What Got You Here, Won't Get You There. It's a Different Path.

Here is the real reason why you have been struggling to make progress in your career. You were on the wrong path.

In this article, I will explain to you, a 7-step leadership model that I call the 'Influential Leadership Model' or ILM that can help you grow in your career in the fastest possible time. It does not require any additional degrees or certifications nor do you have to worry about lack of experience if you are in an early career.

All leadership roles, whether in business, religion, social, or political, demand only one thing to be successful and that is creating influence on people around you. This is also true in corporate. Most successful corporate leaders are not the ones with the highest educational credentials or with most experience. The most successful and effective corporate leaders are those with the most influence.

I have learned and developed the ILM framework during my own career. At one point in time, I got stuck in the role of a Controller for almost 12 years. It wasn't until I realized there were better ways to influence my bosses than working hard and spending late evenings at work at the cost of my family time.

My work pattern in the second half of my career significantly changed. I spent a lot fewer hours at work and made rapid progress toward the CFO role. During this phase, I made 3 job changes at the CFO level but never applied for any jobs. It was always the unsolicited calls from recruiters inviting me to consider a CFO role opportunity they were hiring for.

For the last 10 years, since I dedicated myself to helping finance professionals become CFOs, I have tested the exact same model again and again through the Strategic CFO Program that I teach at the MECA CFO Academy.

Many attendees start to see results even before completing the program in the form of a new job, a promotion, a higher salary, or a recognition of their newly developed leadership skills. Most move up to higher levels in their career within a couple of years after completion of the program.

In the next 7 weeks, I will be explaining thoroughly each component of this leadership model in each episode of my newsletter through additional videos, audio, infographics, and other teaching means. These 7 editions of my newsletter will provide you with enough understanding and confidence to start the ILM journey on your own.

To prepare you well for this 7-week ILM learning journey, I will briefly explain each component now. But keep assured, you will receive a thorough explanation of each ILM component in each subsequent episode of my newsletter from next week.

1) Your Knowledge Base:

This is the base on which your leadership resides. You have been developing this all through your early life in school, college, and university. The nature of this knowledge depends on what field of study you have chosen for your career. However, one thing is very clear. Almost, none of these fields of study teach you the skills most needed in your career or business. That is why, it is of utmost importance that you fill this gap as soon as possible by learning the skills in communication, emotional intelligence, collaboration, empathy, etc.

2) Your Mindset / Inner Game:

This is the filter through which your final thoughts and ideas are formed. Usually, it comprises your beliefs, values, life purpose, etc. These things are highly fluid and significantly vary from person to person. It is hard, if not impossible, to change these filters as these may have a strong bond with emotions.

3) Your Personal Brand:

This is about your reputation. This is how people see you. In the words of Jeff Bezos, it is what people talk about you when you are not present. Personal brand works in both directions. It may help you; or it may harm you, depending on how people see you. It is also not easy to change but you can work on it with patience and build a respectful brand that people admire. Once developed, it will work for you without any extra effort from you. You just have to maintain it.

4) Your Networking / Relationship:

As humans, we are emotional beings. We have a strong need to connect, relate, and socialize with people. So having friends at work is quite natural. But you do not have to make everyone your friend. Just a sincere, honest, and open acquaintance with your work colleagues is a healthy sign of being socially active and likable. If people like you, they will favor you without you asking for that favor.

5) Your Strategic Thinking:

This is where you differentiate yourself from others. This is where you are considered a high-potential rising corporate star. But you have to work hard to develop it. It does not happen itself. Reading strategy books will help you develop the knowledge base but you have to nurture it by having strategy conversations with your knowledgeable colleagues, making necessary strategy analyses, developing strategic insight, and making strategy presentations to the board or your CEO/CFO.

6) Your Communication:

This is where the rubber meets the road. All opportunities in your career will come from other people. Your communication is the only way to connect with the world. Your communication is actually the output of all other components of ILM under it. Quality matters. Time Cook is paid $250 million a year for communicating. The ideas in his communication may help the company gain billions of dollars in valuation. You must ensure that your communication contains high-value ideas that are respected and valued by your top bosses.

7) Your Influence:

Your influence is your ultimate outcome. It is not about your salary, promotion, or title. All these things are by-products. If you keep your focus on creating influence on the people around you, your salary increase, next promotion, or big title will come as a by-product. You do not need to hunt for it.

Look forward, to my next issue of this newsletter for a detailed explanation of 'Your Knowledge Base' where I will provide the conceptual framework as well as step-by-step guidelines to apply this framework in your career.**