Posted: April 24th, 2025

Discussion Thread: The Law of Influence

According to Maxwell (2007), “…leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less” (p. 11). Do you agree or disagree? Explain. (Transcript of video attached)

Maxwell (2007) challenges you to use your responses to the following questions to determine your methods of influence. What do you rely upon most to persuade people to follow you? Rate yourself 1 (not a factor) to 10 (continual reliance).

• Character – who you are
• Relationships – who you know
• Knowledge – what you know
• Intuition – what you feel
• Experience – where you have been
• Past Success – what you have done
• Ability – what you can do

How can you capitalize on your strong methods of influence (those with high scores)? How can you optimize or better utilize your methods of influence with low scores?

A lot of influence by John Maxwell
one of his 21 irrefutable laws of leadership John Maxwell
is a notable author and speaker on the topic of leadership in his
book The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership he writes about the law of influence the
law of influence essentially tells us this The true measure of leadership is
influence nothing more nothing less as an introduction to the law of influence
John Maxwell asked several questions what did leaders look like do they always look
powerful impressive charismatic and how do you measure the effectiveness of a leader
can you put 2 people side by side and instantly tell which is the better leader
These are questions people have asked for hundreds of years Maxwell tells us
that leadership is often misunderstood when people hear that someone has an
impressive title or an assigned leadership position they assume that individual to
be a leader sometimes that is true but titles don’t have much value
when it comes to leading true leadership cannot be awarded appointed or
assigned it comes only from influence and that cannot be mandated it must be
earned the only thing a title can buy is a little time either to increase your
level of influence with others or to undermine it Maxwell tells us there
are plenty of misconceptions and myths that people embrace
about leaders and leadership we are going to talk
about 5 common ones Number one the management math a widespread
misunderstanding is that leading and managing are one in the same the main
difference between the 2 is that leadership is influencing people to follow
while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes to move people
in a new direction you need influence Number 2 the entrepreneur
meth frequently people assume that all entrepreneurs
are leaders they see needs and understand how to meet them in
a way that produces a profit but not all of them are good with people if
they can’t influence they can’t lead. Number 3 the knowledge myth
Sir Francis Bacon said knowledge is power if you believe power to be the essence of
leadership then you might naturally assume that those who possess knowledge and
intelligence are there for leaders that isn’t necessarily
true to their i.q. nor education necessarily equates
to leadership number for the Pioneer myth Another misconception
is that anyone who is out in front of the crowd it’s a leader that
being 1st isn’t always the same as leading to be a leader a person has to not
only be out front but also have people intentionally coming behind him following
his lead and acting on his vision the position myth number 5 the greatest
misunderstanding about leadership is that it is based on position but it’s
not Stanley have to be affirmed it’s not the position that makes the leader it’s
the leader that makes the position leaders and leadership can occur at any
position on the organizational chart leadership is Maxwell tells us that the
true measure of leadership is influence nothing more nothing less that being
the case why do some people emerge as leaders well others can’t influence
people no matter how hard they try why do some people emerge as leaders
while others can’t influence people no matter how hard they try Maxwell believes
that several factors come into play. Character or who they are is one of the
factors true leadership always begins with the inner person that’s why someone like
Billy Graham is able to draw more and more followers to him as time goes by
people can see the depth of his character relationships or who they know are another
factor you’re only a leader if you have followers and that always requires
the development of relationships the deeper the relationships
the stronger the potential for leadership build enough of the right kinds
of relationships with the right people and you can become the real
leader in an organization. Knowledge is what they know information
is vital to a leader you need a grasp of the facts and understanding of dynamic
crackers and timing and a vision for the future knowledge alone
won’t make someone a leader but without knowledge no one can
become one intuition or what they feel leadership requires more than just
a command of data it’s a minds and demands an ability to deal with numerous
intangibles in fact that is often one of the main differences between managers and
leaders leaders seek to recognize and influence intangibles such as
energy morale timing and momentum the next factor is experience where
they’ve been the greater the challenges you face as a leader in the past the more
likely followers are to give you a chance in the present experience doesn’t
guarantee credibility but it encourages people to give you a chance to prove that
you are capable past success or what they’ve done is another important factor
nothing speaks to followers like a good track record when Maxwell went to his 1st
leadership position he had no track record he couldn’t point to past successes
to help people believe in him but by the time he went to a 2nd position he
had a positive track record every time he extended himself took a risk and succeeded
followers had another reason to trust his leadership the last
factor is ability what they can do the bottom line for followers
is what a leader is capable of they want to know whether that person can lead the
team to victory as soon as they no longer believe you can deliver they will
stop listening and following if you can’t influence people then they will not
follow you and if people won’t follow you you are not a leader that’s the law of
influence no matter what anybody else may tell you remember that leadership is
influence nothing more nothing less. We have talked about Maxwell swop
influence we have asked questions about leadership we have discussed what
leadership is not and explored several myths we have discussed what leadership
is and what factors come into play with the hope that we have a better
understanding of the concept of influence. As we move through this term I’m hoping
that you will recognize your opportunities to lead by influencing athletic
department staff and student athletes and that you’ll be able to equip those under
your leadership to be influencers also.

SMGT 622

Discussion Assignment Instructions

The student will complete four (4) Discussions in this course. The student will post one thread of at least 400 words by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of the assigned Module: Week. The student must then post two (2) replies of at least 200 words by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of the assigned Module: Week. For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least one scholarly citation in APA format. Each reply must incorporate at least one scholarly citation(s) in APA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include peer reviewed journal articles, content from relevant professional associations/platforms, course materials, the textbook, the Bible, etc.