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Originally Posted by trekr5  I'd say so.
He's authentic (from his writings and podcasts) and possesses charisma (again from writings and podcasts) .
Look at how quickly this forum took off. Lots of people in the blogosphere took notice and reported it. That's influence |
In a society where we measure influence in "viewers," yeah -- I would agree.
But I think there's another side of the question to examine, which is the practical aspect of "influential leadership" as defined by Ann. She's listed some great qualities that would differentiate an "influence leader" from an "authority leader," but that doesn't tell us anything about whether he's any good at it. I consider Steve to have the qualities of an "influence leader," but that doesn't make him "influential." I'm not sure which question Ann wants to answer.
To look at whether he is influential, it's not so much a question of readership so much as how many people has he motivated to action? And more than that, how many of those people have been successful as a result of his teaching?
For example, Hitler would have amounted to nothing more than a crazy jerk had he lacked the ability to get people to act. But he's more what I would call a "charismatic" leader, relying on his ability to persuade than his example (influence) or his power (authority). Stalin is an example of more of an authority leader.
From that perspective, I think Steve has demonstrated that his intent is to lead according to the "influence" values listed, but he still has a relatively limited audience: People who read blogs about personal development. So it's up to Steve not only to become accessible to a wider demographic, but to appeal to a broader audience as well. But it's hard to judge the span how influential he is without gathering some real numbers, if that's what you're asking.
In answer to your final question. while I try to follow the values of influence over authority or persuasion, I have no aspirations of leadership. There is a need for effective, high-awareness leadership in the world. And there's also a need for...?
