Leader as Influencer: Impression Management in the Spotlight

As we move into a new year, I ask you to think about what kind of leader you are.  Not a leader, you say?  We are ALL leaders.  Think about it.  You may lead an association, organization or company.  You may lead a team at work or your family at home.  You may coach a child’s sports team or lead their scout troop.  Maybe you’re a parent or an aunt or uncle.  All of us are leaders because someone is looking to us to lead.  So here are my recommendations—articles, books and quotations from some of the experts in the field.

Marshall Goldsmith is one of the most respected executive coaches in the country and wrote an excellent book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There. To move to the next level, he suggests we constantly need to solicit feedback from our peers, reports, friends and family. At his website, you'll find directions for an exercise he calls Feedforward. And, you’ll find more about Marshall on my blog post http://bit.ly/2nt7Cg4

Daniel Goleman is the author of Emotional Intelligence.  In his article, What Makes a Leader?, he explores the five main components of Emotional Intelligence:

• Self-Awareness
• Self-Regulation
• Motivation                         
• Empathy
• Social Skill

After you read the article, ask yourself—as I ask participants in my program, “Which of the five main components of Emotional Intelligence provides me with the greatest challenge?  Which aspect of that component?  In other words, what could I focus on to become an even more effective leader?” 

As Goleman said, “People are promoted for technical, operational and intellectual reasons, but fail for emotional ones.” And his colleague, Richard Boyatzis, said, “In a study of more than 2,000 managers from 12 large organizations, 81% of the competencies that distinguished outstanding managers were related to emotional intelligence.”

You can download the article, What Makes a Leader? at hbr.org for $8.95 http://bit.ly/2GxWSpB

As John Maxwell said in The 360° Leader, Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization, “You don’t need power to bring change to an organization; you need influence – which is actually a more important skill.”  

You can download the executive summary at http://www.cflblackmba.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Executive-Summary-360-Degree-Leader.pdf or check out any of his books at: http://www.johnmaxwell.com/ 

McKinsey partner Claudio Feser said in an interview, “We all can lead better by developing a better understanding of ourselves, so we can make the best of what we have. Our research suggests that leaders who are self-aware—who know themselves or, as we put it, are “centered”—are up to four times more effective in managing change than people who aren’t.”

I have heeded the recommendations of these two gentlemen as I update my Leader as Influencer program.  Two crucial factors to foster effective leadership are developing a better understanding of ourselves and developing our ability to influence.

Change is guaranteed. Here’s to a rewarding 2018 for you!