87Power Versus Influence
Experts describe influence in many ways. But one view is similar: influence is a skill of leadership. In fact, it’s been said that influence is the greatest of all human skills.
Influence is about moving people to action or change. And those who have influence have something more powerful than power itself.
Power is one muscle people flex to start change. Often, that means flexing status or authority, but influence is different from power because it’s more carrot than stick, and more sustainable and lasting over time.
In most cases, power is hard influence, meaning that people feel forced into taking action or making a change. With hard influence, people come to a set of behaviors or actions out of fear of a consequence, ...
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