Influential by Nature
When I was in corporate leadership, I concluded that leadership is about influence, both positional and relational. The persistent presence of “influencers” in our culture now seems to confirm my conclusion, but it makes me wonder, as well: if someone shows leadership influence that I want to emulate, where does it come from? And how do I grow toward it?
"I've watched the influence of her life bear much fruit."
At 97 years old, my friend “Mary” (a pseudonym) is one of the wisest and most humble women I know. I served on a board with her many years ago, and I’ve watched the influence of her life bear much fruit. I feel incredibly privileged to occasionally fit into her busy schedule of mentoring and discipling younger women with the Word at the helm.
Mary continually exemplifies one of my favorite verses: “Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” (1 Thess. 2:7-8). Mary uses her influence in this way, much as Jesus and the apostles did, showing her own life to be part of the most influential movement on the earth. In our Navigators ministry, we call this Life-to-Life.
Three Influence Challenges to Overcome
We have challenges to overcome in these Life-to-Life contexts. Let’s focus on three of these that can strengthen our influence as we are attentive to these things: acknowledging Christ in me, loving and listening, and practicing humility. Then we’ll talk about positional influence in our workplace, both with those we lead as well as with our peers.
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Acknowledging Christ in Me
Kingdom influence comes from and through Christ. In John 15:5, Jesus tells us that apart from him, we can do nothing! But the moment we trust Christ for our salvation, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (ESV). Christ is in us, and at the same time, we are “in Christ” (e.g., Eph. 2:10, 2 Cor. 5:17). Jesus was the most influential man in history, so our position in him, empowered by the Holy Spirit, gives us real influence as well—Life-to-Life influence that happens relationally, through time just being with God and studying the Word. This is the most critical part of our walk and influence: becoming like Jesus is more about impartation than imitation.
Kingdom influence comes from and through Christ.
When I meet with Mary, she always shares something relevant and impactful from her time with God that very day. Because we are to be conduits, not containers, for Jesus, He imparts his life, wisdom, and influence to us when we abide, for the sake of overflowing to others. As John Maxwell says, “More is caught than taught.”
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Loving and Listening
Loving and listening align and grow our influence. These vital skills allow us to learn from others, and identify needs, hopes, and fears in those we lead. We can understand them better and adjust our messaging based on what we have learned.
Listening well to others communicates love in powerful ways. Author and counselor David Augsburger said, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.” Loving well leads to growing trust and respect—and the increased likelihood that what we do and say will influence others.
When I’m in conversation with Mary, even if others are present, it’s as if I were the only person on the planet. She asks me so many thought-provoking questions, I must very intentionally make sure to also ask about her life and listen in return. Somehow, she constantly redirects the conversation to me with a genuine interest and love for me that I don’t understand—but it encourages me so much, I want to emulate this with others.
Showing love as we listen to those around us, learning about them and from them, provides many opportunities for influence. The flip side? It also requires humility.
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Practicing Humility
Humility brings authenticity to our influence. Jim Collins describes “Level 5 leadership” as a “paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will,” or fierce resolve. Humility means thinking neither too highly nor too lowly of ourselves; rather, humility is thinking rightly about our own role and Jesus’ role. Humble Christian leaders know that anything we do of substance is not us but Jesus (see the section on “Acknowledging Christ in Me”), and we are highly dependent upon him.
When we find ourselves in this posture of lifelong learning, we recognize that God frequently teaches us through others, whom we can approach with curiosity and a desire to learn. We hold life with open hands, ready to receive, and we can admit things that seem unclear to us with gracious uncertainty. God continues to mold and make us into his image in this way.
Humility causes us to reflect on our approach to life, too. We want to learn from God through disappointments and the messes we and others make. We can then pass this on to others. When we authentically share our failures as well as our successes, our influence grows.
Positional Influence
Positional leadership often gives us a “louder” voice in the minds of peers, followers, and others we may not even realize we influence. This reminds me of the wisdom of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben: "With great power comes great responsibility." Or similarly, consider Jesus’ words from Luke 12:48: “To whom much is given, much will be required.” We need to steward our influence well.
What might happen if you tried one of these:
- Praying regularly for those you lead—blessing both you and them
- Intentionally maintaining a developmental mindset to help others grow into the next level in their lives
- Modeling lifelong learning and growth, which breeds respect and fosters health in our current rate of change in both work and culture
- Seeking vantage-point wisdom from and offering encouragement to younger leaders who don’t directly report to you in a “skip level” setting
- Be growing in our attentiveness to the Holy Spirit, listening well to him. We often have major influence on others when we are unaware of it.
Our influence comes first and foremost from who we are in Christ. Loving, listening, and humility are birthed and grown in the soil of that character.
What is your next strong step to grow in influential leadership? How can you nurture your character? What one step can you take toward a posture of lifelong learning as love toward others? In your God-given arena of influence, what will you do to increase the opportunity for God to work?
Influence as a Thriving Leader
Important Note: Even at 97, Mary still actively pursues growth and learning. In my recent time with her she said, “I think I’m learning to pray.” None of us ever arrive on this earth and will increase in our influence as we continue to grow. Christian Leadership Alliance has just launched a new “Thriving Leader” series. Course one of this new online series is on Spiritual Formation (to experience Jesus formed more greatly in us). It is practical, facilitates much of what this article discusses to help us put these concepts into practice to deeply impact us and others. It emphasizes attunement, helping us to grow in our ability to be closer to the heartbeat of God, ourselves, and others. If you desire to thrive as a Level 5 leader, this course can help. Check it out!
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Margaret Fitzwater is the Executive Director of Navigators Train-Develop-Care Department and serves on the Navigators US Leadership Team. She has Biology, Food Science and MBA degrees from Baylor, Texas A&M, and SMU Universities with 40 years of corporate and nonprofit leadership. You may contact her at Margaret.Fitzwater@navigators.org
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