Leadership is Influence

Leader’s have the ability to influence people.  The greater your influence the greater your ability to lead people.  So how do we gain influence in the workplace.  One of the most important factors is to have integrity.  In a recent poll of business people the number one quality people desired in their leader was integrity.  Integrity is the quality most needed to succeed in business today.  It is similar to the foundation of a house.  If a huge storm comes along and water and wind starts to push on the house, the foundation will be stressed.  If the foundation is solid , then it will hold up against the raging storm.  But when there are cracks in the foundation, the stress of the storm deepens the cracks until eventually the foundation crumbles, bringing the whole house down.

That is why is so important to have integrity in even the smallest things.  That is how you build a solid foundation, one block at a time.  Here are some questions to ask yourself to measure your integrity:

1. How well do I treat people from whom I can gain nothing?
2. Am I transparent with others?
3. Do I role-play based on the person(s) I’m with?
4. Am I the same person when I’m in the spotlight as I am when I’m alone?
5. Do I quickly admit wrongdoing without being pressed to do so?
6. Do I put other people ahead of my personal agenda?
7. Do I have an unchanging standard for moral decisions, or do circumstances determine my choices?
8. Do I make difficult decisions, even when they have a personal cost attached to them?
9. When I have something to say about people, do I talk to them or about them?
10. Am I accountable to at least one other person for what I think, say and do?

Those questions come from a book by John Maxwell called Becoming A Person Of Influence.

The benefit of integrity is building trust with people.  Trust is a huge factor in having influence.  If people trust you, they will give you the benefit of the doubt.  Integrity can only be established if you have developed strong character in your leadership.  As Phillip Brooks once said, “Character is made in the small moments of our lives.” 

So to increase your leadership ability, you need to increase your influence, and the best way to do that is to lead with integrity and develop your character by being consistent, honest, transparent, fulfilling your promises, serving others, and being humble.

Lead On!

 

First Leader’s Edge in Canton

Leader’s Edge met for the first time in Canton Ohio on Wednesday September 17th at Lolli’s Restaurant in BeldenVillage.  The topic was on “Becoming a Can-Do Leader”.  Dwight Mason, a Canton native, and the founder of Leader’s Edge spoke about three Can-Do attitudes.  The first is an attitude of commitment.  Making a commitment to do your very best on a consistent basis.  The second attitude is an attitude of control.  Some things are out of our control, but we can control certain things, like our attitude, our responsibilities, our decisions and our approach to dealing with stress.  The third attitude is an attitude of challenge.  How do you view challenges that come your way?  Do you rise to the challenge or shrink from the challenge?

Dwight talked about two vital skills in developing these can-do attitudes.  The first skill is transformational coping.  How do you cope with the problems you face every day?  The key is perspective, keeping the bigger picture in mind.  Dwight said “The difference between a follower and a leader is perspective, and the difference between a good leader and a great leader is better perspective”.

The second skill he talked about was developing a social support system.  The danger for leaders is to isolate themselves instead of engaging with people.  We all need people around us that help to sharpen us and hold us accountable.

Dwight closed with these four thoughts:

1. Thrive on Change.
2. Take action (Make the tough call)
3. Be resilient at home.
4. Develop perspective.

Lead on!

 

New Site Launch

Leader’s Edge is excited to announce that starting with this fall’s session, we are adding a 3rd site. Beginning September 17th, we will now have a Leader’s Edge session in Canton.

The new site will meet on the 3rd Wednesday of each month for lunch at Lolli’s Restaurant in the heart of Belden Village. Lunch will cost $15 per person.  Lolli’s is located at 4801 Dressler Rd. NW, Canton OH.