The 5 Pillars Of Influential Leadership – Part 14: My Leadership

by | Aug 1, 2013 | Awareness, Communication, Environment, Growth, Influence, Leadership

5 Pillars webThis is the 14th of 16 weekly installments on The 5 Pillars of Influential Leadership.  Every Thursday, I will break down the 5 Pillars and show you how becoming and influential leader will not only improve your job skills but your personal life as well.

The 5 Pillars is a project that I have been working on for almost two years and had a great time with the official launch of “The 5 Pillars of Influential Leadership” Coaching program on May 23th.

Why the 5 Pillars?  I have spent more than 30 years in the business world and although it has been primarily in the Construction world, the 5 Pillars philosophy works across all industries.  In fact, while developing this program I realized that it can have a significant impact on your personal life as well.

I will break down each Pillar into three sections, personal, business and community. Any growth or improvement needs to start within, with the end goal of influencing the community you live in.  In this post we will take a look at PERSONAL LEADERSHIP.

Here we are, the final Pillar – Leadership.  For 13 weeks we have been discussing the skills and values that help form an influential leader.  For the final three weeks, we will look at what influential leaders do, and how they do it.

MENTORING

You won’t find an influential leader out there that does not have a mentor.  None of us are the best we can be in everything we do.  Influential leaders recognize that there are others that can, and are willing to help them take it to the next level.

DEVELOP OTHERS

Influential leaders are committed to helping others along the way.  There is no greater gift than to believe in someone and help them reach their potential and achieve their dreams.  Who can you help develop with the skills you have?

SERVANT LEADERS

Influential leaders are servant leaders.  They give with no expectation of anything in return. Although the initial return on this investment of time and resources is not always seen right away, it becomes very evident over time.

SELF-LEADERSHIP

John Maxwell has said that the hardest person to lead is yourself.  I think he is right. Influential leaders are continually working to improve their own skills and are committed to personal growth.

WISDOM

The only way wisdom is gained is through experience.  Influential leaders spend time reflecting on the events in their lives and the lessons that can be learned.  They are open to sharing both their successes and failures with the intent of helping others learn as well.

COURAGE

Influential leaders have the courage to make the difficult decisions required to change the things that need changing.  You can’t please all of the people all of the time and clear vision on mission and purpose empowers the leader to take others in the direction that they need to go.

INFLUENCE

Every decision you make will influence an outcome.  Influential leaders understand that their actions will impact those around them.  They make their decisions based on what is best for the entire team or organization.  As Maxwell says; “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”

TRUST

David Horsager, in “The Trust Edge” says that trust is the real currency in business and life, not money.  Your success is based on people that know, like and trust you.  Building a relationship based on trust will lead to success, but remember, broken trust can take a lifetime to repair.  Do you have that much time?

LEGACY

One of the biggest reasons I made a career change was because I wanted to leave a legacy that mattered.  I could take you on a drive through the Portland area and show you numerous projects that I have been involved with over the last 30 years.  None of them can tell you anything about who I am.  The people that I have influenced as a coach, speaker, trainer and author can tell you how I made a difference in their lives.  That is a legacy worth living.

The 5 Pillars coaching program will take each topic to a much deeper level.  We will explore open ended questions and how they are directly impacting your life and more specifically in this segment, will allow you to evaluate and understand your role in growing your business.

In the mean time, start asking the type of questions that will result in better answers. When you ask “How can I”  you get an answer that will move the needle.  “What can I do today to increase my ability to be an influential leader?”  Answer that question, act on it, and you will succeed.

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Barry Smith    8/1/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013