Leadership Is Influence: Nothing More, Nothing Less

I appreciated a short article in Christianity Today by Christian leadership guru John Maxwell titled "Leadership Is Influence: Nothing More, Nothing Less." I was please to learn that Benjamin, one of the leaders of Mission Radicale, is reading the French translation of a Maxwell book on leadership.

Maxwell is one of the plenary speakers at the 2005 Catalyst Conference, October 6-7 in Atlanta, Georgia, along with Andy Stanley, Bill Hybels, Louie Giglio (founder of the "Passion" movement), Erwin McManus and Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz. Catalyst is a convergence of 10,000 Next Generation Leaders. It sounds like an excellent event.

Maxwell lists 5 myths about leadership
1. The management myth
2. The entrepreneur myth
3. The knowledge myth
4. The pioneer myth
5. The position myth

Concerning leadership in volunteer organizations like churches, Maxwell writes:

LEADERSHIP WITHOUT LEVERAGE

I admire and respect the leadership of my good friend Bill Hybels, the senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, the largest church in North America. Bill says he believes that the church is the most leadership-intensive enterprise in society. A lot of businesspeople I know are surprised when they hear that statement, but I think Bill is right. What is the basis of his belief? Positional leadership doesn't work in volunteer organizations. Because a leader doesn't have leverage—or influence—he is ineffective. In other organizations, the person who has position has incredible leverage. In the military, leaders can use rank and, if all else fails, throw people into the brig. In business, bosses have tremendous leverage in the form of salary, benefits, and perks. Most followers are pretty cooperative when their livelihood is at stake.

But in voluntary organizations, such as churches, the only thing that works is leadership in its purest form. Leaders have only their influence to aid them. And as Harry A. Overstreet observed, "The very essence of all power to influence lies in getting the other person to participate." Followers in voluntary organizations cannot be forced to get on board. If the leader has no influence with them, then they won't follow. When I recently shared that observation with a group of about 150 CEOs from the automobile industry, I saw lightbulbs going on all over the room. And when I gave them a piece of advice, they really got excited. I'm going to share that same advice with you: If you are a businessperson and you really want to find out whether your people are capable of leading, send them out to volunteer their time in the community. If they can get people to follow them while they're serving at the Red Cross, a United Way shelter, or their local church, then you know that they really do have influence—and leadership ability.