top of page
Search

Priceless Perspectives #39: Influence — The Ripple a Leader Leaves


Leadership growth isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some leaders learn through practical workplace insight. Others through story. Some through Scripture. Others through the executive lens. That’s why each weekly theme is explored through four different perspectives… so you can grow in the way that reaches your heart, your mind, and your leadership practice.


This Week’s Theme: Influence in Leadership


Influence is not limited to authority, charisma, or position. It is present in every conversation, reaction, decision, and moment of attention. The way leaders see and treat people shapes what they believe about themselves and what they think is possible. Influential leaders use that responsibility intentionally... recognizing potential, speaking belief, creating opportunities, and helping people become more than they thought they could be.


To explore this week’s theme, choose the lens that connects with you most or experience all four for a full, 360-degree perspective:


◆ Adventures of Noah Hart: The Brothers Who Led Differently

◆ The Shepherd’s Voice: A Light That Helps Others See

◆ The Boardroom Brief: The Influence Multiplier


Because every leader eventually learns:

People may forget what leaders accomplish, but not what they helped them believe.

And always remember… people are priceless!

Leadership Lens

◆ Leadership Lens


Why Influential Leaders Help People Become More


Leadership influence is not reserved for important speeches, major decisions, or people with impressive titles. It is present in everyday conversations, reactions, expressions, and moments of attention. Leaders continually shape what people believe about themselves, what they think is possible, and how confidently they move forward.


Here are three ways influence strengthens leadership:


Influence Is Always Happening


Leaders influence people even when they are not trying to. A thoughtful question can build confidence, while a dismissive reaction can silence someone. Our words, tone, attention, patience, and behavior under pressure continually communicate what matters and how much we value the people around us.

Influence is not something leaders turn on... it is something people experience whenever we are present.

People Often Borrow Our Belief Before Finding Their Own


People do not always recognize their strengths or potential, so they may need someone else to see it first. Influential leaders name what they see, offer sincere encouragement, and provide meaningful opportunities that help people move from self-doubt to courage and confidence.

Sometimes a leader’s belief becomes the beginning of someone else’s confidence.

The Best Influence Helps People Become More


Healthy influence is not about creating dependence or making people more like us. It helps people grow, think, contribute, and become more fully who they were created to be. The greatest evidence of our influence is not only what people accomplish, but the courage, confidence, and positive influence they develop within themselves.

The best leaders do not simply gain followers... they help others become positive influences too.

Practicing Influence This Week


This week, consider:

  • Noticing what your words and reactions communicate

  • Naming a strength you see in someone

  • Encouraging someone who may be doubting themselves

  • Offering an opportunity that stretches another person’s confidence

  • Asking yourself: “What are people learning to believe because of my influence?”


The Leadership Ripple


When leaders use their influence intentionally, people begin to see new possibilities in themselves. Confidence grows. Courage strengthens. Potential becomes action. And as those people begin influencing others, one leader’s belief can create ripples that travel far beyond a single conversation.

People may forget what leaders accomplish, but not what they helped them believe.



Adventures of Noah Hart


◆ Adventures of Noah Hart


The Brothers Who Led Differently


The breeze off Maryland's Chesapeake Bay carried the scent of saltwater as Noah Hart and Luman approached a small waterfront learning center.


A sign above the door read:

Three Brothers Discovery Center

Inside, one man studied weather maps while another crouched beside a silent sound system with a screwdriver.


“I’m Tim,” the first man said. “This is my brother Chris.”


“I’m Noah. I’m traveling across the country learning about leadership.”


“Then you arrived on an interesting day,” Chris said.


A group of students would soon arrive for an educational program, but dark clouds were gathering and the center’s audiovisual system had stopped working.


Tim studied the radar.


“The storm is shifting. We need to move the program indoors.”


Chris opened the back of the sound system.


“And I need ten minutes.”


A third man entered carrying a box of materials.


“A storm is coming in and the sound system is out,” Tim told him.


“So, a normal day,” the man said.


Smiling men and boy at Three Brothers Discovery Center by Chesapeake Bay; one holds weather map, brochure box, firefly mentor nearby.

“This is our younger brother, Scott,” Chris explained. “He leads the programs.”


As the students arrived, Scott welcomed them and began asking questions about storms, tides, and the bay. Soon they were laughing and sharing stories while Tim adjusted the safety plan, and Chris calmly repaired the equipment.


Noah watched the brothers.


Tim was curious and adventurous. He studied the changing sky with enthusiasm, drawing on the perseverance he had developed through setbacks and unexpected turns. When something captured his imagination, he pursued it with focus and devotion.


Chris was quieter and steady. He understood how things worked and patiently repaired what others might have given up on. Even with people waiting and a storm approaching, he never seemed rattled.


Scott seemed energized by the people around him. He encouraged the students, told stories, and helped everyone feel included.


A moment later, the speakers came back to life.


“Ready,” Chris said.


Tim looked outside. “And the storm is passing north of us.”


Scott smiled at the students.


“Different problems require different gifts.”


Noah looked at the brothers.


“Which one of you leads the center?”


At Three Brothers Discovery Center, smiling kids watch men present Chesapeake Bay weather and tides displays by the waterfront.

All three laughed.


“We all do,” Tim said.


“We just lead differently,” Chris added.


Later, Noah asked Scott what he had learned from his older brothers.


“They influenced me more than they probably realize,” Scott said. “Tim showed me that a winding road can still lead somewhere meaningful. Chris taught me that strength does not always make noise.”


“Did they teach you those lessons?” Noah asked.


“Not with speeches. I learned by watching them live their lives.”


Luman glowed softly.


“Influence happens even when no lesson is announced.”


Scott nodded.


“We grew up in the same home with the same values, but we became three very different people. The best influence did not make us copies of one another. It helped each of us become more fully ourselves.”


Before Noah left, the brothers gave him a packet of Black-eyed Susan seeds.


“Maryland’s state flower,” Tim said. “Plant a few, and over time they can spread far beyond where they started... just like influence.”


Noah planted them near the edge of the bay. As he stood, a wooden sign shimmered into view:

Seed Planted (Maryland): The best influence does not create copies. It helps people discover who they can become.

Luman hovered beside him.


“Do they know how much they have influenced one another?”


Noah looked back at Tim studying the sky, Chris helping a student with the equipment, and Scott encouraging the group.


“Maybe not,” he said. “But the ripples are still traveling.”


As the afternoon light stretched across the Chesapeake Bay, Noah carried the lesson forward:


Leaders influence people through their words, choices, struggles, and the lives they live... and sometimes those closest to us shape who we become without ever realizing how deeply they have mattered.


Boy kneels planting seeds by a sunset lake, smiling firefly beside him; glowing sign says Seed Planted and an inspiring message.



The Shepherd's Voice

◆ The Shepherd’s Voice


A Light That Helps Others See


Theme Verse: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16 (NIV)


Influence in Scripture


Jesus described His followers as the light of the world because a faithful life affects what others can see. Biblical influence is not about drawing attention to ourselves, controlling people, or building personal importance. It is allowing God’s love, truth, humility, courage, and grace to shine through the way we live. Our example can help others see hope, recognize their God-given worth, and believe that growth is possible.


Influence in a Christian Workplace


In a Christian workplace, influence is a responsibility to steward carefully. Leaders shape people through what they say, how they respond under pressure, what they recognize, and how they treat those who may lack confidence or status. A sincere word of belief, an opportunity to grow, or a patient response to failure can change how someone sees themselves. Christian leaders do not use influence to create copies or dependence. They help people recognize their gifts and become more fully who God created them to be.


A Leader’s Prayer for Influence


Dear Lord,


Thank You for the people You have placed within the reach of my influence. Help me remember that my words, reactions, decisions, and example create ripples in the lives of others. Let my leadership reflect Your love, truth, patience, and grace.


Give me eyes to recognize potential, courage to speak belief, and wisdom to create opportunities that help others grow. Keep me from using influence for attention, control, or personal gain.


May my light help others see their value, discover their gifts, and become more fully who You created them to be.


Amen.


One Faith-Forward Mini-Challenge


This week, ask God to place one person on your heart who may need help seeing what is already within them. Name a strength you recognize, offer sincere encouragement, or provide an opportunity that communicates, “I see something in you worth developing.”




Boardroom Brief

◆ The Boardroom Brief


The Influence Multiplier


Executives often think about influence in terms of strategy, communication, reputation, or stakeholder alignment. But an organization’s most powerful influence is often found in everyday interactions between managers and employees. Gallup reports that management accounts for approximately 70% of the variance in team engagement, making leaders one of the strongest forces shaping how people experience work.


Expectations Shape Performance


The Pygmalion effect in management describes how a leader’s expectations can influence an employee’s performance. When leaders communicate confidence, provide meaningful challenges, and offer the support needed to succeed, people are more likely to grow into those expectations. When leaders assume someone is incapable, they may provide less opportunity, attention, trust, or encouragement... quietly creating the very performance they expected. This does not mean pretending everyone is performing well or ignoring capability gaps. It means refusing to confuse someone’s current performance with their permanent potential.


Influence Becomes Culture


Leaders continually teach people what matters through what they recognize, reward, question, tolerate, and model. A leader who responds patiently to an honest mistake encourages learning. A leader who dismisses ideas teaches silence. A leader who gives credit strengthens contribution, while one who hoards recognition encourages competition and self-protection. These moments may appear small, but when repeated across hundreds of managers and thousands of interactions, they become culture.

Culture is leadership influence repeated at scale.

Influence Should Create Capability, Not Dependence


Unhealthy influence keeps important decisions, relationships, and knowledge centered around a few powerful people. Healthy influence distributes confidence and capability throughout the organization. Leaders create that kind of influence when they:

  • Recognize strengths and potential

  • Provide stretch opportunities with support

  • Share context, knowledge, and relationships

  • Give honest feedback without defining people by failure

  • Develop others to make decisions and influence well


The goal is not to produce employees who constantly need executive approval. It is to develop people who can think, lead, contribute, and strengthen others.


What Boards and Executives Should Examine


Consider:

  • What are managers teaching employees to believe about themselves?

  • Are emerging leaders receiving meaningful opportunities or only more tasks?

  • Do performance conversations build capability or reinforce permanent labels?

  • What leadership behaviors are rewarded, promoted, or quietly tolerated?

  • Are we measuring manager influence as carefully as we measure operational results?

  • Are our leaders creating more confidence and capability... or more dependence?


Bottom Line


Influence is not a soft leadership quality. It affects engagement, confidence, development, decision-making, retention, and performance. The most influential leaders do more than direct people toward organizational goals. They help people recognize strengths, pursue possibilities, and develop the confidence to influence others.

When that influence is multiplied throughout an organization, people do not simply accomplish more for the company…they begin to see more in themselves, bring out more in one another, and create a culture where potential continues to multiply.

A leader’s greatest influence may be seen in the influence others develop because of them.




Join the Movement That Leads with Influence


Influence is not limited to titles, authority, or major decisions. It is present in every conversation, reaction, opportunity, and moment of attention. Influential leaders recognize potential, speak belief, and help people discover strengths and possibilities they may not yet see in themselves.


If this issue encouraged or challenged you, consider sharing it with a leader whose influence helped you grow, believe, or become more. And if you want to continue growing in servant-hearted, people-first leadership, we would love to walk alongside you.


Learn more at: nationalald.com


Start a conversation: Book a 30-minute exploration call



Because in workplaces where influence is used intentionally, something powerful happens…

People do not simply accomplish more. They begin to believe more is possible within themselves.

And always remember… people are priceless!


Comments

bottom of page