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 October 21, 2013

The Difference Between Influence and Leadership

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Entire industries have developed around the

exertion of influence.

 

 

The lobbying industry tries to influence the

government. Advertisers persuade consumers to

spend their money on certain products or

services. Politicians employ nationwide

telemarketing campaigns to sway last-minute

voters. Parents attend seminars aimed at

influencing the way they influence their children.

Business analysts do market research and hire

focus groups to study what is influencing the

customer. Doctoral students examine the hidden

factors behind change in education, sociology,

history, and many other fields.

It’s all influence.

Dictionary definitions of influence include “a

power indirectly or intangibly affecting a person

or course of events,” and the more vague “to

cause a change in the character, thought, or

action of; to have an effect upon.” I also ran across

this one—“an occult ethereal fluid believed to

flow from the stars and to affect the fate of men.”

I like that last one—influence is someone

affecting us and we’re not exactly sure how.

Let me define it another way, though. Influence is

a person’s ability to shape people and mold

outcomes.

Influence is morally neutral (can be used for good

or evil), but it always involves both relationships

and results.

Difference Between Leadership and Influence

So is influence just a fancy term for leadership?

No. We often put the two together, but they are

two separate entities.

Sure, you have the Abraham Lincolns of the world

who are influential leaders.  But for every

Abraham Lincoln, you have a Vincent van Gogh,

Franz Schubert, and Karl Marx—people of

massive influence who had no leadership position

and even died in obscurity.

Summary: You can influence without being a

leader, and you can lead without influencing, but

you can’t be a good leader without influencing.

Leadership comes from a title whereas influence

does not depend on education, position, or

financial situation.

Here are some other distinctions between the

two:

Leadership is visible; influence is out of sight

Leadership is usually conscious; influence is

often unconscious

Leadership is contained; influence crosses

boundaries

Leadership is immediate; influence is long-

term

Leadership is public; influence is often behind

the scenes

Leadership is formulaic; influence is

mysterious

Leadership captivates culture; influence

drives culture

Leadership is the tip of the iceberg; influence

is the mass under the surface

Leaders act on people; influence affects

people and outcomes

 

Harvard Business Review spotlighted influence and

leadership this summer. In “Connect, Then

Lead,” Amy Cuddy and two others identify the

importance of influence over leadership.

Leadership rises from authority, but influence is

born of connection. If people feel connected, they

open themselves up to the influence of others.

To influence, you begin with connection. You

connect with people and begin to affect their

actions.

Conclusion

I draw a dotted line between leadership and

influence because there is a lot of overlap

between these two words. More and more people

are recognizing that leaders can wield

tremendous influence but that it is only potential.

The best leaders strive not for leadership (which

is given to them) but for influence (which is

earned).

Ken Blanchard wrote, “The key to successful

leadership today is influence, not authority.”

Michael Hyatt says, “Aspiring leaders would do

well to stop focusing on control and figure out

how to expand their influence.” John Maxwell

puts it plainly— “Leadership is influence.”

In this article, Joseph Grenny describes ways

four keys to influential leadership. I love what he

says about Tim Tassopoulos, the SVP of

Operations of Chick-fil-A.

“Tim…understands that success comes down to

whether one of his 50,000 front-line associates

with a few discretionary minutes decides to lean

against a wall or clean tables. Tim’s success or

failure as a leader does not come down to

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whether he is charismatic, visionary, or

inspirational but to whether people behave in

ways that improve results. Period.”

Influence is about people and results.

Let me put it this way: Leadership and influence

are both needed, but influence is bigger, deeper,

and a more difficult skill to cultivate than

stereotypical leadership.  And if I had to choose

between whether I could exert leadership or

influence, I’d pick influence every time.

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 October 21, 2013  Steve Graves  Leadership Development

© 2018 | Steve Graves