For the longest time, I struggled with the concept of leadership. It always seemed like such a vague and subjective idea to me, and, because of this, I paid little attention to it's importance in my life. All I knew was that I could identify a leader when I saw one, and that was enough for me. In fact, it wasn't until the past couple of years that I began to truly understand what it meant to be a leader, and to see the importance of growing as a leader in all aspects of my life. I've seen it change my relationships, my goals, my passions, and my life strategies. And it's a big reason why I felt the need and desire to start this blog in the first place.
A little insight about myself: I am a man of few words. I like getting to the point and don't feel the need to add a lot of fluff to what I need to say. My wife can tell me a story, present a problem, or ask for advice in a 5 minute mini-speech, and I can respond (much to her chagrin) in a sentence or two. My friends will tell you I'm not much for small talk. I don't like listening to fluff either. Listening to coaches speak about their teams drives me nuts because they rarely say anything of substance, instead choosing to just throw out a bunch of filler and cliches to appease reporters and fans. And don't even get me started on political speeches. When it comes right down to it, I really just don't like dancing around the subject of what needs to be said. And that's how I felt, for many years, that leadership had been presented to me: as a bunch of fluff, with no real point. I wanted to know the answer to the question: "In one word, what is leadership?"
I feel like John Maxwell gives that answer in the 2nd Law of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Here, he boils leadership down to one measure: influence. The Law of Influence says that being a leader is all about the influence you have with others. And when you think about it, this makes sense. In order to lead, I need to influence. I can't get someone to follow me if they don't care about what I do and say. In a nutshell, our ability to lead is all about how much influence we have in people's everyday lives.
A fantastic example of this is UK basketball coach John Calipari. The man is a master at 3 things: getting the best players to come to his school, getting them to buy into the team mentality, and preparing them for a professional basketball career. That's what he's all about. And he's a master at this because of his ability to influence these players and their families on so many levels. Think about how many megastar recruiting classes he has had in his time here at UK. Think about how sacrificially these megastars have played, seeking the betterment of the team instead of their stat line. Think about how he has been able to help these kids make the right decision in regards to when they need to enter into the NBA. It has required a remarkable amount of influence on Cal's part in making all these things happen, year in and year out, and the resulting success for the players and UK have been amazing. Cal is a master of the Law of Influence.
So if we understand that leadership and influence go hand in hand, the follow up question is "How do I gain influence?". It's a question that is not easily answered, and it's something that doesn't happen overnight. It's taken Cal years of hard work to gain the considerable level of influence he holds over young basketball players. And while it may not take you as long as it took Cal, it will take some time for you to be able to influence those around you. That's just the nature of things. In addition to time, there are a few key areas that John Maxwell suggests we need to grow in that produce influence, including our character, relationships, knowledge, intuition, experience, past success, and ability, all of which we will talk about going forward.
All in all, the take away is this: if you want to be a better leader, you need to grow your influence. Spend some time thinking about those around you and the level of influence you have with them. Is it where you want it to be? If you want to lead well, you need people to listen when you speak, and to take notice when you act. Work to increase your ability to influence, and you'll see your ability to lead grow along with it.
Source: John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, 2007, Thomas Nelson.
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