In my work I hear all the
excuses for not leading with incredible intention. I am not old enough. I am not skilled enough. I do not hold a big title.
My response, when it comes to making an impact, is that none of that matters!
Obviously, I love working with
all kinds of leaders at various stages in their careers. But I do have a
special affinity for younger leaders or what I call Emerging Influencers! This certainly includes Millennials, but
we are now starting to see GNext appear. The problem, however, is that
younger leaders believe that due to youth, inexperience, or being from a historically
underrepresented segment that they believe they are not yet an influential
leader. This got me thinking out loud that A) my experience has proven time and
again that is not true and B) that it is incredibly important that ALL of us
need to lead from where we ARE!
Everyday we read or see stories
about influencers that hold no or little authority take the social/media world
by storm. They capture our hearts and attention due to their bravery and
passion. Malala Yousafzai is the young Pakistani girl who was shot by
the Taliban (that was closing schools for girls in that region) for publicly advocating
for the right of girls to receive an education. Now she speaks all over the world
at the highest levels of influence to advocate for her cause. You can read her
story in the international best seller, I Am Malala. Jess Ekstrom
created the Headbands for Hope brand that now raises hundreds of thousands
of dollars for juvenile cancer research. When she started, she had no corporate
backing, just friends helping her make attractive headbands from out of her home
to provide to young girls who lost their hair due to the effects of treatments.
Here near where I live in Florida, a young man named Denis Estimon who
immigrated from Haiti as a young child started an organic movement called We
Dine Together that makes sure no child sits alone at lunch in the often
too harsh social realities young people experience at school.
Again, none of these Emerging Influencers held a corporate title or were some Reality TV darling (they probably couldn’t even vote when they started!). What they did have, however, is influence but not in the way we normally think about it. Those who research such things, understand that there are several different kinds of influence but I highlight three types below:
Positional Influence –
this is simply influence we gather because of what a role we occupy.
Holding a title in an organization in no way guarantees leadership effectiveness
or influence but it does allow us to shape our environment because we have been
given the authority to do so.
Technical Influence – is
based upon what we can do. This is influence we gain due to the simple
fact that we have learned to do something especially well. For example, being
an excellent software coder or program project manager affords us a certain
degree of influence or notoriety because others seek our expertise and defer to
our judgement.
Referent Influence – is based
upon who we ARE! As in the
examples above, these Servant Leaders have influence due to the quality of
their character and the pureness of their motives. This is where you can ALWAYS
lead! This is why people that on the surface appear to have no formal authority
in reality influence hundreds inside an organization or even thousands more outside
of one!
So, no more excuses. Lead
where you are to everyone around you. This is called 3600
Servant Leadership and it . . .
is . . . mighty! As a 3600 Servant Leader you lead “up” by
meeting the needs of those in authority above you such as a boss or their boss.
You lead “across” by being a resource and encourager to colleagues and co-workers.
You also lead “down” to clients, students, patients, and anyone else in your
charge by offering the best service, expertise, and/or care that you can.
The
10 Day Challenge –
I would like you to do
something for me. In the next ten work days (see, I am even giving you the
weekend off!), I want to you to do something outside of the job or role
description that will intentionally ADD VALUE to those in your 3600
orbit. Write a note or make a notation in your phone where you:
List the NAME of the person
you are going to add extra value to.
Summarize what you are going
to do.
Give yourself a date for
completion.
Is this an incredibly cheesy challenge? Yes, yes it is! But just may be one of most powerful things you do. I would love you to email me at the address below and let me know how this went for you! If I was Oprah, I would give you a Porsche for doing so but since I am not I will highlight your story in a future blog if you would like.
If you follow my blog, you
know that I believe everyone should have a Leadership Platform. That one thing
that you lead on, lead for, or lead toward. You do not have to have it all
figured out, just lead from where you are. I promise you, it will be more than
good enough!
As always if I can help you and
the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite
you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching
experiences I offer can provide an impact.
If you want to know more about
finding your leadership platform, I would direct you to Leading Out Loud: Strategies for
Raising Your Leadership Voice! available on Amazon.com. Also, I a happy
to announce that I am now offering a two-part Servant Leadership Training. The first part is a fun and
interactive introduction into what Servant Leadership is and the impact it can
have and the second part provides an Action Plan to create and activate
a Servant Leadership culture curriculum within your organization. Please feel
free to contact me for a no obligation inquiry.
Yours in Leadership,
Bill Faulkner
Principal Consultant – Out
Loud Strategies
Independent Coach, Speaker,
and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email
= bill@outloudinc.com
Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com
For more information on the
John Maxwell Team, please visit
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Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc
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