The definition of leadership has been explored and debated forever, and yet our perception of leadership, especially at work, is that it is something that is done by managers and executives. We tend to think of leaders as those with a title, authority and power, directing others and writing their performance reviews. The bigger the title and the higher in the organization, the stronger the leader.
But the reality is that regardless of title or authority, a leader is made by the followers. It has been said that if you think you are leading and turn around to see no one following you, then you are just taking a walk! We all have seen “leader” who are just taking a walk, or “followers” who have no heart in it, just going through the motions to satisfy the boss.
I think a more appropriate definition of leadership was coined by John Maxwell, considered one of the top leadership experts in the world: “The true measure of leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” That profound statement expands the definition to all of us, because we all influence others at one time or another and in one way or another. We influence our coworkers to support an initiative or to take action. We influence our boss to buy into our new idea or to go a different direction. We influence our friends and family and we influence our kids in many ways on a regular basis. You have probably experienced a time during a meeting when the participants looked not to the manager for direction but instead to the operator, technician, or accountant because they had the needed information or they had the demonstrated knowledge and wisdom to lead in that situation. In short, we all exert influence regardless of our position or authority, and that makes us all leaders.
With leadership, however, comes choice and responsibility. We sometimes call it the “Spiderman Principle” – With great power comes great responsibility. Whether your influence comes from your position, experience, knowledge, passion, or just having a great idea to convey, you have a choice in how you lead. You can influence positively or negatively, for the good of others and the team of for self-good. How you choose will be closely related to how others will follow and how effective your influence will be in the future.
That means that motives are critical to your influence and the outcome. People sniff out self-serving motives quickly, and when they sense that a person is trying to influence for their own benefit, the guard goes up and the ability to influence goes down. When my son volunteers to do the dishes or vacuum the house, I know that a self-serving request and attempt to influence will soon follow. When you walk into the car dealership and the salesperson strolls up and offers a hearty handshake and specialty coffee, we have already steeled ourselves for his “leadership” in our car-buying process. When a boss is more interested in their preferred parking spot or the vendor golf outing than what the team needs to be successful, we tend to hunker down and take care of our own. Motives matter, and motives deeply impact your influence and ability to lead.
The first step, then, in broadening your influence is to recognize you have it. We are all leaders because we all have influence. The second step is to follow the Spiderman Principle and recognize that with the influence we have comes responsibility. Our leadership influence increases or decreases by how we choose to use it. Finally, we need to check our motives and choose service over self-service. Our influence and leadership potential will grow as we put the interests of the team ahead of ourselves and as we show through our actions that we are worthy of being followed.
Take some time to think about your own spheres of influence. When you look back, who has followed you? Why did you try to influence them and in what ways were you successful? What are your motives to influence and lead others? How will you use your influence to lead others going forward? We are all leaders. How we influence and where we lead depends on us and our motives. Take that responsibility seriously and influence for the good of others.