One of Maxwell’s laws of leadership that is critical in leadership is the second law, which is the law of influence. Maxwell posited that the true measure of the ability of someone who considers themselves leaders is how they influence others to perform certain functions or take up certain course of action (Maxwell, 2007). The biggest question with this law concerns the type of influence leaders offer to their followers in order to follow them. On the same note, according to Maxwell (2007), insecure leaders influence people in such a way that pins others down in an attempt to secure their own position of leadership in the group. On the contrary, the best leaders discover that leadership is all about raising people to get the best out of them, or till they discover their potential and utilize it, even if it means the followers one day become better leaders than themselves.
The law of influence recognizes that in any given setting, there must be leaders and followers. A leader is perceived as a person who must make followers perform certain functions or achieve a common objective. However, not all leaders have the ability to convince or persuade their followers to work towards attaining a common objective. In such a scenario, the leader will be said to be ineffective or will be labeled as a failure. In essence, influence is about the character of the leader, as well as how the leader builds and fosters good rapport and relationships among the followers. For example, if the followers know the leader to be of sound and good character, they will always definitely have a good perception of the leader, and consequently, the leader can use such an advantage to inspire the followers to work towards a common goal. Therefore, influence is about inspiring followers, as well as building trust and positive relationships.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Application
The power to influence both peers and subordinates is very important in the management of various organizations. Goncalves (2013) states, “Power is the ability to influence others to get things done, while authority is the formal rights that come to a person who occupies a particular position, since power does not necessarily accompany a position. This statement presents an interesting, yet valid argument. Some people may earn various positions of authority in organizations by virtue of their qualifications, for instance, academic qualifications, yet have a very cold relationship with both their peers and subordinates. The cold relationship does not inspire the followers to act or discover their potential and utilize it for the common good of the organization. On the other hand, some individuals may not have very prominent positions of authority, but may have a lot of influence among their peers, and subordinates.
Influence is very much applicable, for instance, in the health industry. Mother Teresa influenced and inspired a generation of healthcare workers because of the compassionate approach she took towards wounded soldiers. Previously, healthcare providers, especially nurses, were rigid in their practice; they would only administer medication to the patients, and probably attend to other duties. However, Mother Teresa tried to make a difference. She felt that patients needed to be helped to recover, not only by being given medication, but also by being talked to, to address their emotional wellbeing. Mother Teresa would influence other healthcare workers to adopt empathy and compassion while attending to the patients, and to a large extent, she influenced the profession of nursing (Newmeyer et al., 2014). Currently, many healthcare workers try to have compassion, as well as adopt a patient centered approach while addressing the healthcare needs of their patients. Therefore, for a profession that had been characterized by coldness, and sometimes indifference, Mother Teresa changed it and influenced the subsequent generations to demonstrate love, compassion, and care.
Personal Benefits from the Law
Maxwell’s law of influence appeals to my character; that followers look at one’s character and perform some perceptions about the ability of their leader. In all the endeavors I engage, I have to be sound and sober. I need to maintain discipline, while at the same time building positive relationships with my peers or even with people who are below my rank, just in case I find myself in a senior position. I am also aware that people will be always evaluating my capacity to perform based on how well I accomplish certain tasks. It will not be prudent to convince people to perform certain functions of which I cannot perform. Therefore, I will need to be always at the front. Before persuading people to perform certain tasks, I will have to demonstrate how they are done, as well as show them that they can actually be done.
The most prominent point of all is that I will strive to mentor other people to become leaders, perhaps even better. I believe the law of influence is about getting the best out of people, and also making them believe in me. If I strive to be of good leadership qualities, and the followers perceive me to be so, then I think I will have an obligation of ensuring that they not only celebrate me, but also try to have such qualities. I will gain a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction when my followers become good or even better leaders, become confident, and run various operations or organizations successfully. I believe influencing other people to become better is a good step of making the world more beautiful.
Works Cited
Goncalves, M. (2013). Leadership styles: The power to influence others . International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4 (4).
Maxwell, J. C. (2007). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership: Follow them and people will follow you . HarperCollins Leadership.
Newmeyer, M., Keyes, B., Gregory, S., Palmer, K., Buford, D., Mondt, P., & Okai, B. (2014). The Mother Teresa effect: The modulation of spirituality in using the CISM model with mental health service providers. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience, 16 (1), 13-19.
