Leaders must have influence!
By Peggy Brockman
By Peggy Brockman
In John C. Maxwell’s book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Law number two is THE LAW OFINFLUENCE. This law states “the true measure of leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.”
If you don’t have influence, you will never be able to lead others. Real leadership cannot be assigned orawarded….it must be earned. A title does not make you a leader – it can only buy you a little time to eitherincrease your level of influence with others or to undermine and blow it. There is a big difference in being a“Manager” and being a “Leader”. Managers tell people what to do – Leaders empower others to succeed.I’ve listed seven factors of leadership below. Rank yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest (this reallydoesn’t apply to me) and 10 being the highest (I rank in the top in this category). You will soon see the areas youneed to focus on growth.1. Character – Who You Are – true leadership always begins with the inner person. People can sense the
If you don’t have influence, you will never be able to lead others. Real leadership cannot be assigned orawarded….it must be earned. A title does not make you a leader – it can only buy you a little time to eitherincrease your level of influence with others or to undermine and blow it. There is a big difference in being a“Manager” and being a “Leader”. Managers tell people what to do – Leaders empower others to succeed.I’ve listed seven factors of leadership below. Rank yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest (this reallydoesn’t apply to me) and 10 being the highest (I rank in the top in this category). You will soon see the areas youneed to focus on growth.1. Character – Who You Are – true leadership always begins with the inner person. People can sense the
depth of a person’s character.
2. Relationships – Who You Know – with deep relationships with the right people you can become the real
leader in an organization.
3. Knowledge – What You Know – information is vital. You need a grasp of the facts to develop an
accurate vision for the future.
4. Intuition – What You Feel – leaders seek to recognize and influence intangibles such as energy, morale,
timing and momentum.
5. Experience – Where You’ve Been – the greater your past challenges, the more likely followers will be
willing to let you lead.
6. Past Success – What You’ve Done – the more success you have had, the more influence you will have
with those you lead.
7. Ability – What You Can Do – the bottom line is followers want to know whether you can lead them to
victory. As soon as they no longer believe you can deliver, they will stop following.
**Peggy is the author of “10 Feet From the Edge: Stuck in the Comfort Zone” available on Amazon. It will bereleased in Spanish later this year. She is a John Maxwell Team motivational speaker, corporate trainer and life andbusiness coach. See Spanish version for Peggy’s website and contact number!
