Leadership is influence.
Really though, what does that mean? When we talk about influence as leaders, what does that mean?
We are all guilty of using words that are common to us without thoroughly comprehending their meaning. Generally, they are assumed to be understood, but do we truly know what they mean?
What does it mean to influence?
To try and answer that question let us begin by going to the dictionary (yes, I am something of an amateur etymologist – a.k.a. word nerd). My favorite definition resource, the venerable Oxford English Dictionary, characterizes ‘influence’ as something having an effect on something else[1].
So, is that it, is that all there is to influence, just having an effect on something?
Wish it were that simple!
Based on the definition, at the heart of having influence is the notion of effect.
Effect is funny though; it is an extraordinarily broad consideration. When we think what it means to effect things, central to doing so is the suggestion that something is accomplished[2].
Now that I get – accomplishment!
As a leader I really do like it when our teams and our organization accomplish things! Accomplishment is a much more measurable reference than influence and far more specific than effect. Generally, I can know whether I have accomplished something, . . . or not!
I’ll offer an example. The quick service restaurant I own is currently restricted to operating just the drive-thru. The reasons for this are varied and really do not matter. It is the reality our team is faced with.
As we came to grips with this new reality, we knew that the viability of our business depended on our improving efficiencies in the drive-thru. The leaders on our team came together realizing this, and we began to discuss how we might improve.
Very long story short – we discussed several things as we worked to determine how to accomplish the improvement we were targeting. We decided we needed to MOVE MORE CARS. In fact, that became our team’s mantra – “MOVE MORE CARS!” It has been amazing watching our team increase the number of cars they serve in a day.
To date, the increase is more than 35%. Some hours the team serves as many as 3-4 cars PER MINUTE. Our team accomplished that improvement in about a year’s time.
What has been so energizing about this is the mood among the leaders and the team. They are super jazzed about accomplishing this, about improving, about getting better moving more cars.
This effort did not happen by itself. The organization’s leaders had to come together and collectively work with the team to accomplish this.
Strictly speaking, the leaders were able to influence the situation. Together with the team, after setting the course, the team executed the plan and they accomplished this achievelment.
If you have read my two previous posts, you will recall I hold that leadership is ABOUT relationships and leadership REQUIRES trust.
These remain integral when considering HOW leadership works.
Leadership then is about relationships that build trust and yield influence; that is, leadership accomplishes things.
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[1] “influence, v.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2021, oed.com/view/Entry/95520. Accessed 13 May 2021.
[2] “effect, v.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2021, oed.com/view/Entry/59665. Accessed 13 May 2021.
