The Definition of Leadership

By William Ballard

When I was growing up, my father would constantly talk about “negative influences.” “This person is a negative influence,” “That person is a negative influence,” and so on, he would say. To me, the word “influence” always had a negative connotation.

It wasn’t until I was around 16 or 17 years old that I was introduced to Dr. John Maxwell’s book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. In that book, John maintains, “Leadership is influence--nothing more, nothing less.” And that “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Truthfully, I found those two statements to be very intriguing, given that I had always had a negative view of the word 'influence.'

However, as I began to read on, John truly shifted my perspective on the concept of influence. Through his work, I realized that influence is neither positive nor negative. It is based on how one uses it.

That said, this is the start of a ten-week series of articles. This first article will discuss how everyone influences others and why many individuals fail to develop themselves as leaders. We will even briefly cover John’s 5 Levels of Leadership. Finally, we’ll conclude with a coaching moment where I can help you develop the leader within you today. 
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​Shining The Light on Influence

As John asserts in his book, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 (AFF) “Anyone, for good or ill, who gets others to follow is a leader.”

On the negative side, did you know that TIME magazine named Hitler its Man of the Year in 1938 due to his significant influence worldwide at that time? Likewise, Osama bin Laden was also considered a leader. On the positive side, there were Jesus of Nazareth, Joan of Arc, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others. While these people's core values, abilities, and goals differed vastly, each attracted many followers. In short, they all had influence.

That said, influence is the foundation of true leadership, whether positive or negative. If you define leadership solely by title or position, rather than by the ability to attract followers, your pursuit of leadership will be in vain.

You'll either be given a leadership position and wonder why no one is following you, or you’ll wait to positively impact the world until you achieve a title or position, which is a sad affair. 
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Why Many Don’t Develop Themselves as Leaders

In our line of work, we’ve encountered many assumptions about leadership. Some assume they can't lead because they are not a “born leader,” while others believe a title, seniority, or work experience will automatically make them a leader.

I don’t know how often we’ve heard the argument about work experience: “I’ve been doing this for 30+ years.” The fact is, you may have been doing things wrong for over 30 years.

No, work experience doesn’t make you a leader, or competent, for that matter (we will cover competence in a later article in this series). And neither title nor seniority makes a difference.

And don’t get me started on being a born leader. There are so many great leaders out there that they had to have been born at some point or another. No, it’s not a matter of being a born leader; it is about developing yourself as a leader. 

Everyone Influences Someone

​Tim Elmore, founder of Growing Leaders, stated that sociologists estimate that even the most introverted individual will influence ten thousand other people during their lifetime. That’s quite extraordinary.

As Dr. John Maxwell asserts, “Every day you influence others. And you are influenced by others. That means no one is excluded from being both a leader and a follower.”

It's easy to identify the leader within a group if you intentionally read the room. Watch as people work to resolve an issue or make a decision. Whose opinion seems to get the most attention? Who do others tend to look to for validation? Who do others agree with most often? The answer to these questions will point you toward the real leader in the room, the one with the influence.

We don’t always know who or how much we influence others, especially if we identify as introverts. In many ways, I wouldn’t be the leader I am today if it weren’t for the influence of my father and mother.

Also, my high school English teacher and college English professors influenced me to pick up a pencil and write. We are influenced daily by numerous people, and sometimes the smallest impression has the most significant impact.

Author and educator J.R. Miller said, “There have been meetings of only a moment which have left impressions for life, for eternity. No one of us can understand that mysterious thing we call influence … yet out of every one of us continually virtue goes, either to heal, to bless, to leave marks of beauty; or to wound, to hurt, to poison, to stain other lives.”

Ask yourself how you are influencing those around you. Are you healing, blessing, and helping others? Or are you wounding, hurting, and poisoning them?

Because we are all influencing someone, for better or worse, the best investment we can make for tomorrow is to develop our influence today. Warren G. Bennis said in his book Leaders (AFF), “The truth is that leadership opportunities are plentiful and within reach of most people.” That truth multiples exponentially if you’re an entrepreneur.

John Maxwell goes on to say, “You have influence in this world, but realizing your potential as a leader is your responsibility. If you put effort into developing yourself as a leader, you have the potential to influence more people and to do so in more significant ways.”

In his book Power and Influence (AFF), Robert Dilenschneider shares the “Power Triangle” concept to help leaders become more effective. The three components of this triangle are communication, recognition, and influence. In the book, he states, “If you are communicating effectively, you will get positive recognition from the audience you are trying to influence, which means people will think what you are doing is right and that you are doing it in the right way. When you get positive recognition, your influence grows. You are perceived as competent, effective, worthy of respect.”

As a young leader and writer, I have become a more effective communicator, particularly through the written word. And I began to receive recognition (validation) for that fact by receiving requests to write for various publications. While working in this arena, I've realized just how powerful John’s 5 Levels of Leadership model really is. 

The 5 Levels of Leadership

Now, this is not a lesson on the 5 Levels of Leadership, but what I will share here will add immense value to you and your leadership.

Level 1 - Position: People Follow You Because They Have to

As John teaches, the most basic entry-level of leadership is the Position level – people follow you because they have to. The reason for this is because position represents “leadership” before the leader has developed any real influence with the people they lead.

In the past, many would follow this type of leader simply because they held the title or position of authority, but that is no longer the case in today’s workplace culture. As John asserts, “People will only follow a position leader as far as they have to.”

Moreover, what we’ve found is that many individuals spend their entire careers at this level without even realizing it. As John says, “Position is a good place to start in leadership, but it’s a terrible place to stay.”

Now, people who have been appointed to a position may have authority, but that authority doesn’t exceed their job description. In other words, positional leaders do have certain rights, such as the right to enforce rules and the authority to instruct employees on their duties. They essentially have the right to use the power they have been granted within their position. But authentic leadership is more than having granted authority.

That said, what we’ve observed is that most leaders who tend to never lead beyond their position are typically territorial and quick to refer to policies or procedures. Now, these things are not negative in and of themselves, unless they become the basis of one’s authority.

From our experience, we’ve found that positional leaders tend to have these three common characteristics:
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• Positional leaders seek their security in their title rather than in their abilities
• Positional leaders rely on their boss's influence instead of their own
• Positional leaders can’t get others to follow them beyond their defined authority

When it comes to those who seek security within their title, consider the military environment: a new second lieutenant might be tempted to rely on their rank and use it as a weapon, but a general, for example, doesn’t have to.

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For those positional leaders who typically rely on the influence of their boss, anytime they fear that their team members may not follow them, they are usually quick to say something like: “We need to do this because the boss said so.” As John asserts, “That kind of borrowed authority can wear thin after a while.”

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Finally, positional leaders often find that when they ask their team members to go the extra mile, stay late, or go out of their way, their requests are frequently rejected or refused. They will typically hear team members say things like, “That’s not my job.”  

In other words, people who tend to define their leadership based on their position will find that their followers will typically only do what’s required based on the rights given by that position.

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Now, if you find that you can relate to any one of these three characteristics, then you might be relying too much on your position, which means you might need to work harder at developing your influence with your team members. Until you do, you will often find that your team operates with low morale and finds every task to be a source of stress – they’ll tend to regret coming to work every day. To change that, you’ll need to start focusing your efforts on developing your leadership at the next level.

Level 2 - Permission: People Follow You Because They Want to

As John teaches, the Permission level is characterized by good relationships. “People who are unwilling or unable to build solid, lasting relationships soon discover that they are also unable to sustain lasting, effective leadership.”

The motto at this level is: “People don’t care how much know until they know how much you care.” In other words, true influence begins at the heart, not the head. Also, it develops through personal connection, rather than relying on rules and regulations, which is what positional leaders typically do.

Moreover, it’s been said that team members will leave a leader before they leave an organization. In fact, Gary Chapman and Paul White, in The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace (AFF), state that “79% of employees who quit their jobs voluntarily cite not feeling appreciated as the key factor for deciding to do so.”

I’m not sure about you, but I was raised when it was common to remain loyal to one employer for the entirety of one’s career. Such behavior was viewed as a valuable and virtuous trait. However, as stated by Gary and Paul, “Longevity and loyalty to a single employer are no longer highly valued by most employees.”

Now, it is more common to find that an employee will acquire at least three jobs within six months. Or jump from job to job every six months, until they find a job where they feel they are being valued and appreciated.

As John asserts, “You can care about people without leading them, but you cannot lead people well without caring about them.”  In other words, people will not go a long way with you if they cannot get along with you.

John goes on to say, “On level 2, as you connect with people, build relationships with them, and earn their trust, you begin to develop real influence with them … it makes the environment more positive … and in work settings, people stay longer and work harder.”

In short, when you’ve been given a leadership position, you’ve been given your boss’s permission to lead. But when you have earned influence on level 2, you acquire your people’s permission to lead them.

Level 3 - Production: People Follow You Because of What You Have Done for the Organization

Now, to bring this article to a close, I thought I’d share with you the story of my first leadership position. I began at the Production level. Although I had not yet been given a leadership title or position, I started producing results within six months.

John Maxwell has often said, “Someone who knows how to do a job will always have a job. But the one who knows why a job is done in the way that it is done will always be the boss.”

For the first three months, I learned how to do the job. In the last three months, I gained insight into why the job was being done in the way it was. It was when I started producing results when my superior gave me a leadership position. However, the issue is that I failed to work on the Permission level first.

I had a co-worker who had been working for the organization for nearly six years, but he was overlooked, and I was given the leadership position. Of course, he did not appreciate that very much. And I remember telling him that the reason I was given the position was because I had learned more in six months than he had in six years. I failed at level two. Remember, no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

Now, as John teaches, most people naturally gravitate to either the Permission or Production level of leadership, based on whether they are results-driven or relationship-driven.

If people naturally build relationships, they may enjoy getting together, but they do so with the sole objective of being together and enjoying one another's company. If you’ve worked in an environment where meetings are pleasant and everyone gets along, but nothing gets accomplished, then you may have worked with someone who gets Level 2 but not Level 3. And if you’ve worked in an environment where meetings are productive but relationally miserable, you may have encountered someone who excels at Level 3 but falls short at Level 2.

For me, I tend to be more results-driven than relationship-driven. Level 2 is something I must work on intentionally. It doesn’t come naturally to me.

Truth be told, I was the youngest member of my team at the time – I was in my mid-20s. The rest of my team were in their 40s and up. Because of that, many of them had the thought, “Who does this young kid think he is?”

And to their credit, I’m sure many of them had experienced leaders who operated at Level 1 and never progressed beyond that. ​That said, I started going back and working on building the relationship with that co-worker.

You see, the difference between me and a Level 1 type of leader is that I understand leadership is not measured by how many people I have serving me, but rather how many I have to serve. It took some time and work, but eventually my team members realized that I was there for them and that their development was my priority, which brings us to Level 4.

Level 4 - People Development: People Follow You Because of What You Have Done For Them

At the People Development level, something very powerful happens. We have discussed loyalty to an employer or organization, but at this level, loyalty is extended to the leader. As John asserts, “Leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.”

You see, when I first assumed the leadership position, I began working on Level 2, focusing on building relationships with my team members. Once I was able to do that, I then started working on developing my team members. And when another leadership position became available, the first person I recommended to my boss for the position was the same individual who had worked at the company for over six years.  

I helped to add value to him by developing him as a leader. I equipped him with the resources and knowledge (competence) to understand why specific tasks were being done in a particular way. Then I empowered him by offering him a seat at the leadership table.

As John asserts, “People tend to be loyal to the mentor who helps improve their lives. If you observe a leader develop influence through the various levels, you can see how the relationship evolves. On Level 1, team members must follow the leader. On Level 2, the team member wants to follow the leader. At Level 3, the team member appreciates and admires the leader because of the leader's contributions to the team. On Level 4, the team member becomes loyal to the leader because of what the leader has personally done for them. You win people’s hearts and minds by helping them grow personally.”

John goes on to say that many good leaders out there aren’t even aware that Level 4 exists. They are so focused on the productivity of their team as a whole that they don’t realize they should be developing each team member individually. But now you know.

Level 5 - Pinnacle: People Follow You Because of Who You Are and What You Represent

Now, that brings us to the final level of leadership – Pinnacle. Not everyone achieves this level of leadership. This level is based a lot on reputation. Typically, those who reach this level do so throughout their lifetime.

For example, Jack Welch was a Level 5 Leader in Business. Nelson Mandela was a Level 5 Leader in Government. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Level 5 Leader among Social activists. Leonardo da Vinci was a Level 5 Leader in the Arts and Engineering. Aristotle was a Level 5 Leader in Education and Philosophy. And Jesus was a Level 5 Leader in Ministry.

Now, with that said, if it is true that not everyone can reach this level, then should we even strive for it? Well, the answer to that is absolutely. However, we shouldn’t focus on it. In other words, we can’t manufacture or demand respect from others. Respect must be freely given to us by others, so it is not something within our control. For that reason, we should focus our energy on developing our influence on Levels 2, 3, and 4. And work intentionally to sustain it day after day. As John states, “If we do that, we’ve done all we can do.”  

Also, don’t ever doubt the power of one person of influence. Consider Aristotle. He mentored Alexander the Great, who in turn conquered the world.
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Finally, I want to share with you a few insights to remember:
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• You are on a different level with each person in your life.
• You never leave behind a previous level once you achieve a new one. The levels build and add to one another. They are not replaced.
• As I learned, if you try to skip a level to speed up the process, you will have to circle back and earn that level anyway for the longevity of the relationship.
• The higher you go up the levels, the longer it takes.
• Each time you change jobs you start at the lowest level and must work your way up again.
• Once a level is earned, it requires work to maintain it. No one “arrives” as a leader. Nothing is permanent in leadership. In other words, no one is irreplaceable.
• Just as you can add influence at a level, you can also lose influence at a level.
• Finally, it takes less time to lose a level than it does to earn it. And once you lose it, it takes even more time to get it back. 

​A Leadership Coaching Moment

Now, choose one of the following questions (or all of them, if you prefer) to initiate a discussion and pave the way for positive action:

1. Do you naturally desire to lead people, or is leadership something you must push yourself to do? Explain your answer.
2. In your opinion, what is the purpose of leadership?
3. Why do you desire to become a better leader?
4. Who are the influencers in your life that you admire? Explain why you admire them.
5. Which comes more naturally to you, Permission or Production? Why? What can you do to improve in the area that is more difficult for you?
6. What was your single most significant takeaway from this lesson? Why?
7. Based on what you have learned from this lesson, how do you need to change? What concrete, measurable step can you take this week to grow in the area of influencing others?

​Share your answers in the comments below. 

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At William Ballard Business Coaching, we believe leadership shouldn’t be a solo mission. Great leaders work among their people, not above their people. We are here to help you build a team of strong leaders around you, creating better performance for the whole organization. 

​Learn more about our solutions, including executive coaching and leadership development programs and assessments tailored to your organization’s needs. Begin with the first coaching session of Developing the Leader Within You 2.0

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William Ballard is the founder and CEO of William Ballard & Associates, LLC. He is a serial entrepreneur and has built a successful career leading and growing organizations based, in large part, on his ability to ask great questions, speak with candor, and identify talented people with whom to collaborate.

​It’s from this foundation that William helps aspiring entrepreneurs, small business owners, and ministry leaders navigate organizational, industry, and societal changes to move their organizations closer towards their vision.