The What, Why & Who of Influential Leadership
The three most frequent questions I face about influential leadership are the following:
- What is influential leadership?
- Why is influential leadership different?
- Who is influential leadership for?
Questions are great.
Questioning is one of our eight Behavioural Attributes.
So, I am always happy to field questions about influential leadership that expand its understanding and practice.
However, questions (questioning), like answers, are not neutral.
There are three types of questioning, with only one that is productive:
- Questioning that arises from authentic curiosity to think, learn and grow.
- Questioning that diverts curiosity and learning into objection and obstruction.
Questioning that has no intention of listening.
The way in which questions are posed tend to give away their underlying motive. I am often tempted to respond to each type with their own response, but that would be unproductive.
No matter the motive, each person and question deserve respectful responses.
The Alpha Influential Leadership Activation Programme provides extensive rationales for these three ‘W’ questions, and others. However, because these questions mostly arise before people embark on the Alpha Journey, they must be answered as they arise.
So, in this Leadership Weekly Note I am offering two responses to each W question. While each question has a volume of responses, these brief statements offer a taste of what we have in Alpha.
What is influential leadership?
- It is the choice a person makes to exercise their social agency for their benefit, with others. In other words, it is the capability to think critically, choose smartly, and act with purpose to achieve productive outcomes for themselves and others.
- It is not the management of resources, whether people or other.
Why is influential leadership different?
- It has clarity of purpose, which is to influence and shape lived lives for the better, whoever and wherever we are.
- It is not an office, a personality, a position or a title.
Who is influential leadership for?
- It is for each person because we all care to live our most purposeful and powerful life. But there is a proviso; for me to live my best life, I must take others with me. We do it the win-win way.
- It is particularly directed at those who until now have applied and relied on the legacy ‘leadership’ ways that include behaviours such as greed, bullying and dictatorship. Any form of zero-sum behaviour is zero for all!
My leadership conversations with a diverse range of people reveal something about what we call the leadership gap.
People are disillusioned with what they perceive as leadership. No matter whether it is country presidents, business executives, sports team administrators and even in their own communities, people feel they have been let down and deceived.
This is the consequence of society calling every ‘Aneke, Dylan and Thandi’ a leader when they are not. The problem is not leadership, it is that we allow leadership to become the servant of the mis-leaders and anti-leaders; people who have only their own interests in mind.
So, in one sense, we are justifiably frustrated with the notion of leadership.
Yet, in another sense we are part of the problem.
Where are we in the mix?
Why are we not stepping out and standing up?
The influential leadership way expects each of us to accept responsibility to lead.
Too many people still imagine that ‘someone else’ must lead while they get on with their lives.
Influential leadership calls on each person to lead wherever they find themselves. Remember, leadership is not about an office, a personality, a position or a title – it is about you and me.
Have a successful leadership week.
Regards,
Colin @ Karoo
Influential leadership is DEMOCRATIC!
Leadership Weekly Note: 2723. 030723
e: colind@karoo.world
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