It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"The key to successful leadership in influence, not authority." Ken H. Blanchard
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
The summer is over and I want to dive back into some quotes that follow a theme. This month, the theme is INFLUENCE.
I'll start with this great quote from Ken Blanchard on influence, and while I've shared it before, it's a great reminder of the posture each of us in leadership needs to take.
This quote is really the foundation of Blanchards perspective on leadership. He believes that leaders must use influence instead of their position and authority to "effectively" lead others. Notice the word: EFFECTIVE.
You can lead from a position of authority, but it doesn't build trust and team the way leading from a position of influence does.
There's an article from Indeed.com that shares "7 Characteristics of Effective Leadership Influence". In summary...
Here are seven characteristics of effective leadership influence you can use in your management:
1) ATTITUDE: Your attitude has the potential to affect how others around you feel about someone or something.
2) VALUE: It's helpful to incorporate your values into your words and actions.
3) LISTENING: When you listen to others, it can allow you to hear what people desire and value.
4) PASSION: A passion in life may motivate people to work towards their personal and work goals.
5) OPENNESS: It's important for you to show and encourage openness because it allows others to share their ideas with you.
6) TIME MANAGEMENT: A leader desiring to influence their teams can encourage members to focus on the things they can complete today.
7) KNOWLEDGE: Share your knowledge as a leader and commit to continuing their education.
Which one of these characteristics stands out to you? Which one do you need to work on with your leadership?
DEEPER STILL:
When I started as a Youth Pastor over 40 years ago, I was always amazed at the difference between High School Students and Junior High Students. Tell me if you've experienced the same thing...
If I wanted to "INFLUENCE" a High School Student, I had to come at them from many different angles: I would motivate them, I would encourage them, I would challenge them, I would push them, I would convince them and I would build a relationship with them. Sometimes it was all of these things just to get their attention, but it was a lot of work to find ways to connect with these students.
If I wanted to "INFLUENCE" a Junior High Student, I had to simply invite them to join me. They were willing to do whatever it was I was willing to do, as crazy as that was. If I was going to get buried in the sand at the beach, they were willing to get buried. If I was willing to slide down a hill on a block of ice, they were willing to do that. If I was willing to jam 26 marshmellows in my mouth and say "Chubby Bunnies" they were willing to do it.
Looking back, Junior High Students were looking for someone to follow, and I just had to lead them.
High School Students were looking for a "REASON" to follow, and I had to convince them.
We have incredible influence in our leadership. We just need to learn how to use it, when to use it, and we need to be cautious to not abuse it!
Think back to when you were in Junior High? Who influenced you and how did they do that?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
I just started reading this book that's been on my list for a while: The GAP and the GAIN by Dan Sullivan. I'll keep you posted. Really interesting so far!
My mom and I watched a great movie this past week called "The Glenn Miller Story". It's a 1954 movie starting Jimmy Stewart, and I learned a lot of about Glenn Miller and his influence through music. It's a classic!
I finally finished Sharon McMahons 9-part series on Joseph Stalin. Really interesting history. Stalin: Man of Steel
Wow, a sure sign that I'm getting older... Gina ordered these pouches to organize our medicine and vitamins for a trip! POUCH BAGS