Influence With Perspective
Influence Expands With Perspective
Recently, I was working with a leadership team exploring the power of influence. As part of the discussion, I asked a simple question: Who has had the greatest influence on your life or career, and what made them influential?
The responses weren't about expertise, authority or position. People spoke about integrity, curiosity, trust, authenticity, a willingness to listen and the ability to make others feel valued.
The conversation stayed with me long after the session ended. As I reflected on the discussion, I found myself reaching for a well-worn book that has sat on my shelf for more than 25 years: Just About Everything a Manager Needs to Know.
The faded cover, creased pages and worn edges tell their own story. My parents gave it to me in 1999 when I became a team leader for the first time. My sisters received copies too. Inside the front cover is a handwritten note encouraging me to keep it nearby and use it whenever I needed guidance.
At the time, I was focused on a simple question: How do I become a good leader?
As I revisited the book recently, it wasn't the content that stood out, it was the three-part structure. Managing yourself, managing others and managing the organisation. Looking at those headings today, I realised they mirror a theme I regularly discuss in leadership coaching, team development and organisational work. As our careers progress, our lens of leadership expands.
Lens One: Influencing Yourself
Every leadership journey starts with self.
Before we can influence teams, culture or strategy, we must understand how we show up. Our behaviours, decisions, reactions and values all shape our impact on others. The foundation of leadership is self-awareness and the ability to align our actions with our values.
Lens Two: Influencing Others
As leaders grow, the focus widens. The question shifts from How do I perform? to How do I help others succeed? This lens focuses on relationships, communication and trust.
When I think about the people who have influenced me most, including my dad, it wasn't because they always had the answers. It was because they were curious, open to learning, generous with their time and willing to listen. They guided rather than instructed and helped others believe in their own capability. The qualities that made them influential had very little to do with authority and everything to do with how they connected with people.
Lens Three: Influencing the Organisation
Over time, leadership becomes less about individual interactions and more about the broader system. The question becomes: What impact am I having beyond my immediate team? This lens is about culture, direction, priorities and creating the conditions for people to do their best work.
Whether we hold a formal leadership position or not, we shape the organisations we are part of through the decisions we make, the behaviours we model, the conversations we encourage and the values we reinforce.
The Broader the Lens, the Greater the Influence
One of the biggest shifts I see in leaders is learning how to move between these three lenses.
Early in our careers we focus primarily on ourselves, building capability, confidence and credibility. As we gain experience, our focus expands to supporting others. Over time, we begin influencing teams, culture, strategy and organisational outcomes. The lens becomes broader, but the fundamentals remain the same. The most effective leaders continue to lead themselves well, invest in relationships and think beyond their own role to the wider impact they can have. The challenge is not choosing one lens over another. It is recognising which lens is needed in the moment.
Looking at that well-used book today, I was reminded that while leadership frameworks continue to evolve, the foundations remain remarkably timeless. The people who influence us most are rarely remembered because of their title. We remember their integrity, curiosity, willingness to learn, the time they made for others and the way they helped us see a bigger picture.
More than twenty-five years later, the final line my dad wrote inside the cover still feels as relevant as ever: "P.S. Manager skills are no different from life skills."
Today, I would use the word leader, but the older or more experienced I get, the more I think that's true for both leadership and influence.