It is easy to sermonize about leadership, and it is easier to do that - dole out duties and responsibilities to a team that works under you. But two decades in the industry have taught me that such an authoritative style of leadership and the results it produces are far less efficient than ‘influential leadership’.

What essentially happens in influential leadership is that the leader earns his credibility on the basis of the value he brings to the table, not on the basis of his position vis-a-vis his subordinates. People don’t essentially report to an influential leader, but rather are accountable for the tasks they take on.

In practice, I follow this style of leadership by articulating what I seek from a project or from a team, and then seek the opinion of the team members on how we could go about it. Collectively, we then follow what we as a team feel is best suited for the goals. That way, a leader does not sell his decision to the team members since they themselves have helped arrive at it.

This ‘bouncing of ideas’ with your team is very important in the influential style of leadership; it brings out, as it must, your respect to the view of each one of your peers.