Earning Influence for Lasting Impact

While each topic we work through in this look at leveraging leadership growth can stand alone, you’ll notice a lot of interconnection. Everything we do to invest in relationships for lasting impact should be earning influence, whether we’re developing others or someone is developing us. Having frequently referenced the lasting impact both Kevin and Terry have made in my life through the influence they earned, reporting to Kevin for over a decade and never reporting to Terry, and contrasting that with miserable construction crew supervisor I worked for in the mid-90s, you should have a clear picture of how making a long term positive difference relies far more on influence over authority. With this as our foundation, let’s consider how we can earn that influence rather than expecting it to fall in our laps simply because we fill a certain position. I’ve recently heard two amazing examples of this, one where a supervisory relationship was in place and one where everyone involved was volunteers.

Cindy and I met with a young man a few weeks ago who had already developed a tremendous level of talent in his field and had recently accepted significant leadership responsibility. The owner of the company brought us into the mix to ensure he had all the tools he’d need to be successful in the aspects of this new role that he would soon be dealing with: the people. Our goal in the initial conversation was to learn all we could about him and the foundation he had to that point. As he loosened up, we saw so much heart for the field he was in, the team he accepted responsibility for leading, the company he was with, and the manager he reported to. Make no mistake, though, his feelings toward the company and his manager had nothing to do with compensation; it was all about the investments made in him and the influence that had earned. While there was positional authority in place, the lasting impact being made there was definitely a result of earned influence.

Since then, I had a conversation with someone who has frequent interaction with one of the folks who provided me with amazing support as we worked together in behavior-based safety. As we talked, this fellow (who I was just getting to know) shared how our mutual friend volunteers countless hours to the organization they’re a part of - but I already knew that. I wasn’t aware of what he shared next, but I also wasn’t surprised. He explained how our mutual friend had taken a very active role in mentoring several teenagers who had gotten involved with that organization; teaching them what he had learned, playing basketball with them rather than everyone sitting around on their phones, and just showing interest in who they were. Hearing that had me in tears because I know the influence he’s earning with them will absolutely have a lasting impact - in that organization and in everything else those teenagers do moving forward. My friend continues to foster a mentorship culture everywhere he goes.

In both cases, regardless of title, the love and admiration I heard - one talking about his manager and the company he works for and the other sharing what he had seen from someone newer to that volunteer organization - was solely based on earned influence. Investing in relationships is the quickest way I’ve ever seen to earn influence. We’ll circle back to how that earned influence carries across hierarchies (even in volunteer organizations) soon. First, though, we’ll look at how mentoring through influence is so much more effective than through control. Until then, I’ll challenge you to identify one person you could be mentoring. Once you have, think about how you can invest into earning influence with them that goes well beyond your title.