To lead with influence over authority, to fully utilize the strength of humility, to ever begin to develop others, or to even capture the slightest return on investment from our relationships, we’ve got to realize that we are indeed capable and worthy of all those things. Without knowing your worth,...
Every title and position has its limitations; for our investments into relationships to have a lasting impact, the influence we earn will always trump any authority we hold. That influence, especially when balanced with a healthy dose of humble confidence, can produce a ripple effect that reaches fa...
I realize I’ve shared it several times already, but I don’t believe it’s possible to overstate John Maxwell’s comment that “Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.” As I detailed how having the humility to ask our son to change his behavior (while still explaining the potential results ...
As we looked at both fostering a mentorship culture and how humility serves as a counter to firm positional authority, I was very intentional each time in using the term “leadership legacy.” John Maxwell opens the final chapter in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, “The Law of Legacy,” by saying...
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 frequ...
Earlier while looking at the importance great mentors have in all our lives, I shared one of the quotes I’ve heard most frequently from John Maxwell over the years: “Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.” Since then, we’ve also looked at the (often) untapped power that lies in honest ...
Twice to this point, I’ve alluded to the significant difference in the results we can achieve by earning genuine influence rather than relying solely on the authority of our position or title. If a mentor has been effective in helping us close our leadership gaps, that’s been through the influence t...
While the strong mentors Jordan had helped him maintain a strong public image, there were still areas where he led teammates in a less than positive direction… I’ve referenced the difference between the influence Michael Jordan earned and the positional authority Jerry Krause relied on several times...
Last time I referenced how the bitterness grew between Jerry Krause and Michael Jordan over time, especially when a few of the trades Krause made - with players who were Jordan’s close friends - were only brought to his attention by the media after the trade was done… We’ll circle back to dig into t...
If we were having this conversation face to face, I’m guessing you’d reply to what I shared last time by saying something like, “Alright Wes, if everything really does rise and fall on leadership, but you’re telling me it requires more than the carrot and stick status-quo, what else can I possibly d...
A number of years ago, I was scheduled to visit some job sites with the field supervisor at the company I was working with. I met him at the warehouse just before 5am so I could have some time with his team members as he was making sure they each had the materials they would need at each of their jo...
