– The True Measure of Leadership is Influence – Nothing More, Nothing Less
(DAY 2 – The 21 Day Leadership Challenge)
Leadership is not about your title or position. It’s about leading. Can you lead in a situation where your title or position don’t matter? Practice some anonymous leading.
Dig into it:
- True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that cannot be mandated. It must be earned.
- Five Myths About Leadership
1. The Management Myth – that leading and managing are the same. Leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes. Managers can maintain direction; to move people you need influence.
2. The Entrepreneur Myth – entrepreneurs are skilled at seeing opportunities and going after them. But not all of them are good with leading people in their vision.
3. The Knowledge Myth – neither IQ nor education necessarily equates to leadership.
4. The Pioneer Myth – being a trendsetter is not the same as being a leader. To be a leader, a person has to not only be out in front, but also has to have people following his lead.
5. The Position Myth – leadership is not based on rank or title. It’s not the position that makes the leader; it’s the leader that makes the position.
- Several Factors That Make a Leader
a) Character – Who They Are – true leadership always begins with the inner person. People can sense the depth of a person’s character.
b) Relationships – Who They Know – with deep relationships with the right people you can become the real leader in an organization.
c) Knowledge – What They Know – information is vital. You need a grasp of the facts to develop an accurate vision for the future.
d) Intuition – What They Feel – leaders seek to recognize and influence intangibles such as energy, morale, timing and momentum.
e) Experience – Where They’ve Been – the greater your past challenges, the more likely followers will be willing to let you lead.
f) Ability – What They Can Do – the bottom line is followers want to know whether you can lead them to victory. As soon as they no longer believe you can deliver, they will stop following.