Budding Leaders Hidden Trap in Building Leadership Presence.

Never fall into the paradox of ‘ Leadership Influence’.

Photo by 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash

In a coaching session, I unpacked with a budding leader his struggle to build influential leadership.

If you have a similar concern, here’s the message:

Your struggle intensifies IF all you could think about are thoughts like:
🚫 "How can I impress my team?"
🚫 "How can I be influential in their eyes?"
🚫 "What should I say right now to sound like a leader?"

Flip the focus. Instead, ask these questions:
▶️ "What is the real challenge here?"
▶️ "What is my teammate struggling with?"
▶️ "What support does this person need to move forward?"

The paradox of influence is this:
The more you are eager to be seen as influential, the more ‘un-influential’ you become.

Why?
Because your attention is turned inward – it’s all about 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

Leadership presence isn’t about projecting 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆; it’s about channeling your energy into 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕.

🌻 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔.

🚷 Leave the ‘self’ – self-need, self-consciousness, ‘I, me and my’, out of the picture.

Every challenge the team faces is an opportunity to build trust, deepen bonds, and make an impact.

Try this simple 3-𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 for a start:
1. 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐳𝐞 – Be with the team. Laugh together. Struggle together. Understand beyond words and the unspoken struggles. And remember, empathy has to be sincere.

2. 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 – Step up and advocate for them when needed. Have their backs regardless of their shortfalls or failures in the given situation.

3. 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 – Debrief behind closed doors. Cut through the noise and define what truly matters. Turn the challenge into a lifelong lesson that changes the belief system, and instils new convictions.

𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦.

Building influential leadership takes more than a framework. It requires intentional and consistent practice.