Positional Leadership Vs Persuasive Leadership
Have you ever been lead by a leader that cares? Sadly, it's not that common. Leading with love, while not common, works. As a matter of fact it works so powerfully that when we walked away from the 'old school modeling' that I had learned from various direct sales trainers, coaches and even big internet marketing gurus and decided to lead my team and our company as God had designed it to be, we quadrupled our company and our profits.
Positional leadership uses it's position to prove it is called to lead.
It doesn't use love, it uses earned position. We see this in big companies like the Big Three and even in ministries where the top pastor might be dictating rather than shepherding the flock. While leadership demands a culture of honor (See book written by Danny Silk on that for best reference I can give) the honor that God teaches is not one ruling by constraint. I Peter 5:2
Today, many in the internet marketing world, direct sales, small business and financial realm are leading with constraint. You can see it a mile away, and sadly, because so many business people don't have a healthy self-imagine they fall for it hook, line and sinker. Right to the bottom. "I am the leader, I've got a bigger stack than you. Sit down and shut up. Your ideas and suggestions have gotten you where you are so do what I say and you too can succeed."
This is a new generation and it's time to say "NO!" to this kind of leadership.
Positional leadership uses ego and many times, neurolinguistic programming to take weak people into their fold. Triggers from pain and pleasure, using power to pull and push. My friends, it's not a coincidence that many who leave such schools of thought end up in a deeper pit than what they started with.
Leadership as the Bible teaches is first of all easily entreated. You can talk to this kind of leadership. Honor is there and the commication is a part of the equation. When a leader is 'never available' and 'rarely is with the staff' because their position is so sacred and separated from the rest of the team, this is toxic positional leadership of a very sick form.
When I went to Dave Ramsey's offices recently in Brentwood, TN it was beautiful to see persuasive leadership in action. Everyone working together. Leaders available and engaged. And there was Dave, as he is everyday, Monday through Friday… doing his radio show live, in house. You could even meet him, talk with him for a few minutes. Persuasive leadership speaks so much louder with it's actions than it's words. 450+ staff members on site. It was amazing for me to see this in action!
The biggest key is this- you must be committed to leading with love.
We as leaders cannot just 'test it out' and seek to prove that maybe it will work. LOVE and leading with persuasive leadership is something we must be committed to. There are a lot of people in direct sales and internet marketing leadership who lead with 'facts and figures' but behind the scenes they abuse their staff, manipulate people and do things that are NOT in love. That's because positional power will do whatever it has to, to create a figure and a fact. Work on your own conviction and then follow it 100%. This is how so many of our students have had breakthrough results. They also discovered along the way they had to forgive those who lead them with positional leadership because it can create an addiction to power which always leads to poverty.
My friends, living in love and persuading with love always wins. It's not a feeling. It's not about emotions at all. It's a commitment to excellence and the golden rule in business.
With love,
Sandi Krakowski
