The influence of leadership

I have previously posted on my belief that, like fish, organisations rot from the head down. Michael Watkins discussing Infectious Leadership makes a similar observation:

"For good or ill, the senior leadership of every organization is infectious. By this I mean that leaders’ behaviors tend to be transmitted to their direct reports, who pass them on to the next level, and so on down through their organizations. Over time, they permeate the organization from top to bottom, influencing activity at all levels. Eventually they become embodied in the organizational culture, influencing the types of people who get promoted and hired into the organization, creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop — either positive or negative."

This principle appliers equally to good leadership, promote great leadership practices, demonstrate character and great leaders attract great people …..

"The implication? Leaders need to think hard about their viral impact on their organization. What kind of infectious agent do you want to be? Infectious like humor or infectious like the plague?"

We often under-estimate the influence we have as leaders and are blind to the effects our leadership has on others. What has been the effect of your leadership?

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Management, Business, Influence

Related posts:

1. Leadership as ‘Intentional Influence’
2. Book Review: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
3. The Physics of Leadership
4. Leadership is not about position
5. The leaders inner circle

Tagged as: Quotes, Role Models