Leadership works because it is taught to those who would be in charge and there are not any courses given for followership. From universities to the military, the topic of how to lead has been dissected, defined, detailed and decrypted ad nauseam. I know what it means to lead. You know what it means to lead. There is a high probability that my concept of leadership and yours are entirely different. When asked how to know that someone is a leader, it often results in an answer of the nature that “I don’t know, but I know it when I see it.†With apologies to those who have a fixed notion of these attributes, you probably have “a†concept of leadership and not “the†concept of leadership. A quote questionably attributed to Mother Teresa goes something like this, “We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing.†I think that pretty well captures its essence and colorizes the ambiguity of leadership in its rightful hazy hue. Most of the time, we use other words to define aspects of leading others, but are they any less questionable? We interchange words which overlap in their meaning but can have distinctly different true definitions.
Power is the unchallenged ability to act. We use the term “the powers that be†to refer to the amorphous blob of stuff that compels us to do things in a certain way. Does any individual really have power? Taking this from a purely philosophical aspect, most people have little control over their environment. The government has power and in a democracy it is the combined will of the people that makes it powerful, not a single individual. Companies have power, but it is usually within the constraint of government rules and regulations. The best situation analogous to ultimate power is the Sun. Energy is radiated from it throughout the solar system so that even the farthest planets are recipients of its power. Of course, on this scale the relative power of an individual is stark by comparison, but there is a power within me that is self-sustaining to a certain extent. Have you ever been in a meeting where you suddenly had an idea, expressed words never before spoken in that way, and afterward wondered, “Now where did that come from?†The human spirit has power to alter the environment or the perception of the environment. I doubt if my power has anything to do with your environment unless you are in my orbit.
Authority is the right to command, control or determine outcomes. Authority can be assumed by an individual, but for the most part it is granted by a power entity. The government gives us certain rights which are protected by legal powers. The military defines a “chain of command†which creates authority levels which maintain control and discipline. Organizationally, companies can empower certain individuals to control the work requirements of other individuals. Usually, the thing we call “power†is really authority given to handle certain interpersonal situations. If I have the authority to hire and fire within a company, the power still resides with the company and not with me. It is an old management adage that delegating responsibility without giving the authority to control outcome is not effective management. For a leader to be really accountable for the actions of a group or team, they must intentionally sacrifice a part of their authority in order to create the best environment for success from followers. Clear definition of responsibility constitutes the necessary authority to do work.
Impact is a forcible contact or collision of thoughts and ideas. As authoritative leaders we can impact others in a manner than cannot be overcome and the results will usually retain the marks of our impact. One method of authoritative impact is in the changes we make to an individual’s work environment. The rejection of ideas, the forcible alteration of employment status or the limitation of freedom of actions can leave permanent results in its wake that may be serious or of insignificant consequence relative to the individuals impacted. Returning to the solar system analogy, scientists captured a historic impact of the Shoemaker-Levy Comet as it crashed into the planet Jupiter in 1994. Prominent scars could be seen on the jumbo planet and astronomers theorized that if such an impact had been with a much smaller planet like Earth it would have been of dinosaur-killing proportions. Likewise, some individuals are more tolerant to workplace impacts and others are not. It is difficult to measure the psychological effect on the general population, however studies indicate that a hostile work environment is one of the most prominent reasons that people leave a job. Impact in the workplace is not always a negative thing. Leaders who create a challenging environment can cause positive influence and get the best performance from employees.
Influence is a compelling force on others. A notable quote by Kenneth Blanchard is “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.†This is never so evident than in companies which on a global basis operate in matrix teams on projects rather than traditional top-down directives followed with bottoms-up input. While not exactly distributed decision-making, it does allow the possibility for distributed influence with any team member having the ability to sway the direction of the team. Everyone’s thoughts, words and actions make up their influence. The scope of the influence of others may depend of the method of communication. We can measure the social media influence of an individual by various online tools, but there is no real milestone for measuring true influence. This is especially true since the true reach of an individual would have to include measuring the influence of the influenced. How do you measure something that “influences†without “impact?†The moon influences the tides on Earth, but never gets close enough to get scary.
Power grants authority, authority can cause impact, but influence makes positive things happen. It should be noted that this goes way beyond the “gravitational pull†of one person on another. Granted, it is not incorrect to continue to interchange these words, but we do need to recognize the power, authority, impact and influence within each of us. Motivational writer and speaker Napoleon Hill once said, “The reason man may become the master of his own destiny is because he has the power to influence his own subconscious mind.†Mental programming is the topic for another time, but for now it is important to know that our influence over ourselves and our thoughts is the key to influencing others.