“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another” – Napoleon Hill
The more I see examples of leadership and influence not just in my organization being put forth, but also in places I visit, the more I’m reminded of the truth of this quote. No matter who you are, no matter where you serve, if you have influence with people, you are leading! Leadership has very little to do with holding a particular title or position. Leadership is about building influence — The function of leadership is to rally people around a common purpose, then motivate people and mobilize people to achieve influence. Leaders succeed in this endeavor only by exerting effective influence!
Here’s a foundational principle — You can’t build influence without other people. Whether it’s a landscaping company, a restaurant, a sports team, or a church, there is no leadership without others, because influence comes from other people. It’s something they give in response to who they perceive you to be. The moment people perceive you differently is the moment that positive influence is withdrawn.
Put it like this to understand it better when it comes to your influence foundation.. When people give you permission to lead in their lives because of your actions, you’ve earned influence. When people give you permission to lead in their lives because of your words, you’ve borrowed influence temporarily. Now, both types of influence can be used to achieve great things. In most cases leaders borrow influence before they earn it. This is especially true in young leaders that may have been put in a position of leadership early on in their lives and are being molded, or in younger start up businesses. But remember this because it is very important – People will only trust their words for a VERY limited time. Once they realize that the leader’s actions don’t align with their words, they’ll withdraw from that borrowed influence.
So, while people can make an entire career from borrowed influence, they will have to continually churn through their followers in order to do it. You’ll see this example often in places that have very frequent turnover. They may have a handful of people who keep them going, but they always need a new crop of people – the ones who aren’t yet familiar with their track record to borrow influence from.. Do you see where I am going with this?
And even worse, borrowed influence can’t be shared or passed over. It’s like being given a store credit for returned merchandise – you can’t go shopping at Target with a Walmart gift card. With borrowed influence, the permission followers give the leader isn’t strong enough to extend to anyone else on the team. Unless the leader’s words are backed by solid actions and results.
Earned influence, on the other hand, is like having money in your pocket. It’s based on something tangible, so the leader can freely share and use it to lift others to positions of influence — it’s like re-investing money for a return. Every time a leader takes his or her team to victory, that shared experience earns the leader influence for the next challenge or opportunity. It also earns the leader new team members. Everyone wants to work with someone who delivers the goods and can be trusted, and leaders who have a track record of success and integrity attract only top talent when openings arise in the organization!
Where the glaze meets the donut – When leaders settle for borrowing influence instead of earning it, they fail to meet their capacity in leadership. Because we live in a culture that is flippin STARVING for influential leadership, many people will give influence to someone who sounds or looks good for a time being. But once they have been burned however, it takes a genuine leader who can do something positive and meaningful to get people to give influence away again. Once someone has experienced this from a leader, influence is much harder to earn from them. Leaders who earn influence keep their best people, as well as attract new ones to their teams.
To lift and lead others in the long term, you must be a leader who continually works intentionally to earn influence with your actions and be sure they align with your words. Remember this – Not everything has to be a win – you can earn a lot of influence by persevering through failure… I could share a hundred examples of mistakes I have made, learned from, and pressed on — but EVERY action needs to match your words and show your willingness to move forward and learn from the situations.
So the question for you my amigos – which kind of influence do you have? Are you borrowing influence or are you earning it? Leadership simply is all about influence, and the best kind of influence comes when people give you permission to lead in their lives based on your actions. If you want to get real influence, you have to get busy — and earn it from the people you lead.