The true measure of leadership is influence–nothing more, nothing less.
Last week, we talked about THE LAW OF THE LID. We made some comments about the placement of that said lid, and the impact that a lid has on every person who finds themselves under that lid. We were also encouraged by the fact that there are some steps a leader can take to raise the lid. And one of those steps is being aware of THE LAW OF INFLUENCE.
John C. Maxwell goes back to the summer of 1997 to talk about two losses in that year that had a profound impact upon the world, each loss carrying its own response groups, its own level of tragedy, and its own sense of irreplaceable loss in the hearts and minds of all of the people the two figures had influenced.
With their deaths coming no fewer than seven days apart, the world had lost two individuals who demonstrated the law of influence: Mother Teresa and Princess Diana.
I remember watching Saturday Night Live and still being awake on what would be early Sunday morning when the breaking news of Princess Diana’s death was announced. Without the flood of information that is two thriving social networks and multiple news channels with running twenty-four hour feeds, I got this information from the local NBC affiliate.
And, while we post this blog, the world has been impacted again–on a Saturday no less–with the news of Whitney Houston’s passing. In fifteen years, we might put all of these names together because of one quality each of the figures possessed while still alive: influence. Mother Teresa was revered for her work with the world’s poor and Diana was able–as a civilian–to impact policy regarding weapons being used at the time. Houston stirred the emotions of millions with her rendition of the National Anthem.
Icons. Each. For their influence.
General Colin Powell–quoted in John C. Maxwell’s book–says that you know that you have achieved a level of success as a leader when people will follow you everywhere if only out of curiosity (13).
A small, unimposing woman photographed with the needy.
A woman with no distinct political ties or claim to the crown whose fairy tale wedding captured the attention of the world with over one million worldwide viewers.
And a songstress that made it all look so effortless, we all wanted to be like her or to be around her.
John C. Maxwell offers that many times we assume that management and leadership are the same. Or that if a person is placed within a managerial status that they are in fact the leader. But Maxwell writes, “true leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence” (14).
And in The Law of Influence, Maxwell breaks down five common myths regarding leadership. I would like to offer these two you, looking at each under the lens of literacy leadership:
1). The management myth.
Leadership and management are not the same. Maxwell writes, “leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes” (14).
And while the term, “lead learner” is very popular these days as a means of perhaps getting away from the negative connotations of being a “teacher” (by the way, I am most proud to claim both). At least two or three times this week, I have been invited to be a part of an on-going conversation about reading management programs. Without tying up a large portion of this post to provide a summary of these discussion threads, can we immediately begin to see that complete and total reliance upon any program to manage reading does not bode well under the Law of Influence?
And here, I really like what Maxwell has to say about ascertaining whether or not a manager can be a leader. Maxwell offers this test: ask that person to create positive change.
In any given system there are ideas, approaches, and strategies that could be considered and implemented. Who is quietly considering these? Who is spending the extra time to keep up with the professional reading? Who can cite the work of those who influence literacy as a practice? And who is presenting these people and their ideas to the members of that system?
These are your leaders. Some of them are just coming into their new-found roles.
Give them time.
Which leads us to the next myth.
2). The entrepreneur myth.
Generally seen in infomercials and doorstop sales pitch delivery, we might assume that the person who blows onto the scene with a new idea, full of personality, vim, and vigor may be a leader. In the book, Maxwell cites Ron Popeil, who at the time of the book’s release, was worth over 300 million dollars in sales from the products he pitched to a national audience.
The only way to measure the influence of these people is the luxury of time. We might buy what they are selling, but who is following. One of my favorite quotes from John C. Maxwell goes something like this: “If you are leading and no one is following, you are simply taking a walk.”
Look within yourself, your building, your district–who’s book talking with their students? Who is writing alongside of them? Who is demonstrating reading voice and pacing, those little moves within writing that become a part of one’s writing craft? Who is peppering their instruction with the names of thought leaders within the industry that creates a continual sense of a larger connectivity beyond the classroom?
3). The knowledge myth.
Maxwell writes, “You can visit any major university and meet brilliant research scientists and philosophers whose ability to think is so high that it is off the charts, but whose ability to lead is so low that it doesn’t even register on the charts” (15).
This would fall right in line with last week’s idea of the Law of the Lid. Attentiveness, dedication, and passion for one’s subject area is admirable–and these do much to drive the X axis from last week’s grid–but without influence, that lid stays firmly attached on a lower level overall.
I’m learning every day, aren’t you? I can think of two professional texts on their way to the house right now that I cannot wait to get to as well as ideas from the past week’s reading that will be implemented before the end of this school year. To know is to grow, and with knowing and growing, the whole group can get going.
4). The pioneer myth.
John C. Maxwell says another misconception is that any one who is out front of the crowd is the leader. Maxwell cites Sir Edmund Hillary as the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. And yet, since 1953, many people have followed in successfully reaching this peak. But, Maxwell offers, Hillary was not the leader of that first group, a man named John Hunt was.
There is something important in this particular myth for me. I want to wary of the brand until I see the people who are out there using it. This week, I talked about Junior Great Books out there with some friends from Twitter. When I saw the people using this particular program with students, the program was afforded some credibility, not because of the company that created and sold it–or even for any attribute attached to the program itself–but for those people that I follow and trust who were able to communicate what the program does for their readers.
5). The position myth.
Maxwell offers this quote from Stanley Huffty, “it is not the position that makes the leader; it is the leader that makes the position” (16).
How many times do we see this myth play itself out in the area of classroom management? A licensed teacher is at the front of the room, but there is chaos in that room. One of the tenets of influence is that leadership without influence is like walking about one’s neighborhood telling other people’s dogs to sit.
For the rest of this chapter, Maxwell shares a wonderful anecdote about Abraham Lincoln, whose military leadership was so befuddled that he once had a group disassemble and reassemble on the other side of a gate because Lincoln did not know the proper marching commands to move the regiment through it.
And isn’t this what daily literacy leadership looks like in the classroom? We have thirty–sometimes more–learners in the room awaiting our suggested movements as they develop into readers and writers. And while this weeks post doesn’t suggest any tips for how to get to a place of influence, it does promise this:
We will begin talking about how to develop influence next Sunday with The Law of Process which suggests that “leadership develops daily, not in a day” (21).
Tomorrow is Monday.
It’s a day.
A new day ripe with opportunity.
It’s the first day of the learning week. Can you read the expectancy of the faces of the learners in the room?
I wish you well.
I wish you continued resources and connectivity.
And above all, I wish for you the influence to create positive change where it is needed.