: People follow because they have to; you have the title.
Permission: People follow you because they want to; relationship influence.
Production: People follow you because of what you have done for the organization; make things happen.
People: People follow you because of what you have done for them and others; relational and transactional.
Pinnacle: People follow you because of who you are and why you matter; not just what you do.
The 4 Leadership Styles (the horizontal access)
Dictatorial: Make all the decisions and discourage input or questions.
Authoritative: Selectively encourage questions and decisions.
Consultative: Invite questions and problem solving but still hold veto power on decisions.
Participatory: Empower collaborative problem solving and decision making.
Once you have identified where you currently reside then consider where you would like to take your influential leadership and mark the graph accordingly.
Now you will have two points on the graph, where you are and where you would like to get to.
The next question is how do you close the gap and that's the question I will start to unpack in our next newsletter.
As I wrap up this newsletter, I would like you to consider influence within the context of this Influential Leaders Growth Graph and the headings. Can you see where influence is most engaged? Yes it is in the top right corner where the pinnacle level of leadership intersects the participatory style of leadership.
Is there anyone you admire as a leader that operates from this highly influential level of leadership? What are the top 3 superpowers they lead with that are most attractive?
We will talk more about the superpowers of an Influential Leader and the question of closing the gap in our next newsletter so stay tuned!
Thank you for the opportunity to connect and share with you my Influential leader experience, strength and hope and look forward to your thoughts, feedback and insight too!
Coach Mike
michael@capstonecoaching.ca