DEVELOP YOUR INFLUENCE WHEREVER YOU ARE
Most people who work for a boss who can’t or won’t lead typically want one thing: a new position with power that will free them from their boss. I’ll tell you the biggest problem with that thinking. A position isn’t the answer.
If I had to identify the number one misconception people have about leadership, it would be the belief that power comes from having a position or title. It’s not really true. The Law of Influence in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership states it clearly: “The true measure of leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.” You don’t need to possess a position to lead or get things done. Nor do you have to work for a great boss to be successful. The best way to get work done, get along with colleagues, lead a team, and even work better with a boss, is to develop your influence.
If you’ve read some of my other leadership books, you might be aware of a leadership identification tool I call “The Five Levels of Leadership,” which I first introduced in Developing the Leader Within You. It captures the dynamics of leadership development as well as anything I know. In it, I describe the first and lowest level of leadership as Position. That’s where people follow a leader only because they have to. Leaders who rely on position use their rights as leaders to coerce people. This means that a positional leader’s influence will not extend beyond the lines of his or her job description. Leaders who rely solely on their position or title get the most limited results.
To progress in influence, you have to move up the stairsteps of leadership from the first to the second level, called Permission. This is based on relationships where people follow you because they want to. Once you’ve developed relationships, you can start working on the third level, Production, which is based on results. This is where people follow because of what you have done for the organization. The next level up is called People Development, and it’s based on reproduction. People follow because of what you have done for them. There is also a fifth and final level, called the Pinnacle, which is based on respect. This is where people follow because of who you are and what you represent. Few people reach that level. But the important thing to remember is that influence begins with building positive relationships and doesn’t depend on position.
With every person in your organization, you are on a different level of influence, based on your history with that person. We all start at the bottom with all individuals and have to work our way up the five levels with each person, building positive relationships, helping them and the team produce, and investing in them personally. It doesn’t matter what your role is or whether you have a formal title. True, the lower your stated position, the less positional authority you possess. But that doesn’t limit your ability to develop influence. You don’t need any kind of title or position to get started. You can increase your influence no matter where you are in an organization.
WHY PEOPLE OFTEN WAIT TO DEVELOP INFLUENCE
Sadly, too many people wait too long to start working to develop influence in their organizations. They often wait because they buy into myths that make them believe it’s too early to begin leading others. Often they’re waiting for a position to give them permission. I hope that’s not the case for you. Take a look at these reasons people wait.
1. THE DESTINATION MYTH:
“When I become the boss, I’ll start learning to lead.”
In 2003, Charlie Wetzel, my writer, decided he wanted to tackle a goal he had held for more than a decade: Run a marathon. Do you think Charlie just showed up at the starting line on race day and said, “Okay, I guess it’s time to figure out how to run a marathon”? Of course not. He started doing his homework a year in advance. He read reviews of marathons held around the United States and learned that the Chicago Marathon—held in October—enjoys great weather most years. It utilizes a fast, flat race course. It has a reputation for having the best fan support of any marathon in the nation. It was the perfect place for a first-time marathoner.
He also trained. He started the process in mid-April, increasing his mileage every week and eventually working his way up to two training runs of twenty miles each in addition to his other sessions. When race day came around in October, he was ready—and he completed the race.
Leadership is very similar. If you want to succeed, you need to learn as much as you can about leadership before you have a leadership position. You need to start developing your influence before you need it. Leading as well as you can wherever you are will prepare you for more and greater responsibility. Becoming a good leader is a lifelong learning process. If you don’t develop your influence, try out your leadership skills, and test your decision-making process when the stakes are small and the risks are low, you’re likely to get into trouble at higher levels when the cost of mistakes is high, the impact is far reaching, and the exposure is greater. Mistakes made on a small scale can be easily overcome. Mistakes made when you’re at the top cost the organization greatly, and they damage a leader’s credibility. As UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said, “When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.”
2. THE INEXPERIENCE MYTH:
“When I’m the boss, I’ll be able to control what happens.”
Have you ever found yourself saying something like, “You know, if I were in charge, we wouldn’t have done this, and we wouldn’t have done that. Things sure would be different around here if I were the boss”? If so, let me tell you that there’s good news and bad news.
The good news is that the desire to improve an organization and the belief that you’re capable of doing it are often the marks of a leader. As Andy Stanley said, “If you’re a leader and leaders work for you, they think they can do a better job than you. They just do (just like you do). And that’s not wrong; that’s just leadership.”3 The desires to innovate, to improve, to create, and to find a better way are all leadership characteristics.
Now here’s the bad news. Without experience as the boss, you probably overestimate the amount of control you would have if you were in charge. The higher you go—and the larger the organization—the more you realize that many factors control the organization. To make positive changes, you need influence. And the higher you go, the more you need. A position does not give you control—or protect you.
To think that being the boss is easier is to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Being in charge has its own set of problems and challenges. In leadership—no matter where you are in an organization—the bottom line is always influence.
3. THE FREEDOM MYTH:
“When I become the boss, I’ll do what I want.”
Sometimes I think people get the wrong idea about leadership. Many people hope that it’s a ticket to freedom. It will provide a solution to their professional and career problems. But being the boss is not a cure-all. Have you entertained the idea that being in charge will change your life? Have thoughts such as these come to mind from time to time?
When I get to the top, I’ll have it made.
When I finally finish climbing the corporate ladder, I’ll have time to rest.
When I own my own company, I’ll be able to do whatever I want.
When I’m in charge, the sky will be the limit.
Anybody who has owned a company or been the top leader in an organization knows that those ideas are little more than fantasies. Being the boss doesn’t mean you don’t have limits. It doesn’t remove the lid from your potential. It doesn’t matter what job you do or what position you obtain; you will have limits. That’s just the way life is.
When you move up in an organization, the weight of your responsibility increases. In many organizations, as you move up the ladder, you may even find that the amount of responsibility you take on increases much faster than the amount of authority you’re given. When you go higher, more is expected of you, the pressure is greater, and the impact of your decisions weighs more heavily. You will need influence even more since your title won’t do much for you. It’s important to take these facts into account.
Customers have great freedom and can do almost anything they want. They have no real responsibility to the organization. Workers have more obligations. Leaders have even more, and because of that, they become more limited in terms of their freedom. It is a limitation they choose willingly, but they are limited just the same.
If you want to expand the limits of your effectiveness, there is a better solution. Develop your influence and learn to lead. Those actions will blow the lid off of your potential.
4. THE POTENTIAL MYTH:
“I can’t reach my potential until I’m the boss.”
How many kids say, “Someday I want to grow up to be vice president of the United States”? Probably none. If a child has political aspirations, he wants to be president. If she has a bent toward business, she wants to own the company or be CEO of the corporation. Few people aspire to reach the middle.
Yet the reality is that most people will spend their careers somewhere in the middle of organizations and will still have bosses. Is that okay? Or should everybody play career “king of the hill” and try to reach the top?
I believe that people should strive for the top of their game, not the top of their organization. Each of us should work to reach our own potential, not necessarily the corner office. Often you can make the greatest impact from somewhere other than first place—as long as you have developed influence.
5. THE ALL-OR-NOTHING MYTH:
“If I can’t be the boss, then there’s no point in trying to lead.”
When I meet people in social settings and they ask me what I do for a living, some of them are intrigued when I say I write books and speak. And they often ask what I write about. When I say leadership, the response that makes me chuckle most goes something like this: “Oh. Well, when I become a leader, I’ll read some of your books!” What I don’t say (but want to) is: “If you’d read some of my books, maybe you’d become a leader.”
You can’t allow the frustrations you feel to keep you from developing your leadership and growing your influence. You don’t have to be the boss to be successful. If you let the frustration of not being the boss last too long, you may become disillusioned, bitter, and cynical. What good can you do by sitting on the sidelines? Get into the game. You do not need to be the boss to make a difference. Leadership is not meant to be an all-or-nothing proposition. You can make an impact from wherever you are in an organization. But it takes influence.
HOW DEVELOPING INFLUENCE MAKES A DIFFERENCE
It’s hard to overestimate the value of people with influence who lead well in an organization. Remember: leadership is influence. As you develop your influence, you become a better leader. As you build relationships, people want to work with you. As you help them become productive, the team improves. As you invest in them and develop them, they work harder for you and develop loyalty. Developing influence is the first and most important step in becoming a better leader.
In places where the top leaders try to keep everyone else down, the overall leadership is usually pretty poor. Why? Because when all the power is held by the bosses at the top and there are no leaders in the middle to help them, the entire organization suffers. The boss has to make everything happen himself because he hasn’t empowered anyone to step up and help him.
Look around your organization. Are there good leaders who have developed influence working to make good things happen? If not, you can still develop your leadership and start making a difference. If there are, try to learn from them. Not only will it help them and you, but it will also help organization and make it a better place to work for everyone. Here’s why:
EVERY TIME YOU ADD A GOOD LEADER, YOU GET A BETTER TEAM
Good leaders who have developed influence maximize the performance of those on their team. They set direction. They inspire their people and help them work together. They get results. This is easy to see in sports where the only thing that changes on a team is the coach. When a better leader comes in, the same players often perform at a much higher level than they did before.
The same thing happens in any kind of organization. When a strong leader takes over a sales team, their performance goes up. When a good manager takes over at a restaurant, the operation runs more smoothly. When a better foreman runs the crew, the people get more done.
If you were to look at your entire organization (assuming it’s not a mom-and-pop-sized operation), you would be able to locate the quality leaders even before you met them. All you would have to do is look for the teams with consistently high results. That is where the good leaders are.
EVERY TIME YOU ADD A GOOD LEADER, ALL THE LEADERS IN THE ORGANIZATION GET BETTER
When a good leader emerges or joins the team, it makes the other leaders take notice. Good leaders bring out the best, not only in their team members but also in other leaders. Good leaders raise the bar when it comes to performance and teamwork, and this often challenges other leaders in the organization to improve, including weak bosses.
GOOD LEADERS ADD VALUE TO THE LEADERS ABOVE THEM
Leaders in the middle of a larger organization are close to the people in the trenches, and as a result, they know more about what’s going on. They understand the people who are doing the work and the issues they face. They also have greater influence at those lower levels than the leaders higher up in the organization.
When there are no good leaders lower down in an organization, then everyone and everything in the organization waits for the people at the top. On the other hand, when good leaders closer to the action use their influence and commitment to assist good leaders higher up, they help to “stretch” those higher leaders’ influence beyond their personal reach. As a result, the top leaders are able to do more than they would ever be able to do on their own, and that benefits the organization.
GOOD LEADERS IN THE MIDDLE RELEASE TOP LEADERS TO FOCUS ON THEIR PRIORITIES
If your goal is to assume more responsibility and advance in your organization, then you need to realize that the higher you climb in an organization as a leader, the more you will see but the less you will actually be able to do. You can’t move up and keep doing all the tasks that you do now. As you move up, you will have to hand off many of your old responsibilities to others. If the people who are supposed to do those tasks don’t perform them well, then you will have to keep taking those things back and doing them yourself. You probably will not be able to do your new responsibilities effectively if that happens. The better you become at leading where you are, the better you will become at empowering others, and the greater your potential to do what you do best as you move up.
GOOD LEADERSHIP WHERE YOU ARE CHALLENGES LEADERS ABOVE YOU TO CONTINUE GROWING
When you grow your influence and become a better leader, it shows. Most of the time that makes the leaders you work for want to improve themselves to “keep pace.” Part of that comes from healthy competition. If you’re in a race and someone is getting ready to pass you, it makes you want to pick up your pace and move faster.
There is also a contribution factor. When team leaders see other team leaders making a significant contribution, it often inspires them to step up. There is a natural joy that comes from being on a team that is functioning on an extremely high level.
GOOD LEADERSHIP THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION GIVES IT A FUTURE
No organization keeps moving forward and growing using yesterday’s ideas and ways of doing things. Future success requires innovation and growth. And it requires the continual emergence of new leaders. Today’s workers are tomorrow’s leaders in the middle of an organization. And today’s leaders in the middle will be tomorrow’s leaders at the top.
TODAY’S WORKERS TOMORROW’S LEADERS |
Implement current ideas |
Generate new ideas |
Identify and define problems |
Solve problems |
Get along with the people they have |
Attract sharp people |
Work within the current framework |
Take risks |
Value consistency |
Value and spot opportunities |
If you keep developing your influence and growing your leadership, you will probably get your opportunity to lead at a higher level. You will move from being today’s worker to tomorrow’s leader. To become an even better leader, learn how to look at the people working with you and think about how you can prepare them to join you and eventually take your place.
Leadership expert Max DePree said, “Succession is one of the key responsibilities of leadership.” That is true. There is no success without a successor. Being a leader is about more than just growing your influence, doing a good job now, and making things easier for the people around you. It is about making sure the organization has a chance to be good tomorrow too.
WHO PEOPLE WANT TO FOLLOW
How would you assess your current level of influence with others in your organization? Do people follow you now? To they listen to your ideas and respect your opinions? Does your boss? If not, have you thought about why not? To increase your influence and become a better leader, you need to work on becoming the kind of person others want to follow. Consider these qualities, which any person can cultivate.
PEOPLE FOLLOW PEOPLE THEY KNOW—SOMEONE WHO CARES
Many people try to move others by criticizing them or trying to “power up” on them. People generally respond by becoming defensive, behaving combatively, or isolating themselves. Protestant reformer John Knox said, “You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time.”
On the other hand, if people care about each individual as a person, then those individuals respond well to them. The greater the depth of the concern, the broader and longer lasting the influence.
People can sense how you feel about them. They can tell the difference between people who are using them for their own gain and those who want to help them succeed. People warm up to warm people. They get to know the heart of someone who cares, and they respond well. If you go out of your way to care about others and help them, then they will go out of their way to help you when you ask them to.
PEOPLE FOLLOW PEOPLE THEY TRUST—SOMEONE WITH GOOD CHARACTER
We tend to put a lot of emphasis on intelligence and skill in this country. And while those things are important, they cannot substitute for strong character. Most people would acknowledge that trustworthiness is important in a leader. What some people don’t recognize is the importance of trustworthiness in would-be leaders.
If you desire to develop influence with others, then work on embodying and exhibiting the kind of character that you would find admirable in a good, trustworthy leader. That will pave the way for relationships with others today and prepare you for leadership tomorrow.
PEOPLE FOLLOW PEOPLE THEY RESPECT—SOMEONE WITH HIGH COMPETENCE
Respect is almost always gained on difficult ground. A leadership position will help someone only until difficulties arise. Then the leader must rise to meet those difficulties. People who are incapable of meeting challenges may desire respect from their team members and peers, but they rarely get it. They may be liked if they possess good character and care for others, but they won’t be highly respected if they can’t get the job done. People may treat them kindly, but they won’t be influenced by them. Everyone may have the right to speak, but not everyone has earned the right to be heard.
While poor leaders demand respect, competent people command respect. Being able to do a job well brings a person credibility. If you think you can do a job—that’s confidence. If you actually can do it—that’s competence. And there is no substitute for it.
PEOPLE FOLLOW PEOPLE THEY ADMIRE—SOMEONE WITH COMMITMENT
Think of some of the great leaders you admire. When I think of people like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., and John Wesley, one of the first qualities that comes to mind is their commitment. They gave everything they had to leading according to their principles.
Several years ago, I coauthored a book called Becoming a Person of Influence with my friend Jim Dornan. The book’s chapters are based on an acrostic that describes the qualities of an influencer:
Integrity—builds relationships on trust
Nurturing—cares about people as individuals
Faith—believes in people
Listening—values what others have to say
Understanding—sees from their point of view
Enlarging—helps others become bigger
Navigating—assists others through difficulties
Connecting—initiates positive relationships
Empowering—gives them the power to lead
If you work hard to do all of these things with the people in your organization, you will develop influence. The secret is to think about using your influence to help people. That’s what leadership is all about.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE INFLUENCE JOURNEY
As you work to develop your influence by building relationships and helping people, your leadership will develop. As you strive to become the best leader you can be, keep the following things in mind:
1. LEADERSHIP IS A JOURNEY THAT STARTS WHERE YOU ARE, NOT WHERE YOU WANT TO BE
To know how to get where you want to go, you need to know where you are. You need to focus on what you’re doing now. Award-winning sportswriter Ken Rosenthals said, “Each time you decide to grow again, you realize you are starting at the bottom of another ladder.” You need to have your eyes fixed on your current responsibilities, not the ones you wish to have someday. To succeed where you are, do your job with excellence and build relationships to develop greater influence.
2. LEADERSHIP SKILLS ARE SIMILAR, BUT THE “LEAGUE OF PLAY” CHANGES
If you do get promoted as a result of increasing your influence and improving your leadership, don’t think that because your new office is just a few feet down the hall from your old place that the difference is just a few steps. When you get “called up” to another level of leadership, the quality of your game must rise. Each new level requires a higher degree of skill. The easiest place to see this is in sports. Some players can make the jump from recreational league to high school. Fewer can make it from high school to college. And only a handful can make it from college to the professional level.
Your best chance of making it into the next “league of play” is to grow on the current level and learn all you can so that you will be better at the next level.
3. GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES COME ONLY AFTER HANDLING SMALLER ONES WELL
When I sign books, sometimes people will confide in me that they desire to write books too. “How do I get started?” they ask.
“How much writing do you do now?” I ask.
Some tell me about articles and other pieces they are writing, and I simply encourage them; but most of the time they sheepishly respond, “Well, I haven’t really written anything yet.”
“Then you need to start writing,” I explain. “You’ve got to start small and work up to writing a book.”
Leadership is the same. You’ve got to start small and work to bigger things. A person who has never led before needs to start by trying to influence just one other person. Someone who has some influence should try to build a team. Start where you are and do what’s necessary.
All good leadership begins where you are. The small responsibilities you have before you now comprise the first great leadership conquest you must make. Don’t try to conquer the world until you’ve first taken care of things in your own backyard.
4. LEADING AT YOUR CURRENT LEVEL CREATES YOUR RÉSUMÉ FOR GOING TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Your track record where you work now is what leaders will look at when trying to decide if you can do a bigger job. I know that when I interview someone for a job, I put 90 percent of the emphasis on the track record. If you want to get the chance to lead on another level, then your best chance for success is to lead well where you are now. Develop your influence and use it positively to help others and benefit the organization. Every day that you lead and succeed, you are building a résumé for your next job.
5. WHEN YOU CAN LEAD VOLUNTEERS WELL, YOU CAN LEAD ALMOST ANYONE
If you want to test your ability to develop positive influence, then try leading volunteers. Why is that so difficult? Because with volunteers, you have no leverage. It takes every bit of influence and leadership skill you have to get people who don’t have to comply to do what you ask. If you’re not challenging enough, they lose interest. If you push too hard, they drop out. If your people skills are weak, they won’t spend any time with you. If you cannot communicate the vision, they won’t know where to go or why.
If your organization has any kind of community service focus, volunteer. Test yourself. See how people respond when you try to get things done through a team. If you can thrive in that environment, then you have an idea of how good your influencing ability is. Lead volunteers well, and you probably possess many of the qualifications to go to another level in your organization.
Always remember the truth of what Donald McGannon, former CEO of Westinghouse Broadcasting Corporation, stated: “Leadership is action, not position.” Taking action—and helping others to do the same in a coordinated effort—is the essence of leadership. That takes influence, and that qualifies you to do bigger and better things. Do the things where you are at the highest level of excellence, and you won’t remain there long.