Leadership is one of those words that seem to have so many different definitions, each one having a slightly different purpose or weight to it. For instance some think a leader is born, others think they are people who are given the title of leader, others think leaders are those who are the extraverted people who talk the most and that doesn't cover all the definitions many people have.
Well I tend to believe a leader is someone who goes first with others following them toward a destination. So we could say leadership is influence, more specifically Leadership is the ability to obtain followers.
Here are couple of quick truths about Influence:
1.) Everyone Influences Someone
2.) We Never Know Who or How Much WE Influence
3.) Influence is a Skill that CAN be Developed
We are being Influenced by someone and we are Influencing someone, whether we know it or not. Often times we don't even know who we are Influencing or how much we are Influencing them.
Here is an example. Last summer there was this student who was graduating from High School and if I had to bet I hadn't said 50 words to. I knew of him, but I didn't really know him. I wasn't even involved in Student Ministry's at the time and you know what? He invited me to his Graduation Party. I was shocked, blown away is more like it. I was certainly honored that he wanted me to come, but at the same time I had no idea I was Influencing him at all.
This is the power of Influence and chances are you're having an affect on someone right now!
I'll leave you with this quote from the book "Power and Influence" by Robert Dilenschneider where he talks about this idea of the "power triangle" which says this; "The three components of this triangle are communication, recognition, and influence. You start to communicate effectively. This leads to recognition and recognition in turn leads to influence."
We can learn to communicate better and more effectively and that my friends starts us on the road to more recognition and influence, which increases our ability to obtain followers.
* Who are you being Influenced by?
* How does it feel like knowing you are Influencing someone?
* How does knowing you can develop the skills to be a more effective Influencer?
Don't be surprised that someone is watching you, that someone is being Influenced by you. And don't be surprised if one day that someone asks you to come to their "Graduation"...
Thanks, Rainey, for posting our first blog about “What is a Leader?” By the way, this venue should be a great way to share what we do so often ~ dialogue via email. For those who don't know, we've done this for the last two years on various topics and, I think, our dialogue has been healthy in so many ways. In fact, I think we've become better people (spiritually, intellectually, socially) as a result of dialoguing and sharing our thoughts. It’s my hope, as well as Rainey's, that this blog stimulate growth in terms of (all of us) becoming a better leader/influencer.
ReplyDeleteYour observation that leadership is all about "INFLUENCE" and “ABILITY TO OBTAIN FOLLOWERS” is great way to understand the “ABC’s” of leadership. It is so true that we are either influencing others or being influenced by others. A point of contention for me, however, is the use of Robert Dilenschneider’s "power triangle" where he argues that communication “leads to recognition and recognition in turn leads to influence . . .” I’m wondering if we as Christ followers (who are also “leaders”) should be seeking “recognition” as a leader? My initial out-loud thought is: Wouldn’t this be antithetical to the Gospel? I’m wondering how we handle recognition in a humble manner and, at the same time, let it influence others in a righteous manner? Any thoughts?
OK... I waited as long as I could ;o)
ReplyDeleteI sure hope other people are reading this... If you leave a comment Scott will give you $5, that should help lol.
Scott makes some interesting points that do need clarification... I'm not suggesting we "seek" recognition, but rather recognition is part of the natural progression to more influence.
How about an example... Jesus as He taught, healed and called people out became more recognized. Now we all can agree that He didn't "seek" it, but I think we would all agree that recognition happened which lead to more influence because people knew of/about Him.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate what you said about receiving recognition as a Christian leader. But I think it depends on what you mean by recognition. Do you mean praise??? Or do you mean that you are recognized as being different??? I don't think we should seek praise. But we should definitely seek to be RECOGNIZED as a different type of leader. Hopefully, we can do things that make people want to find out why we behave the way we do. Hopefully, we can do things that make a difference in this world. Hopefully, we can do things that make other people want to be around us.
Pretty corny, eh???
I think the best thing we can do is to try to have fun while serving God. What really turns most people off from church??? It's BORING!!!!!
Sure, we're dealing with the difference between eternal bliss or agony. But why be so serious about it??? If we can't be happy about the eventual outcome --- then who can????
Peace,
--Chris
Okay, Chris, are you expecting $5? Lol. Thanks for the response. First, I want to respond to your question, then I have a question for you . Yes, I’m using the word “recognition” in the sense of praise or in the sense seeking prestige or status. Recent research has shown that all too often those in leadership tend to have narcissistic tendencies, meaning, they have a predisposition to seek outcomes that benefit themselves rather than to benefit others (wow, what a thought, lol, the New Testament tends to warn us about those tendencies). Sometimes these leaders tend to have inflated views of their talents and solicit others (in seemingly good ways) to obtain power and prestige. Having said that, I’m wondering if we as followers of Christ should shed "recognition" since he is the path we follow (i.e., the image we seek to be formed into). Do you think it is perhaps “shedding” of recognition (after the manner of Christ . . . see Phil 2:1-12) that causes “recognition” and therefore influence?
ReplyDeleteChris, I think you’re right in saying that “we can do things that make other people want to be around us.” This is certainly an aim worth pursuing, but I’m wondering what these things are? In what way do we want to be a “different type of leader” when we’re supposed to be followers of Christ and follow his example? Thoughts, questions, or observations? :-)
Well, not to be too obvious - but we should be servant-leaders. I think that I would depart from the Dilenschneider model of Communication > Recognition > Influence. To something that looks more like Service > Recognition > Communication > Influence.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think is hard about this is that we don't necessarily have other people hanging around giving us orders. So sometimes we need to figure out what other people need from us. Sometimes it's moving chairs and other equipment. Sometimes it's teaching. Sometimes it's organizing an outreach event or a social activity. Sometimes it's giving generously. Sometimes it's being a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes it's babysitting and changing diapers. Now there's recognition that not too many people are seeking!
But if we do these things cheerfully then other people might see something different in us. And then we might have the opportunity to tell them about why we do what we do. And hopefully that's the influence that we seek.
--Chris
Chris, I appreciate your thinking here. I totally agree with your observation that “service” should drive all aspects of the so called “power triangle”. It seems to me that servant-leadership inverts the power triangle so that selflessness and humility should trigger “influence” with other Kingdom seekers. And, on this basis of selflessness, will others follow by emulating the same attitudes. You’re right, though, this type of recognition is not widely sought.
ReplyDelete