Quotes about Influence

Next generation leaders are those who would rather challenge what needs to change and pay the price than remain silent and die on the inside.

When people are convinced you want something FOR them rather than something FROM them, they are less likely to be offended when you challenge them.

When you try to exercise authority within a department that is outside your core competencies, you will hinder everything and everyone under your watch. If you fail to distinguish between authority and competence, you will exert your influence in ways that damage projects and people. To put it bluntly, there are things you are responsible for that you should keep your nose out of.

But leadership is not always about getting things done "right." Leadership is about getting things done through other people. Leaders miss opportunities to play to their strengths because they haven't figured out that great leaders work through other leaders, who work through others. Leadership is about multiplying your efforts, which automatically multiplies your results.

What kind of vision are you casting for the people around you? Dad, what kind of vision are you casting for your children? Mom, what kind of vision are you casting for your husband? Grandparent, what about those grandkids? Leader, what kind of personal visions are you casting for the people who have invested their time and talents in your vision?

Simply recognizing the need for change does not define leadership. The leader is the one who has the courage to act on what he sees…A leader is someone who has the courage to say publicly what everybody else is whispering privately. It is not his insight that sets the leader apart from the crowd. It is his courage to act on what he sees, to speak up when everyone else is silent.

Leadership is not always about getting things done "right." Leadership is about getting things done through other people…When a leader can't find someone to hand things off to, it is time for him to look in the mirror. We must never forget that the people who follow us are exactly where we have led them.

What gets our attention determines our direction and, ultimately, our destination. Or if you would prefer the short version: attention determines direction.

It's spiritually deforming because fear entices us to place our faith in the person, party, or platform that promises to protect us from whatever they've convinced us we should fear.

Courage establishes leadership.

Leaders are not always the first to see the need for change, but they are the first to act. And once they move away from the pack, they are positioned to lead.

You can't lead without taking risk. You won't take risk without courage. Courage is essential to leadership.