Becoming a Person of Influence

Picture this: You walk into a room, and something shifts. Conversations become more engaging, people lean in a little closer, and there's an unmistakable energy that wasn't there before. What just happened? You've witnessed the power of influence in action. Yet for many young professionals starting their careers, this seems like an elusive quality reserved for CEOs, celebrities, or natural-born leaders.

Here's the truth that might surprise you: influence isn't about having a corner office, a fancy title, or being the loudest voice in the room. It's about becoming the kind of person others naturally want to follow, learn from, and be around. Every day, you have countless opportunities to positively impact the lives of the people around you, whether it's a colleague struggling with a project, a friend facing a difficult decision, or even a stranger you encounter. The question isn't whether you have influence, because you absolutely do. The question is whether you're using it intentionally to lift others up and create positive change in your world.

Your influence journey begins with building an unshakeable foundation. Think of it as constructing a house where every interaction you have with others will take place. Without solid groundwork, everything else crumbles. This foundation rests on four cornerstones that will determine whether people trust you enough to be influenced by you.

Integrity serves as your bedrock. When Jim and Nancy Dornan were going through customs after a shopping trip in London, they could have easily avoided declaring expensive purchases. The customs agent was so surprised by their honesty that he later recognized Jim and expressed how their integrity had impressed him. That moment of choosing what's right over what's easy created a ripple effect that strengthened Jim's influence with everyone who heard the story. Your character in small moments determines your credibility in big ones.

Nurturing others means genuinely caring about their success and wellbeing. Just as Jerry and Patty Beaumont came alongside Jim and Nancy during their most challenging time with baby Eric's medical crisis, you have opportunities to support others through their difficulties. They didn't offer empty platitudes or quick fixes. Instead, they provided consistent presence, practical help, and unwavering faith that things could get better. When you nurture others, you create emotional safety that allows them to grow.

Having faith in people before they prove themselves is like watering seeds before they sprout. Robert Schuller's life changed when his uncle looked at four-year-old Robert and declared, "I think you are going to be a preacher someday." That moment of expressed faith planted a dream that shaped an entire life. When you believe in others' potential and communicate that belief, you give them permission to believe in themselves.

Finally, understanding others requires stepping into their shoes and seeing the world through their eyes. This means moving beyond your own perspective to truly grasp what motivates, concerns, and inspires the people around you. When you understand what matters most to someone, you can connect with them on a level that creates lasting influence. These four elements work together to create a foundation strong enough to support the influence you're building.

Once your foundation is solid, you must develop the skills that create genuine connection with others. Two abilities stand out as absolutely essential: the art of truly listening and the capacity to help others navigate life's challenges. These aren't just communication techniques; they're relationship-building superpowers that separate great influencers from everyone else.

Most people think they're good listeners, but real listening is far rarer than you might imagine. When John Maxwell was trying to recruit new people early in his career, he would corner unsuspecting colleagues in the company cafeteria and bombard them with information about his business opportunity. His success rate was terrible until he had a breakthrough moment. One day, instead of talking, he actually listened as a coworker shared his frustrations about his boss, his financial struggles, and his feeling of being stuck. Only then did John realize he could help solve real problems, and his influence began to grow.

Effective listening requires giving someone your complete attention, understanding their perspective, and asking thoughtful questions that show you care about their concerns. When people feel truly heard, they naturally gravitate toward you. They begin to trust you with their thoughts, dreams, and challenges. This trust becomes the bridge that allows you to positively influence their decisions and direction.

Navigation involves helping others find their way through difficulties and toward their goals. Like a ship's navigator who helps the captain chart a course through dangerous waters, you can help people identify their destination, plot the best route, and make course corrections when they get off track. This might mean helping a friend think through a career decision, supporting a colleague through a challenging project, or simply being present when someone faces a crisis.

The key to navigation is thinking ahead for others and sharing your perspective without taking over their decision-making process. You're not trying to control their choices; you're providing the guidance and support they need to make better choices themselves. When you combine genuine listening with skillful navigation, you create relationships where people not only trust you but actively seek your input on important matters. This is where real influence begins to flourish.

True influence moves beyond connection to active mentoring. This is where you transition from being someone people like and trust to being someone who actively develops their potential. Mentoring involves three critical elements: enlarging people's capacity, connecting with them on a deeper level, and empowering them to achieve things they never thought possible.

Enlarging others means helping them expand their thinking, skills, and possibilities. Fernando, Eric Dornan's home attendant, exemplifies this beautifully. Instead of simply caring for Eric's physical needs, Fernando constantly challenges him to grow. He switched Eric's wheelchair controls to his weaker hand so Eric could learn to play tennis. He took Eric to compete in power soccer tournaments across the country. Through Fernando's belief and encouragement, Eric went from being seen as limited by his disabilities to living a full, challenging, and exciting life.

Connection at the mentoring level goes deeper than surface-level relationships. It involves understanding what truly drives someone, sharing meaningful experiences together, and creating bonds that can withstand challenges and setbacks. John Maxwell's return to his first church after twenty-five years demonstrates this principle. He spent hours memorizing names from the church directory, prepared stories of shared experiences, and focused on affirming their potential for the future. The result was a connection that bridged decades and created lasting impact.

Empowerment is perhaps the most challenging aspect of mentoring because it requires you to give away your authority and influence to others. Like Abraham Lincoln telling General Grant, "I neither ask nor desire to know anything of your plans. Take the responsibility and act," true empowerment means trusting others with real authority to make decisions and take action. This requires confidence in both yourself and the people you're developing.

The goal of mentoring is not to create dependence but to develop independence. You want to help others reach the point where they can succeed without your constant input and guidance. When you enlarge, connect, and empower others effectively, you're not just influencing them; you're multiplying your influence through them as they go on to impact others in their own sphere.

The highest level of influence is reached when you develop others who become influencers themselves. This is where your impact multiplies exponentially, creating ripple effects that can literally change the world. Instead of being limited to your personal sphere of influence, you're now influencing people through the people you've developed.

Rich DeVos exemplifies this multiplication principle. When he influenced Jim Dornan with his philosophy of free enterprise and personal achievement, he wasn't just changing one life. Jim went on to build a business organization spanning twenty-six countries and impacting hundreds of thousands of people. Through Jim's influence, people like Mitch Sala emerged as leaders, and through Mitch, leaders like Robert Angkasa developed in Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and the Philippines. One person's influence, multiplied through others, can literally impact millions.

The process of reproducing influencers requires a fundamental shift in mindset. Instead of trying to be the star, you must be willing to develop others who might surpass your own achievements. This means investing your best time, energy, and resources in people who show leadership potential. It means celebrating their successes as if they were your own and supporting them even when they move beyond needing your guidance.

Creating reproducing influencers involves teaching others not just what you know, but how to develop others themselves. It's like teaching someone not just to fish, but to teach fishing to others. This requires patience, wisdom, and a long-term perspective that looks beyond immediate results to lasting impact. The most successful influencers understand that their greatest legacy isn't what they accomplish directly, but what they accomplish through the people they develop.

When you master the art of reproducing influencers, you've reached the significance level of leadership where your influence continues to grow and multiply even when you're not actively involved. This is the level where you can truly change the world, one person at a time, through an ever-expanding network of positive influence.

Your journey to becoming a person of influence is not about gaining power over others, but about empowering others to reach their potential. It begins with the integrity you demonstrate in small moments, grows through the genuine care you show for others' wellbeing, and multiplies as you develop leaders who reproduce more leaders. As the authors remind us, "When you empower people, you're not influencing just them; you're influencing all the people they influence."

The path forward is clear and immediate: start where you are, with the people around you, by choosing integrity in your next interaction. Listen more than you speak in your next conversation. Look for one person you can encourage, enlarge, or empower this week. Your influence isn't waiting for a future promotion, perfect circumstances, or additional credentials. It's ready to grow right now, in this moment, with the very next person you encounter. The question isn't whether you can become a person of influence; it's whether you will choose to become one today.