Influence is the magical part of leadership.

Influence is the magic that allows leaders to convert Vision and Desire into amazing actions and thrilling accomplishments.

So...How does one positively Influence others along the road to success?

Q: Does one need to be Intelligent?

A: Yes.

Q: Does one need to master Self-Control?

A: Yes

Q: Does one have to have Integrity?

A: Yes...if the success is to be constructive and sustained.

Q: Does one have to know People, Processes, & Situations?

A: Yes.

Q: Any other things?

A: Yes...here's 5...and here's 5 more...and here's another 5...and there's more.

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What do the wise have to say about Influence? 

My favourite inspirational educator, Napoleon Hill said...

"Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another."

One of my heroes, Napoleon Bonaparte, said...

"The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence; and the great welcome them out of vanity or need."

Dale Carnegie, who wrote the book on how to win friends and influence people, said...

“When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.” 

Clint Eastwood, a widely respected Hollywood icon, said...

"It takes tremendous discipline to control the influence, the power you have over other people's lives."

And an unknown author said...

"Influence may be the highest level of human skills."

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If you want to be a great leader, or a good leader, or even a leader who accomplishes a few meaningful things...it's tough to argue that last point.

PS: Sustained positive Influence is the cause that leads to trust.

Leadership roles in small-business are undergoing a fast-paced transition.

Leaders who fail to understand the transition and alter their ways will learn very-painful lessons. They will bounce back from the painful lessons, at least many of them will (because Canadians are cut from resilient fabric). Regardless, the lessons will be painful and costly.

This is a suggestion on how to avoid that pain and that cost.

If we want to lead in a small-business environment, it is helpful to remember...

1. You will do better when you help others solve their problems and
2. Most of the problems others at your company are working on affect you.

Wait just a minute here!

Are you trying to say I cannot sit in my silo, protected from the problems happening in other areas of my company?

Yes. That's exactly my point. If you want to lead in a small-business environment, forget about silos, safe havens, and isolated work responsibilities. None of those things exist for leaders in small businesses.

Note: These points do not apply to just 'The Leader' of your small business. These points apply to 'Every Leader' of every small business.  And, every person in every small business has the ability to choose whether or not he or she wants to employ leadership ways in his or her role.

Another Note: In today's small-business climate, every person should consider the value of accepting at least a small amount of leadership responsibility. Even if the reason is solely a selfish one - to make the company a little bit better to help protect one's job and one's pay - every person should think about how he or she can take leadership action.

And A Final Note: In today's small-business climate, every person who has a supervisory or management role must accept responsibility for more leadership thinking and action. Gone are the days that contained the luxuries of extra and redundant staffing and layers of management. Gone are the days that contained pure-specialist senior roles. And gone are the days of fat cash-flows. Today's small-business climate requires leaders to have a broad and deep understanding of their organization. That broad and deep understanding includes the premise that all small-business roles must be performed as if they are vital, interlinked cogs that must operate in tune with all other fellow cogs...because that's exactly what they are and that's exactly what they must do if the business is to succeed.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if perfectionists would allow us to walk step-by-step with them as they perform their perfectionist role.

When they are being the perfectionist - do they think much, or are they simply compelled to do...and do...and do?

When perfectionists think, is their thinking confined to ruts where thoughts keep repeating while actions are stalled?

When perfectionists think, what are they thinking? Are their thoughts like those of non-perfectionists except more textured or broader in scope? Or are perfectionists' thoughts nonsensical or scattered or bizarre? 

To what extent are perfectionists’ thoughts being dragged along by feelings of need or worry or criticism? Are perfectionists' thoughts always dragged along by negative feelings? Or, are perfectionists' thoughts sometimes laced with positive feelings...or mania?

To what degree are perfectionists driven to create? Is perfectionist-behaviour aligned with building value or is it simply driven by an extra-strong interest in doing things right?

Perhaps an in-depth understanding of perfectionists’ mindsets and thought processes would put us in a much better position to help them…assuming they need, want, and are ready to accept our help.

Or...

Is perfectionism in business a dysfunction by its very name?

Is perfectionism a dysfunction that a leader simply cannot ignore...a signal that corrective action is a must?

In business, doing things right is a good thing. Like everything in business, there are costs associated with doing things right...at the least, there are the costs of time spent. And, perfectionists overspend their time. Others know this. That's likely how the label 'perfectionist' came about in the first place. So, perfectionists are inclined to spend too much time on things as they work to do those things the right way. That sounds conflicted.

Where does perfectionism end and indecision start?

Or - do these 2 things overlap?

Or - is perfectionism an exaggerated form of indecision...one destined to to thwart both good decisions and delegation? 

Questioned another way...

Is perfectionism the antidote for decisiveness?

If so, as we work at doing things right in business, can indecision help us achieve better results?