July – 2018 Monthly Leadership Session – What To Do With Influence

July – 2018 Monthly Leadership Session – What To Do With Influence

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Influence is the ability to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone. If you influence someone, you are changing them in an indirect but powerful way. But how do we effectively use our influence for others and what do we do when we get it? Let’s talk about it.

3 Highlights From This Episode

Today in our culture, we tend to define influence as possessions. We tend to link influence with money. And while they’re not the same they are both treated very similarly. So we’re going to take 2 minutes and look at the 3 things you can do with influence and its impact on you as a leader.

1. Spend It

Spending your influence is to use it on yourself. When we spend money on ourselves it’s for something we want or need. Spending your influence is what you do with your discretionary time, your discretionary availability. It’s how you flex your decision making authority.

Just like money, you have to spend some of it on yourself just to keep life going. You have to pay the water bill, you have to pay the gas bill, you have to keep the lights on. In your own leadership what are you doing to keep the lights on?

• Are you reading?
•Are you learning?
•Are you growing?
• How much time are you spending becoming the best you, you can be?
• How much time are you spending looking for & putting yourself in situations that require you to grow?

WARNING:
The warning here is not to spend all of our influence on ourselves. This is how we become prideful and conceited. Spending all of your influence on yourself will lead to relational bankruptcy.

In your own leadership what are you doing to keep the lights on? Share on X

2. Save It

Saving your influence is intentionally withholding your voice, your opinion so those around you can express their thoughts and ideas. If the leader, especially in a collaborative environment; makes a decisive argument the other participants are more likely to align behind that idea and it can even set mental boundaries for what types of ideas will likely be brought forward.

Just as you spend and save money, the best leaders understand they have to withhold the power of their influence till the team has had time to mine all the ideas and explore its true creativity.

• How often do you present the problem you’re trying to solve without inserting your own solution?
• How free are those around you to present an idea that may be different than yours?

WARNING:
The warning here is not to become a silent or indecisive leader. You must still lead. Withholding your voice, while powerful, is also strategically temporary.

The best leaders understand that their are times where you have to withhold the power of your influence till the team has had time to mine all the ideas and explore its true creativity. Share on X

3. Give It

One of the greatest things you can do with your influence is to give it away. Money spent on ourselves only gain possessions but once you know the true joy in giving nothing else comes close.

To give your influence is to extend who you are, to loan your credibility to someone who’s still developing their own. The hallmark of great leaders is their willingness to give influence, to make a way for those around them.

• Introduce those you lead to people within your circle.
• Offer opportunities to those who would never be able to reach them on their own.
• In meetings defer to someone whose idea may have been overlooked.
• Fight for people who may have the potential but not the credentials.

If you want to be a great leader, use your influence as a bridge, as a ladder, as a hand to help pull someone else up.

WARNING:
The warning here is to invest wisely. Giving influence before determining character can be detrimental to both the giver and the receiver.

Leaders must be willing to fight for people who may have the potential but not the credentials. Share on X

Avery

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