Where Should Bivocational Leaders Spend More Focus - Persuasion or Influence?

If you are a leader today, in corporate or entrepreneurial settings, you must master a wide range of skills, AI prompting, software proficiency, as well as essential soft skills. Influence and persuasion are two valuable skills that can amplify any leader’s impact. But where should leaders focus more of their development? Bivocational leaders operate at a unique crossroads in balancing both professional excellence and spiritual calling. Bivocational leaders should focus more on influence.

Leadership Skill is More Effective Than Motivation

Let’s start with my assertion that leadership is a skill.? Many bivocational leaders recognize their leadership as a calling but may overlook the fact that leadership is also a skill. This means it can be developed. Bivocational leaders are leaders who feel called to operate at high levels in both their professional career and their spiritual calling. While their spiritual calling is a great motivator for their leadership, developing leadership skill is needed to create lasting effectiveness.

Reasons to Focus on Influence

Generally speaking, when you focus on persuasion, your drive is to pull others closer to your way of thinking. When you focus on influence, your internal drive is personal transformation which attracts others to your leadership. This is one of the secrets of bivocational leadership. Attracting is more effective than pulling. Staying aligned and integrated with your values and your calling draws the opportunities and people that you want.

Staying aligned and integrated with your values and your calling draws the opportunities and people you want.

Persuasion Uses More Energy than Influence

One of the most draining aspects of leadership is the attempt to persuade those who remain indifferent. Time spent trying to convince the unconvinced is time taken away from those who are ready to engage with you as a leader and take advantage of the wisdom you offer. If you consistently feel inward pressure to persuade people, it might mean you are focusing on the wrong audience.?

Instead of seeking validation from indifferent audiences, focus on influencing those who recognize and value your unique blend of professional expertise and spiritual insight. These individuals are more receptive, engaged, and positioned to multiply your impact.

What Does Focusing on Influence Look Like??

Focusing on influence looks like commitment. As you commit to building skills (a.k.a. disciplines) in both your work and in your calling, you strengthen your faith. People notice. Your actions tell a story that speaks louder than words. This kind of influence is greater than persuasion. You naturally attract those who want to learn from your example.

Your actions tell a story that speaks louder than words. This kind of influence is greater than persuasion.

Here are some practical steps I offer my clients to help their commitment to influence.

Practical Steps to Commit to Influence

1. Commit to your personal transformation. As a bivocational leader, you have a unique advantage: your calling drives you to serve. Because the service is internally motivated, the more you do it, the more transformation you experience. Your transformation gives you credibility to influence others. People are drawn to your influence. They recognize authenticity. And when they see real, lived-out growth, they are more likely to trust and follow your leadership.?
2. Commit to yourself equally to your profession and your calling. This does not mean that you spend the same amount of time on each one. As long as the earth remains, there will be seasons sowing and reaping. Think of these seasons as seasons of focus. There will be times when you may spend more time at work and other times when you will spend more time on your spiritual mission. When you are equally committed to your calling and your career, you will learn not to despise one while you are working on the other.?
3. Commit to identifying the Like-Minded – Find the people who resonate with your message. The ones who understand your leadership style and value your perspectives. These are the ones you should invest in. You will be drawn to them, and they will be drawn to you. This is why I’m drawn to bivocational leaders.?
4. Commit to serving others. – Leadership is influence and influence is about others.? You have the greatest impact when you are committed to serve. As a bivocational leader, you can win in the leadership skill game because your calling internally drives you towards service.

While persuasion pulls from the outside in, influence attracts from the inside out. It transforms you first, then it extends to others. By focusing on developing your influence through commitment to your work and your calling, you create a sustainable and magnetic leadership. This internal-first approach honors both your professional and spiritual calling. It won’t reduce your energy, but it will multiply your impact.

If you are interested in bivocational leadership, you might enjoy this video.