In this third article in the series on how leaders can re-engage with the vision and regain their inspiration, we look at the role of influence and relationships.  If you've missed the previous articles, you can find them by following this link.

A leader is a dealer in influence. Her greatest challenge is to find ways to influence others. People first buy into the leader, and then they buy into the vision. The leader needs to win the support of all stakeholders. Firstly, she needs to win the support of her team for the vision. Then she needs to win the support of her upline – be this the board, the holding company or the shareholders – to the direction being pursued. This can be a challenge all of its own – especially when you know that your strategy is going to be 3 to 5 years in the making, and you are being pushed to deliver quarterly results. Influence at this level is often about what happens outside of board meetings or reviews. Leaders influence one conversation at a time – no matter how difficult this may be. Influence also means making sure that the expectations of the various stakeholders are managed, and making sure that key opinion-makers are on her side. This cannot be left to the formal meetings that we attend. It must happen behind the scenes in ongoing conversations in order to make sure that the right people are thinking and saying the right things about your team, your business and your leadership.

Who do you need to build a better relationship with? Who is the key to winning upline support for your strategy? How will you draw this person closer? How will you explore your ideas with this person outside of the boardroom so that you do not have to defend your strategy and tactics to them inside the boardroom? Who is key to winning the support of other opinion-makers? How could you win their support?

Do you have your team’s support for your vision? If not, why not? What concerns or reservations do they have? What fears do they have? How can you allay their fears and win their support? How can you make them an integral part of the vision and strategy?

This is the second in a series of 12 practical articles looking aspects of leadership, and how to reconnect with inspiration and the vision.  If you missed the first article, you can read it here.

A leader is a dealer in discipline. In their wonderful book, “Great by Choice”, Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen introduce us to the idea of the “20 mile march”, which is the notion that if two people have to make a 3 000 mile walk, and Person 1 marches 20 miles every single day – come rain or come shine – he will ultimately reach his destination. However, if Person 2 starts with a 40 mile burst on day 1, and is too tired to get out of bed on day 2, and is deterred by bad weather, and only goes out when the weather is good, he sets up a pattern of good days and bad days, and will inevitably reach the destination well after Person 1, if he gets there at all. The leader needs to be a living, breathing example of discipline every single day, no matter how hard things get. He also needs to hold the team to the same standards of discipline every single day. Dealers in discipline know that if we all keep doing the things that we know result in success (even if it doesn’t look that way today), we will indeed succeed.

What should you do every single day that represents your own 20 mile march? Do you do it? Every day? Do you people see you exercising this relentless self-discipline. If they don’t, how will you influence them to take their own daily march.

What is the 20 mile march each of your team members needs to take every day? Do they take it? Do they account to you and the team for their personal 20 mile march? How will you build this discipline and accountability into how you track their work? How will you measure the 20 mile march – because is you don’t measure it you won’t be able to manage it.


In the third article in this series, we will explore influence and relationships.  Let me know how the practical tips are impacting your leadership abilities.

Leaders are supposed to be visionary and inspirational, but what if you don’t feel inspired? What if you feel stressed and under pressure – as if everything is coming at you from all sides? It is when times are tough that most is required of leaders. When the market is tough, and your tactics don’t seem to be working, and your Group MD is turning the screws on you, and your people are emotional and uptight, and YOU are emotional and uptight that is when you need to pick yourself up and pull yourself together, and be the leader your people need you to be.   This is the first in a series of 12 articles with practical tips, advice and exercises on how to re-connect with the inspirational, visionary leader in you.

“A leader is a dealer in hope” said Napoleon Bonaparte. To which Winston Churchill added “but he must be an honest broker”. What this reminds us is that leaders need to keep the team’s eye on the prize, and inspire them with hope of winning. When the chips are down and things appear to be impossible, the leader needs to persuade the team that they can still prevail - if they just keep their eyes on the vision, and keep doing what they each personally need to do in order to win. When dealing in hope, we need to remind our people that we all have a part to play in achieving the vision – and that we will prevail if we each play our part.

What is your vision? Is it in writing? Does your team feel passionate about this vision? If they don’t, this is where the work starts. Make sure that the vision is front and centre of every conversation you have with the team – every time you talk about progress or results; every time you address challenges; every time you consider or review your tactics.

Does every member of your team know what they personally need to do in order to move towards the vision? If not, it needs to happen.

What is trending in the right direction? What can you draw attention to that will give the team the sense that they are making progress? What small wins can be celebrated? The key to dealing in hope is giving your team the sense that they are making progress.