The Gnosis series – Episode 1 – Leadership by Influence

Welcome to “The Gnosis Series”. Gnosis is a Greek word for Knowledge. This series will include short articles on Leadership, Management & Project Management which will enlighten my readers and motivate them.

I am a big fan of Greek & Nordic culture (as you might know by the name of my blog page :)) hence I went ahead with this name. Hope you liked my first entry in this series. Do share your feedback & love, which will motivate me to write more for my dear readers.

Gnosis – “Successful Leadership is by Influence & not by Authority”

Leadership isn’t a one-way street. A successful Leadership professional doesn’t give orders and then sit back and expect them to be followed blindly. That’s not leadership; it’s totalitarianism. Even if such top-down authority is adhered to, it will crush any creative thinking and innovation.

Real leaders are not separate from their teams. They might be tasked with making the plans and responding to issues as they arise, but they’re not motivating out of fear or strength. They build a relationship of mutual trust. This creates buy-in for the project, and it also influences the team to work harder towards their common goal. It’s that influence that is mightier than authority, because influence addresses the entire person. The project becomes their project, and its success is their success.

Key difference between Influence & Authority is –

**Influence** – Makes use of feedback system where all team members / stakeholders are given the opportunity to provide suggestions

**Authority** – Thrives in an hierarchal organisation & favours instructions over conversation

Kindly share your thoughts on this topic & please feel free to get in touch with me if you need any support (Details are available in the about me section of my page) ..

Keep reading & stay safe !