It’s our biggest fear – that we’re doing it wrong.
There’s a reason that there’s a $14-billion-a-year industry built around leadership development, and it’s because there’s so much at stake and so much to gain from getting it right.
We’re leading and we’re learning and evolving as we go. We want to do it the right way, to motivate our people and get the most out of them.
All the while though, we’re wondering – what if we ARE going about it the wrong way?
What We Get Wrong about Leadership
We’re often taught that as leaders, we need to project authority. We’re told we need to push people and give orders to get things done. And, yes, this approach may work in the short term.
When you project authority and make demands, you get compliance from your people. When times get tougher or when you’re not winning, you can also get frustration, resentment, and disengagement.
Keeping your people on task through authority alone requires being on their backs and micromanaging their every move. It’s exhausting to keep hold of so many responsibilities, and if you loosen the grip of your authority for a moment, you also lose your power.
Where We Should Focus Instead
Truly meaningful leadership doesn’t come from authority alone. It doesn’t come from pushing your people to achieve more.
True leadership comes from influence and inspiration. I’ve worked with leaders who deeply influence the people they connect with each day. I’ve noticed these leaders rarely push their teams around with directives, yet the people who work for them are eager to perform and to be at their best.
Their influence pays far greater dividends than trying to be forcefully authoritative ever could.
What’s the secret sauce to developing influence? It’s energy.
Energy-Inspired Leaders create influence and engage the hearts and minds of their people. How do they do it? When a leader is fueled by energy, they are at their best in performance state. They plant seeds of growth and innovation. They inspire their team members to be creative and enthusiastic, to bring their own ideas and energy to the table.
How to Inspire and Create Influence Through Energy-Inspired Leadership
As a leader, there are times when authority is called for – like in the midst of a fast-paced crisis. However, even in these situations, influence does more than authority ever could. Things start falling apart when you bark orders and make demands, even if you have the technical authority to do so.
When you choose instead to use influence – modeling the behavior you want to see, steadily providing guidance – people want to align themselves with you because they trust you and they see what a differentiator you are on a team or in a workplace.
As an Energy-Inspired Leader, here’s how you can work to strengthen your influence rather than wielding your authority:
- “All of us are smarter than one of us.” Be upfront and show your vulnerable side. Some people tend to become more rigid and authoritarian when they don’t feel fully in control. A confident leader can show vulnerability and let their team members know when they don’t have the answers. These leaders aren’t afraid to be curious and explore options. They show their team that things don’t have to be perfect; they can make things work even under less-than-ideal circumstances.
- Develop and invest in your people. Influence isn’t something you’re granted with a title change. Instead, you earn it by showing your people that they matter to you. Invest your time and energy in supporting them and giving them opportunities to grow.
- Balance challenge and care. Stress is not the enemy. Challenge stress helps us to grow and to become more resilient. An Energy-Inspired Leader recognizes the value of balancing those challenging opportunities with care and nurturing. Give people a chance to come back stronger after a challenge. It shows them just how capable they are and it increases their gratitude for your influence, as you guide them to believe in their own competency.
- Make sure your people know they have the option to say no. To deal in influence instead of authority, people have to have free will. If you tell them you trust them, show it. Help them re-prioritize as needed. Part of trusting them is hearing them when they say they don’t have bandwidth.
- Express gratitude. Showing appreciation sounds like a simple thing in the workplace. It’s also very powerful. Gratitude is linked to more positive emotions, a greater sense of agency around goals, high job satisfaction and lower stress. When we show genuine gratitude, we make an investment into our people and at the same time increase their trust and our influence.
Influence: The Building Process is Worth It
When you are in a leadership position, it may feel hard to loosen your grasp on authority – on feeling like you need to control the how, where, when of the way your employees are working.
After all, you probably reached this stage in your career because you knew what you were doing and because you got things done. Why would you give up that control at this point?
You may worry that if you choose to lead through influence instead of relying on authority, things will slip. You may think that this notion works for different kinds of teams but not one under the pressure and scrutiny your team currently faces.
Ask yourself this – what are the potential benefits if you do commit to leading through influence?
Who are the best leaders you’ve worked for and how did their leadership impact you? You probably found yourself wanting to give more and do more as part of their team because you understood that what you did and the choices you made mattered. Those leaders unlocked your discretionary effort because they gave you guidelines and then used their influence to support you rather than to control you.
As an Energy-Inspired Leader, you can do the same, and you and your team will be better for it.
