Great Leaders Create Exponential Influence

Most people would agree that leadership is about influence. Most people would also agree that great leaders create other great leaders. If you combine those two thoughts, then great leaders create exponential influence by creating other great leaders who then spread the influence of that leader further than he or she could have on their own.

Let’s look at a practical example.

Now whether or not you believe that Jesus was and is the Son of God, there is no debating the historical fact of His existence and the influence His teachings still have on the world today. Mary Kay Ash built a highly successful and sustainable organization on one of the principles Jesus taught: Treat others the way you want to be treated, The Golden Rule.

Regardless of where you sit in the realm of faith or spirituality, there is no denying that Jesus, by definition, is the greatest leader of all time. Since leadership is about influence and the fact that hundreds of millions (possibly billions) of people have followed the teachings of Jesus throughout time, then by definition, Jesus has to be the greatest. By sheer numbers alone, Jesus has more followers than Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift do combined, on social media.

So what made Jesus great? Why, even to non-Christians, does what Jesus did matter in the realm of leadership? (Don’t worry, I’ll keep it strictly historical)

Jesus Was Intentional

One of the early followers of Jesus was a man named John. John documented the life of Jesus as a historical record of the things He did and said. Early in John’s writings, he told how Jesus was leaving Judea (Southern Israel) to go back to Galilee (Northern Israel). Looking at the map, it would only make sense to head north through the region of Samaria:

It would make sense unless you knew the culture of the time. The people of Samaria were seen as deplorable by the Jews, and no self-respecting Jew (much less a Rabbi) would be caught in Samaria. The decision Jesus made to go through this region; however, was intentional. He wanted to send a message to the “leaders” of Israel.

Jesus Is Counter-Cultural

The great astronomer, Nicolas Copernicus, made a highly counter-cultural statement in 1530 that the earth was not flat. The scientific community thought he was crazy, and the religious zealots thought he was blasphemous. But he was right.

A follower and student of Copernicus, Galileo, took the work of Copernicus and made another discovery. The common thought in the 17th Century was that the earth was the center of the universe. Based on Galileo’s study of astronomy, he theorized that the Sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system. Again, Galileo’s work was met with much scrutiny by the scientific community. In both cases, it took the work and findings of Copernicus and Galileo many years before they were accepted as fact. But they were both right.

Jesus was no different. At the time of His journey through Samaria, Jesus would have been going against what popular Jewish culture would have expected of a Jewish Rabbi (Rabbi means teacher). But why? What motive did He have, and what was the intentionality behind His action?

Like Copernicus and Galileo, Jesus was willing to risk scrutiny and backlash because they cared more about what was right and true rather than what everyone thought was right and true. Jesus fought for equal rights and equality long before Martin Luther King Jr. (who, by the way, was also a follower of Jesus). Jesus fought against racism, the hypocrisy of leaders, abuses of leadership power, and many other issues that completely disrupted the cultural norms of His day (and that we still battle today).

But why?

Like all great leaders, Jesus cared more about what was inside of people than what was on the outside. He cared more about what people could become rather than what they are today. Wouldn’t we all benefit from more leaders who thought and acted like this?

Creating Exponential Influence

While Jesus was in Samaria, He met a woman getting water at a well. Another cultural lesson: Women were treated with far less equality in that culture and time than they are today in corporate America. So for Jesus to associate with a woman, a Samaritan woman, and a Samaritan woman who had been divorced 5 times (also a cultural taboo) and now living with a man who she was not married to (again, another cultural taboo), Jesus was leaving nothing to question as to just how counter-cultural He was intentionally trying to be.

But what happened in this encounter?

Without diving into the spiritual aspects (but if you want to read it, get a Bible and ? of the way through you’ll land at the book of John. Read chapter 4), Jesus told this woman many things she didn’t expect Him to say or know. She was astonished that a Jewish Rabbi would even speak to her, much-less promise her the things He did.

So how did she respond?

Like hundreds of millions of people throughout time, she followed Him. Not only that, she also went into her village and told everyone about Him, and they followed Him too because of what she told them about Him.

Wait… you mean the woman with the terrible reputation just got credibility with her entire village and influenced those who looked down on her to follow her and then follow this man she met?

Yes.

How?

Great leaders create exponential influence. Jesus was a master at it, and guess what? There are many examples throughout time of great leaders who are still expanding the influence of Jesus from 2,000 years ago: Mary Kay Ash, Martin Luther King Jr. John Maxwell, just to name a few.

Great leadership does not happen by chance; that’s why great leaders are intentional.

Great leaders cannot stand out by conforming to the rest of the world; that’s why great leaders are often counter-cultural (whether that’s on a societal level, industry level, or an individual business level).

And truly great leaders have their influence passed down throughout the generations. For good or bad, leaders always follow another leader. But great leaders always follow another great leader. I choose to follow Jesus like many other great leaders have before me. Who are you following? How are you increasing their leadership influence, and how are you passing that influence down to those who follow you?

Never stop following my friends.