John Maxwell talks about the difference between Positional Leadership and Influential Leadership. Positional Leadership is, essentially, we follow this person because of the position they are in. An influential style of leadership leads to a leader having followers that want to follow them because of who they are and what they have done.
The place where I work is heavy on the positional leadership. If you don't do what the supervisor says, you are slapped with disciplinary action, loss of pay, loss of position, etc. The motivational style seems to be, do this or else. And it works, People do what they are asked. However, it fosters distrust, resentment and a self preservation mode that stifles creativity, decision making and exceptional efforts to accomplish the mission.
How much better of a leader could someone be in a leadership position if they had some of the skills and abilities of an influential leader?
Churches require an influential leader. This is simply because no one has to follow the leader. That is why the Church can be a great place to develop leadership skills and to learn how to influence and lead people to bigger and better things.
Lessons Learned
10 months ago
1 comment:
I'm also impressed by the implications of the Law of Magnetism that J. Maxwell talks about. He says that leaders will attract not the type of people they want but the type of people they are. That's a scary thought sometimes. I suppose it's not if you are who you want to be. But then it is if you or the leader of your organization isn't.
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