Power vs. Influence

July 10, 2023

Happy Monday everyone! Lots going on in the Cleveland Product community, so let’s get to it!

Article of the Week

Product Managers often lead by influence. We normally don’t have performance management responsibilities, but we need lots of other people to help us achieve great things. But what does it meant to actually lead by influence? What behaviors must one exhibit that influences others? And what behaviors should we not exhibit?

Forbes wrote about this a few years ago, and it’s one of my favorite references when distinguishing power vs. influence. Three things stand out to me:

  1. Highly effective leaders seek to uncover the greatness in each individual - Influential leaders coach and mentor their teams by empowering them to make decisions, allowing them brainstorm and think creatively, and positioning them to share their ideas and successes with the larger organization. This type of leadership builds a positive culture, which allows an organization to retain and attract talent.

  2. Influence leaders encourage people to take calculated risks, accept failure and get back in the game with renewed knowledge of the problem - Some amount of risk-taking is required to achieve great things, and taking risks while keeping the culture positive will help teams be more innovative, knowing they have support of their leaders.

  3. Influence leaders encourage feedback of all kinds and know their role is to inspire creativity and innovation rather than control and dominate - The best leaders routinely and proactively seek out feedback about their decisions, communication style, and leadership qualities. This allows them to improve themselves and their relationships with their teams and their peers so that everyone can quickly adapt to the changing market or business climate, and not wallow unnecessarily about the past.

Click the button below to read the full article from Forbes.

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About the Author

My name is Shawn Leitner. I started the Cleveland Product networking group in 2017, which helps to connect Product professionals around Cleveland, providing them with a forum to network, learn, and share stories. For my day job, I'm a Product Consultant & Coach for Pathfinder Product and help clients implement strong Product practices so they can create products that their teams love building and their customers love using. Connect with me on LinkedIn or feel free to attend one of my events either virtually or in-person. Always up for meeting for a cup of coffee also!I have no