Leadership and influence

What is the relationship between leadership and influence? Does leadership always have influence and is always leadership?

To say that leaders always follow this influence, just like saying that all snow is white. This is correct, but reasoning does not work. In other words, not all white things are snow. Similarly, while all leaders have influence, there are many types of influence that do not count as leadership. Here are some examples:

- Intimidate or force someone to do something.
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  - Bribe someone to make your bid.
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  - Pay what you want others to do for you.
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  - Teach students to do better in class.
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  - Encourage your child to eat vegetables.

The last two examples are not leadership because they have nothing to do with the groups that work hard to achieve them. Teaching students and encouraging their children to eat vegetables is for their own benefit, not for the benefit of a larger group. Similarly, salespeople can be very influential, but their influence is selfish. Sales people and customers do not select groups.

Formal authority and leadership influence

Assuming you are the boss, you decide to increase production by 50%, requiring everyone to work faster and longer without overtime. Is this the leader? No, it may be influence, but it is not leadership because employees have no choice. To say that leadership is an informal influence means that followers can choose to follow or not.

What are some of the main examples of real leadership influence? The most familiar of them was Martin Luther King's demonstration against bus segregation, which led the US Supreme Court to ban this practice. Kim has no formal power or other power to promote the US government. This is the true meaning of leadership.

Another real example of leadership influence is Sony employees, although they feel that Sony does not make toys, but it affects management's idea of ​​using PlayStation.

Whenever you convince your colleague or boss to adopt a new idea, you have already shown leadership to them. Or, you may just set a good example for others, and if they follow, you will show leadership.

Market-leading companies influence competitors to change direction, which is another example of true leadership.

When executives make decisions that move their teams into new directions, they are taking management actions rather than showing leadership because employees have no choice.

To be counted as leadership, influence must be informal, and followers must join in exactly the way they want. Leadership is also a group phenomenon designed to serve some unselfish purposes, which helps to improve the efficiency of the group.

For this reason, even if your child is willing to follow their request to eat their vegetables, you have not shown leadership because you and your child are not a group working towards a common goal.

Informal leadership and flu

We often distinguish between formal and informal leaders. The only difference between these concepts is that informal leaders are informally responsible. Formal leaders gain formal authority to manage the organization, while informal leaders are granted this role by the organization itself. Informal leaders have personal power - personal charisma, knowledge or some form of expertise that the team values.

It is essential to recognize that the traditional concept of informal leadership is different from saying that all leadership influences are informal. The traditional concept, whether formal or informal, is about being responsible for the group. The proposition put forward here is that true leadership is independent of position, as is the case with Martin Luther King. He is not an informal leader in the traditional sense - the Supreme Court does not recognize him as their informal leader. As another example, a technology geek may influence the adoption of new software by his peers. He influenced them informally. However, this geek may not be able to manage this group, they may never see him as their informal leader - they will turn to asking for help to organize their daily work, they will seek advice and resolve conflicts. The informal leadership of geeks is a one-time act, not a continuous one. His influence is informal, but he is not the informal leader we usually call because he has no interest or ability to manage this group in a management sense.

So? By redefining the meaning of leadership, I say that the old distinction between formal and informal leadership is outdated. There is actually only formal and informal management, because all leaders are informal, a term that reflects the willingness to follow someone's leadership rather than informally.

in conclusion

Because of the informal influence of someone, the impact of leadership involves a team changing direction. It is always selfless because if you influence people by supporting their needs to support you, you will effectively operate as a salesperson rather than a leader. True leadership requires people to identify their individual needs and do something for the benefit of the team. Think about Martin Luther King. He is fighting for justice, not for being elected president of the United States. His leadership sacrificed personal sacrifice for a higher cause.

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Orignal From: Leadership and influence