By Rolf Crocker

This month, I’m going to take a page out of Leadership Guru John Maxwell’s Playbook.  When I teach on leadership concepts, I often ask – Who do you consider to be a great leader, past, present or historical?  As you can imagine, there are Presidents, military leaders, religious leaders and even various dictators that make the list.  Dictators – really?  Absolutely.  Why?  It bears out in Maxwell’s definition of Leadership, which is Influence – nothing more or less.

The Law of the Lid

In his book, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, Maxwell talks about “The Law of the Lid.”  His tenant under Law Number 1 is, “Leadership Ability Determines a Person’s Level of Effectiveness.”  To illustrate, Maxwell uses a numeric scale to rate individuals on leadership.  As an example, say you were rated a 7 on an imaginary leadership scale, your effective following would be no higher rating than a 6; If a rated a 4, you’ll attract no higher than a 3.  Why?  People won’t follow leaders who rate lower than themselves, only those that are higher on the leadership scale.

And Your Point Is…

Simply put, to be a more effective leader with broader appeal you need to raise your leadership effectiveness rating.  But, what can I do about it?  Well, there is good news – leadership can be taught!  In fact, the idea of a ‘naturally-born leader’ is a misnomer.  There are a very few who have innate leadership ability.  For most of us, it is a painfully acquired skill. 

In “Developing the Leader Within You”, Maxell discusses 3 leadership characteristics are acquired through learning.  They are

1.      Modeling – seeing leadership modeled.  This is done through mentoring or even just observing people you believe exhibit string leadership ability.

2.      Learned – attending training, reading books.  Seminars, conferences and books by qualified leadership experts are all ways in which leadership concepts can be instilled in you.

3.      Self-discipline - having the desire and internal fortitude to make the emotional and attitudinal changes necessary to lead others.  The requires (at the minimum) self-sacrifice and checking your ego at the door.  Trust me; no one has this completely dialed in.  This is something that has to be decided on daily.

Working Smarter, Not Harder

Maxwell demonstrates an additional benefit of relying on acquiring additional leadership skill.  The example Maxwell gives is a scale on which Dedication (working harder) is across the bottom and Ability (working smarter) on the side, if you work very hard, increase your Dedication by 2 points but are only a 2 on the Ability scale, you still have a pretty shallow pool.  However, take that same energy, apply it to getting leadership training, suddenly you bump up 2 points on the Ability axis and increase your overall effectiveness two-fold.  Exponential increase comes from working smarter, not harder.  You work smarter by applying yourself to acquiring the leadership skills you desire.

You Can Do This!

Since the vast majority of us didn’t choose this profession through the Vocational Counselor in High School or College, the majority of our training has been OTJ (on the job).  While Management Professionals are not know as introverts, I believe that many of us wonder to what degree we are making an impact.  Make no mistake - everyone has the ability and the opportunity to be an Influencer.  Maxwell maintains that even the most introverted individual will influence 10,000 people in their lifetime.  The question is not “if” but rather how you will be an influencer.  Whether it is with your Board, your vendors, your Boss or your significant other, you are having an influence.  We need to A) recognize that fact and B) strive to be a positive influence to those we come in contact with. 

Accept The Inevitable

As a management professional, influence is your key element in every aspect, from helping your Boards to dealing with your homeowners and vendors.  Understanding, developing and honing that skill is your pathway to greater personal and professional success.  So decide now to be an influencer of positive change.  These two books are a great place to start:  The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (©1998, Nelson) and Developing the Leader Within You (©1993, Nelson) by John Maxwell