Leading Others - Authority VS Influence
One of the most challenging aspects of growing in your career involves cultivating your ability to lead others. This is a challenge for people at all levels of an organization, but it can be particularly challenging for young leaders who have been placed in formal roles without the proper training, coaching, or support to set them up for success at the onset. While there is no magic formula to guarantee your success in working with others, I hope I can provide some initial building blocks that lay a foundation for success in many of your work relationships.
First, you must understand that there are two fundamental positions from which you can lead. You can choose to lead from a space of authority, where your followers are primarily driven to act as a result of your position and the fear of what may happen if they do not "fall in line." New leaders often rely heavily on this form of leadership for a number of reasons: they haven't built a sufficient foundation of trust with their team members, they feel their responsibility as a leader is to tell others what to do and hold them accountable for making sure it gets done, or more commonly their concept of leadership is heavily based on the parent-child paradigm rather than an adult-adult perspective. Leading solely from a position of authority always leads to the lowest level of performance from your people.
The alternative is to lead from a space of influence. Leading from influence is vastly more powerful because people are taking action because they want to, not because they feel they have to. Leading from influence is all about laying a foundation for mutual respect and understanding and building on that foundation by creating win-win agreements with your people. You need to empower your people to develop autonomy within their role and then provide the appropriate direction and support based on their competence and commitment to the task at hand.
While there are a number of leadership frameworks and models that can help you grasp and apply these concepts to working with your people, one that has always stood out to me is John Maxwell's 5 levels of leadership. (See LEADERCAST Below)
As you move through each level of leadership with a direct report you increase your influence with them. By investing in your people, building relationships, and showing you care about their growth and development you strengthen their commitment to both you and to the organization. At the fifth level you have earned their respect and in turn, will see their absolute best performance.
 About The Author
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Maxwell Masters specializes in helping collision repair business grow and scale their business through the Fix Auto Platform. He is passionate about saving California and supports the 10X Movement. Maxwell also works with high school and college students to imbue them with the D.R.E.A.M. Mindsetâ„¢ and help them find success in their future careers.
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