Leadership Is Influence: Unlock Your Potential Without Waiting for a Title
Leadership isn't about position—it's about impact. As I witness emerging leaders take their first steps into leadership roles during our coaching sessions, I'm reminded of a profound truth: the world becomes a better place when people become better leaders.
The True Definition of Leadership
What exactly is leadership? If you were to distill it down to one word, what would it be? During a recent coaching session with several promising young leaders, we arrived at the essence of leadership: influence.
"Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less."
Think about it for a moment. Influence can be as simple as smiling at someone and seeing them smile back. It can be as significant as guiding your team through chaos when everyone else is panicking. The scope and scale may differ, but the fundamental principle remains the same: your ability to affect how others think, feel, and act is the cornerstone of leadership.
When you truly understand that leadership equals influence, you begin to see opportunities to lead everywhere—regardless of your title or position.
Why Your Leadership Matters
One participant in our coaching session beautifully summarized why developing as a leader matters: "If everyone exerts a positive influence on the people around them, it makes the world better."
Another added the analogy of rising tides raising all ships—when we elevate our leadership, everyone around us rises too. In the absence of leadership? As one participant bluntly put it: "Chaos."
In fast-paced environments where chaos constantly threatens to take over, your growing leadership capacity becomes not just valuable but essential.
The Three Questions Every Follower Asks
If leadership is influence, how do you increase your influence with others? During our session, I shared the three questions every follower is asking of their leader (consciously or unconsciously):
Can you help me?
Can I trust you?
Do you care about me?
The weight of leadership comes from understanding that we answer these questions in every single interaction we have with our team members. This might sound overwhelming, but it's actually your superpower—because when you consistently answer these questions positively through your actions, your influence multiplies exponentially.
Breaking Through Leadership Myths
What's holding you back from developing as a leader? In our coaching session, we identified four common leadership myths that often create artificial barriers:
Myth #1: "I'm not a born leader, so I can't lead."
One participant courageously admitted struggling with this belief, sharing how it feeds into self-doubt. The truth? Leadership is developed, not innate. Nobody starts as an expert.
Myth #2: "A title or seniority will automatically make me a leader."
Another participant confessed that early in their career, they believed they needed a title before people would listen to them. This mindset especially created challenges when trying to influence those with higher positions.
Myth #3: "Work experience will automatically make me a leader."
Experience matters, but it doesn't automatically translate to influence. As one participant noted, "I have a lot of work experience, but I don't think that defines my leadership. Or else I would definitely would have been a leader way before now."
Myth #4: "I'm waiting until I get that position to start developing as a leader."
This is perhaps the most dangerous myth because it creates a perpetual waiting game. Leadership development begins now, where you are.
I shared my own humbling story of being promoted to sales management at 21 years old. I naively thought leadership meant "kicking my feet up, telling people what to do, and making more money." The reality? It was "absolutely terrible"—until I experienced a mindset shift from being boss-focused to being team-focused.
The Influence Compass: Expanding Your Leadership Today
Leadership influence flows in multiple directions. You can influence:
Those you lead (downward)
Your peers (laterally)
Your leaders (upward)
Each direction requires different approaches but shares the same foundation—answering those three critical questions positively.
Leading Difficult Personalities
One coaching participant shared their struggle with maintaining composure with certain difficult team members who "just itch that one little nerve." The insight? You must "treat them like someone you would enjoy being around"—not with artificial harmony that people see through, but with genuine effort to build bridges.
This takes practice. As the participant admitted, "a lot of things are easier said than done. Leading is easier said than done... you just got to work towards it."
Take Action Today: Developing Your Leadership Influence
Everyone influences someone.
The question is: are you intentionally developing that influence?
Here are practical ways to increase your leadership influence starting today:
Build trust through consistency - Do what you say you'll do, every time
Practice empathetic listening - Seek first to understand before being understood
Solve problems for others - Demonstrate your ability to help
Show authentic care - Small gestures of consideration speak volumes
Lead without a title - Take initiative in areas where you see a need
Remember what one participant said about their first leadership experience: "Just because you're struggling at first doesn't mean you can't finish strongly." Leadership is a journey—your first attempts may feel awkward or even unsuccessful, but that's part of the process.
Your Leadership Journey Starts Now
The best investment you can make in your leadership journey is developing your influence today. Don't wait for the perfect moment, the right title, or complete confidence. As one participant discovered, "The only thing I needed to do to overcome that fear was say I actually wanted to do it."
Leadership is like any other skill—you're never good your first time. But with each attempt, each reflection, and each adjustment, you grow. You learn. You improve.
The world truly does become a better place when people become better leaders. And that journey begins with a simple decision: to recognize your current influence and intentionally develop it—right where you are, starting today.
What's one area where you could expand your influence this week? The answer to that question might be the first step in your next leadership breakthrough.