Six Keys to Empowered Leadership: How to increase your influence and sell more

The first key to Empowered Leadership is THE GOAL OF LEADERSHIP: What is the goal of leadership? In fact, what is leadership? Leadership expert John Maxwell defines leadership as influence. That is it, nothing more, nothing less. The goal of any leader is to influence their followers toward a desired objective or outcome. So, how do we do that? In my book Power Nuggets: 101 Reflections For Empowered Living, I share a story about the Duke of Wellington. He was a leader that
accomplished just that. I wrote:

The year was 1815. The date was March first. This was the day that all of Europe will remember. It was as if all their nightmares were coming true. On that day, a small British ship sailed very quietly to dock on the French Riviera. A man stepped off the boat with a fire in his eyes. The man looked as if he were on a mission. All of Europe shivered at the thought of the return of this man. The nightmare was back. His name was Napoleon.

Napoleon had been exiled to the island of Elba, which is off the coast of Italy. During this period in his life, Napoleon didn’t want to live and he attempted suicide. He carried a pouch around his neck which contained poison. He swallowed the poison but he did not die. He suffered cramps and convulsions and then he recovered. Napoleon spent less then a year on Elba. He knew that the Allies had many differences and couldn’t solve them at the Congress of Vienna. Napoleon hoped to exploit this weakness to regain what he thought was his right to power. After his recovery from the poison, Napoleon escaped from his British captors and stole one of their ships. Now he had just stepped off this stolen ship to begin his revenge on a frightened Europe.

The Allies immediately put their differences aside and joined forces to confront the tyrant. One of the men Europe looked to defend them against Napoleon was the Duke of Wellington. Wellington was a British hero determined to stop Napoleon. Wellington commanded the combined forces of Great Britain, Prussia, Belgium, and The Netherlands. A line was drawn in the sand and a battle was fought. That battle was to become one of the greatest military victories in all of history. The battle was called "The Battle of Waterloo."

Before the battle, Wellington was in Brussels preparing for his standoff with Napoleon. Accompanying the Duke was a member of the British Parliament named Thomas Creevey. As they were walking through Brussels Park they noticed a lonely British redcoat staring at a statue. Wellington grabbed Creevey by the arm and said, "There, look at him! It all depends on that article whether we do business or not. Give me enough of them and I am sure of victory."

On June 18, 1815, the line was drawn in the sand. Wellington had with him 67,661 men and 150 artillery guns. Napoleon had 71,947 men and 246 artillery guns. Because of heavy rain the night before, Napoleon chose to wait till close to noon to attack. This decision may have cost him the victory. The battle began at 11:25 in the morning and would last until 10:00 that evening. Napoleon pummeled the front of Wellington’s line. Wellington’s troops fought earnestly. Finally, all hope for victory was put on the British infantry. These solitary redcoats put together made an impressive stand. These boys stood their ground. They would not give up. They believed in their leaders. They believed in their cause. They began to believe in themselves. They did have greatness within them. The line in the sand stood and finally Marshal Gebhard von Blucher came and reinforced Wellington with his Prussian troops. Napoleon was forced from the battlefield licking his wounds. This battle finally closed the book on Napoleon’s quest to rule Europe. Europe was safe again.

What is the goal of leadership? The goal is to influence. Wellington was able to influence his troops and thus history. How did he do that? Well, we are going to discuss that in our next three keys to Empowered Leadership.

The second key is VISION. Vision is vital to leadership success. The book of Proverbs puts it this way, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." In other words, where there is no vision, your team will fail. Where there is no vision, your team will walk around in chaos. So, how do you get vision? By asking yourself, "Where are we going? What is our purpose?" The key is to have a challenging vision. Too many people have a weak vision. It might be a good goal but it is too weak for a vision. A vision has to be a challenging purpose that will stretch you and your team. Not something you necessarily know how to accomplish right this moment but something you know is worth it and possible.

A leader I think of when it comes to a challenging vision is President John F. Kennedy. In 1961, JFK stood before the world and said, "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth." That is a challenging vision. That wouldn’t be a simple task for NASA today. But think about it. In 1961, we were getting clobbered by the Soviet Union in terms of the space race. We had rocket after rocket blow up in our faces and then in 1961 we did have a victory. We managed to launch Alan Shepherd into orbit and we got him home without killing him. Shortly after this victory, President Kennedy had the audacity to stand before the world and announce that we were going to the moon. That was where our scientist probably wanted to send him. We didn’t know how to do that. We just barely got Shepherd into orbit and now he wants to go to the moon. Who was he kidding! But what happened? A few short years later on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong along with Buzz Aldrin stepped off that Eagle lander to become the first people to walk on the moon. And yes, we got them home safely. A challenging vision doesn’t mean we know how to accomplish it right this moment. It means we believe it is worth it and possible.

The third key is CREDIBILITY. Wellington was a leader of credibility. People wanted to follow him. They knew if anyone could keep them alive it was Wellington. Credibility can also be defined as integrity. There is a motivational speaker who used to travel around the country defining integrity as wholeness. Well, he is half- right. Have you ever noticed how a half -truth can totally mess your life up? This speaker’s view was that if we were whole or congruent to our values then we had integrity. What if we have the values that it is all right to murder people? As long as we are whole, as long as we are congruent, then by that definition we have integrity. But he is WRONG! He is only half-right. Integrity is wholeness but the dictionary doesn’t stop there. It tells what we are to be whole too. It talks about uprightness, truthfulness, and honesty. When we are whole to those values …that’s integrity.

You see, teams are asking, "Can I trust her? Can I trust him? Can I trust my leader?" Think about a leader you didn’t trust. Did you care what their vision was and did you want to follow them? I doubt it. Leaders of credibility have influence. We can even learn from the failures of the Duke of Wellington and President Kennedy. Both would have trouble influencing teams today. Why? Even though Wellington was a leader of credibility, he had a flaw that would not fly today. He referred to his men as the scum of the earth. Now isn’t that motivating! His compassion was not always there and thus was a kink in his armor. If we knew then what we know now about President Kennedy’s integrity, not nearly as many people would trust him. That lack of trust would be a kink is his armor too.

The fourth key is COACHING. Wellington was a coach. He got those young men to accomplish something that most people would have thought was impossible. He got them to believe in themselves and had given them the skills to back it up. A coach motivates, inspires, teaches, trains, develops, disciplines when necessary, and builds up the individual team members. A coach helps each player know their role on the team and helps them be their very best at that role.

The fifth key to empowered leadership is the concept of CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT. In my book, Power Nugget #74 says, "Success is constantly improving to be your best where you are and with what you have." I went on to write:

Evangelist Mike Murdock says, "Whatever you possess today is enough to create anything else you will ever want in your future." Life is a journey of growth. Don’t be satisfied with the status quo. Seek improvement always. It doesn’t matter how successful we may already be; we can be better. We can learn more. We can improve. That’s the goal: improvement through growth. Thomas Edison told the story of how he got fired twice. Mr. Edison explained: "I got fired twice. The first time was when I was a telegraph operator. It was my fault, all right, but I got so interested in the dinged machine and its workings that I began to see how I could improve it. But I forgot all about the messages
that were coming over the wire, and I left a lot of messages unsent and undelivered. Of course, they discharged me, and I didn’t blame them." With a chuckle and a smile on his face Mr. Edison continued, "Then I got a job in an office, and there were a fearful lot of rats; terribly old office, you know. I got up a thing that killed them like flies—the same with cockroaches. The floor used to be covered with dead roaches, and they fired me for that!"

Life and success are about improvements. Improving ourselves and improving our surroundings. Where can you improve today? What new thing can you learn? What new action can you take today which will change your life for the better? The answer to these questions is a roadmap to your desired future.

And our sixth key is DON’T BE AFRAID TO DREAM. Walt Disney said, "All our dreams can come true-if we have the courage to pursue them." Norman Vincent Peale expressed, "I expect the best and with God’s help will attain the best." Thomas Jefferson dreamed of a nation where, "all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…" What was one thing these three men had in common? They all had a dream. Think about what they stood for; think about what they accomplished; think about the difference even today, years after their deaths they make in our lives. Walt Disney gave us a place where dreams come alive. Norman Vincent Peale teaches still today through his books and tapes how to think and live positively. And Thomas Jefferson helped give us the greatest nation in the history of the world. A nation of prosperity, freedom, and opportunity.

My friend, what is your dream? Where are you going? What do you stand for? Leadership is influence and when we are going for our dreams we not only will influence but we will also make a difference. I encourage you to let these six keys sink into your thoughts and actions. When we live the Six Keys to Empowered Leadership not only
will we be successful but also we will move from success to SIGNIFICANCE.

Mark Bowser is one of the best speakers and authors on the circuit today. With his positive attitude and contagious personality, he makes the road to success smooth and exciting through seminars such as The Keys to Empowered Leadership The Sales Champion Within, and Succeeding with Empowered Customer Service. Many of the world's top organizations have leaned on Mark's expertise to help them be more successful. Organizations such as Southwest Airlines, FedEx Logistics, and the United States Air Force. Mark is also the successful author of three books, Power Nuggets, Unlocking the Champion Within, and The 3 Pillars of Success. He can be reached at his websites TakeActionSales.com, your home for Sales Closing & Sales Prospecting Audio downloads and MarkBowser.com .