Leadership Compass Part III

Given that, we will next look at the word "influence" to see how we can expand on it. Taking the cue from Stephen R. Covey's circle of influence, we know it is about working from inside-out. In other words, our ability to influence should be from within and not from the outside.

That is not to say that we do not at all rely on 'authority' to assert our influence. We may very well need to from time to time. Having said that, it we solely rely on 'authority' then our circle of influence is not only limited but we will also feel insecure due to the fact that there will always be situations where we have little 'authority'.

Instead, according to the ideas proposed by Stephen R. Covey, working from the inside-out allows us to tap into our internal source of security. Using this simple yet powerful concept, we then need to know how we can first, work on our circle of influence and second, expand our circle of influence.

It is here where I will like to propose the concept of neurological levels of change, first introduced by Gregory Bateson, then popularized by Robert Dilts in NIP, as a tool to help us work on our circle of influence, then back to using Covey's idea of the 7 Habits (I am now practising the 8th Habit) to expand on our circle of influence.

Using Bateson's neurological levels of change, one will start by defining your identity first. According to other scholars, that would involve shaping your mindset, while the others see it as your perspective of things. For instance if you see (perspective) yourself as someone who is an optimist (identity), very often you will be likely think (mindset) in a positive fashion. While someone who is a pessimistic (identity) person, you will likely think (mindset) the worst about things because of the way you perceive (perspective) it.

Now, that does not mean we should all go out there and just be positive all the time. There are times we should not be positive. Having said that, whether we are positive or negative in terms of our perspective, what is more importantly is what we will do in any particular situation, especially the challenging ones. For instance, in my previous blog, "There's opportunities in every crisis", I was sharing about my acrimonious situation when I was working with a friend. Someone with a different mindset will most definitely take different actions from me. I am not saying what I did is the most effective, its just the most effective for me.

So, if given a certain mindset, perspective, or identity we will take different actions (even with the same mindset, perspective, or identity we can still make differing decisions), we then need to ask ourselves how is it possible. The answers lie in the neurological levels of change, which are our beliefs, strategies, and behaviours. And the best part of it all is, it is a skill set, which means we can learn, practice, refine, and apply.