Leadership by Choice: Increasing Influence and Effectiveness through Self-Management

Chapter 6

Leading in Any Position

You…a Person of Influence, a Leader

Have you ever asked yourself who has influenced you? Perhaps it was a neighbor, a teacher, a coach, a coworker, a colleague, a friend, a relative, a spouse or partner, a parent, or a child. Have you ever asked whom do you influence? Chances are you have influenced someone in those same groups mentioned.

A major element of leadership is to realize that you are a person of influence. Leadership is not about a title or a position. It's about a choice you make to be a person of influence, to carry yourself in a certain regard so that others will follow you.

Consider the kind of life you lead, the kinds of decisions you make, and with whom you hang around and associate. In doing so, you begin to realize that you are a person who influences others.

Two words come to mind when I consider the term leadership: followers and influence. Leadership means that you have followers, and if you have followers, then you have some form of influence. The most powerful people are those with the most influence.

A leader is someone who has followers and is influential over them. Leadership inspires others to say things like: “I'd follow him anywhere,” “She lives her message,” and “He's not afraid to do the hard work and lead by example.”

In my seminars I use the following example: I take a $1 bill out of one pocket and say, “Somebody ...