Becoming a Person of Influence
Posted on February 18, 2016 by Ryan Latham, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Leadership is influence, nothing more nothing less. If you want to become a better leader, increase your influence. But H.O.W do we do this?
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziggler
In life and business we have all experienced hitting a lid; you know, that invisible ceiling that keeps us from reaching our maximum potential. As a young youth pastor I became sick following every major event, feeling stressed and frustrated because my plans weren’t working. I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, and spent most of my time dealing with problematic behaviors. My students didn’t listen to me and I couldn’t control them. I thought I was trying to be a great leader, but I was really trying to be a superhero.
After a couple years of feeling discouraged and unsuccessful I finally figured out the problem: I was doing everything by myself. In order for me to truly care for my students and stay healthy, I needed to get more people involved. Great leaders are always people of great influence. Here is H.O.W. you can become a person of influence.
Heroes everywhere:
Donald Miller teaches that wise businesses focus on making their customers the hero of their brand. Company executives, church leaders, and parents who elevate themselves to heroic standing may impress some, but they also create distance from their most valuable resource. We become people of influence when we make our customers, church members, and family members the heroes.
Observant:
We live in an increasingly fast-paced society; emails, phone calls, text messages, and social media loudly demand our attention. This has led to a life of multi-tasking at the high cost of devaluing people around us. If we turn off the mind clutter, truly give others our attention (no cell phone in hand!) and listen with empathy, we greatly increase our sphere of influence.
Work on it:
We can easily busy ourselves with daily tasks and unknowingly spend days, weeks, and even months without reflecting or evaluating. We need to intentionally look at our family, ministry, and business and see how we can improve the people, systems, and future of our charge.
Once I learned H.O.W. to increase my influence I began to see explosive growth in my students and youth leaders. Becoming a person of influence happens day by day, when you choose to add value to those around you. May your leadership be renewed today.
