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Are You Influencing Others?

In his book Heroic Leadership, author Chris Lowney refers to the writings of Ignatius Loyola, and records a keen insight.  “We are all leaders and we’re leading all the time, well or poorly.”  This idea that every person possesses untouched leadership potential is at odds with the corporate top-down model of leadership that many have adopted. 

If the organization’s leader is the person who holds the vision for the future, then the easiest way to stop or defeat the organization is to distract, oppose, or eliminate the leader.  However, if the members of the organization hold the vision for the future, then it is nearly impossible to hold an organization down. 

Sometimes we are leaders in subtle ways as in when we work with a positive attitude and quietly achieve our daily and weekly goals.  Other times we may hold a position on a committee, a task force, or in the organization that puts us in a more public role where we are expected to speak out and guide others through some process or to achieve some project.  In both situations, we can be leaders because we have an opportunity to influence others.  The question is how are we using our influence? 

It is easy to criticize and complain.  Anyone can moan and gripe since it takes very few if any real skills to be negative.  On the other hand, experts would argue that leaders influence others and produce changes.  Look around you and think about what kind of influence you have on the people around you each day.  Is your influence making others lives better or worse?  More positive or more negative?  What would others say about you if they were interviewed about your impact on the organization?

Some of you are making a slow, steady impact and the full measure may yet to be known for years to come.  As water flows over stones and gradually wears them smooth or graces its way across the land and carves out streams and rivers, it is slowly demonstrating its ability as one of the most powerful change agents on earth.  Most of us face the same opportunities each day to make a slow, gentle, but positive impact on the people around us.  Leaders do not have to make bold, immediate, striking changes to have a significant impact. 

“Everyone has influence and everyone projects influence – good or bad, large or small – all the time 1”  Life and its circumstances will present a few folks with world shaking, defining moments in which they can influence major changes.  However, most people will not enjoy such moments in life.  Be encouraged, you can still make a major difference. 

Remember…Your leadership is not defined by the scope of the opportunities you receive, but by the quality of your response to every situation you face.

1 Lowney, Chris. (2003). Heroic Leadership. Chicago: Loyola Press.

Next month...Learn how you can build trust and create more respect. Discover how these attributes will help you achieve more!