If there’s one thing I hear from people too often it’s this: “I’m not a leader.”
To be honest, this is something I used to say about myself. The fact is…if you are living and breathing, you are a leader, or as the title says, you are an influencer. Whether you realize it or not, you do impact people around you, and here’s why I say this.
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Let’s start with some questions: “Who do you see as being a leader or an influencer? Is it someone in the news? Do you automatically think about a politician or a social media guru? Maybe a teacher or your pastor?” Most likely what you don’t think is…
“It’s me!”
Yet you influence everyone you have a relationship with; whether it’s a friend, a member of the family, or those you work with. Believe it or not, you even influence people you meet casually, like when you’re walking around, shopping, etc. And while we always appreciate an acknowledgment of something we’ve said or done we can’t always depend on direct feedback. How we live our lives shapes the impact we make. In other words, the quality of the person you are – determines the kind of influence you have on others.
Think about this…
We tend to align with the five people who we spend most of our time with. Therefore, if they complain about things, you’re likely to complain. If they have bad habits like drinking or eating too much, you’re likely to do the same. NOW…if you surround yourself with people who have a good work ethic, chances are good your work ethic is also good. If they tend to respect others, so do you.
Sometimes the simplest actions, like holding a door open for someone behind you or having a ready smile, can really make a difference in someone’s day. You may not get confirmation, yet when someone does this for you, doesn’t it influence how you feel? Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
The bottom line is that consciously or subconsciously, you do influence those around you (including yourself.) Maybe you’re not up in front of a crowd, or have a following giving you ‘likes’ and thumbs up. Yet how you live your life each day does make a difference. It’s up to you to determine what kind of influencer you want to be.
In the next two months, I’ll share more information about the qualities that make people good influencers. As you’ll see, influence and leadership go hand in hand. As always, I welcome your comments HERE and am available by phone or text at 480-684-2866.
