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Responsible Influencer

John Dandoy

Azusa Pacific University

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Evidence of Knowledge Acquisition

Responsible influencers are leaders to who continually improve their leadership qualities

and motivate their followers to exhibit outstanding performance. Responsible influencers are

leaders who create environments of collaboration and mutual respect, they include individuals

from every level of the organization believing each person has something valuable to bring to the

organization, they challenge the status quo in order to bring the best out of each of their

followers.

The attributes and behaviors of responsible influencers involve sharing of inspiring vision with

their followers. By exchanging values, these leaders motivate followers to think beyond self-interest, be

active players in the organization, and endorse a value-based vision (Mullins & Syan, 2013). This kind of

responsible influence elevates level of maturity and ideals and the concerns for achievement, self-

actualization, and well-being of others, the organization, and society (Bass, 1999, pp.11). In turn, the

follower is able to achieve a heightened sense of motivation and confidence. However, the leader must be

able to display four essential attributes and behaviors that define transformational leadership which are:

charismatic leadership, inspirational leadership, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration

(Bass 1985; Bass & Avolio, 1993).

Responsible influencers are highly emotionally intelligent. This set of skills refers to the ability to

acknowledge ones emotions and those of others. Being emotionally intelligent means that one is able to

analyze the appropriateness of an emotional response to a situation, and adapt to situations to respond

appropriately. This concept comprises of four competencies: self-awareness, individual personal

emotional state; social awareness, ability to relate to the emotional state of another; self-management,

ability to control individual response to an emotion; and relationship-management, ability to build bonds

through actively relating to emotional state of another person (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). The level of

emotional intelligence of the follower, and the leader can have a profound impact on their respective
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efficacy. Brown (2012) asserts that the development of emotional intelligence directly correlates to the

effectiveness of the leader. Therefore, a high level of emotional intelligence is a key factor in a leaders

ability to effectively be a responsible influencer.

Dey and Carvalho (2014) further note that a high level of emotional intelligence provides a more

competitive advantage than a high competency levels or IQ. It allows the leader to relate to others,

provide inspiration and share their vision with followers. As apposed to the command and control

mechanisms used in some leadership models, responsible influencers seek to influence followers through

inspiration and enthusiasm, which can only be effectively accomplished if the leader has a high degree of

emotional intelligence (Brown, 2014).

Interpretation of Knowledge

On the outset of this program I was unsure what the term responsible influencer

referred to. I suppose it made sense that this could be a meta-competency for a masters

program, individually the terms mark notable qualities for leadership responsibility and

influence. However, through my academic curiosity and inquiry I have come to see these

terms as much more than the simplicity of their face value. Responsible influencers are

leaders who care deeply about their followers. They create organizational cultures of

excellence. They obtain intellectual commitment from their followers to subscribe to a shared

set of assumptions and beliefs to reinforce these cultures. Responsible influencers are leaders

who promote an egalitarian environment with low cultural and power distances.

I have come to see responsible influencers as leaders who take the time to get to know

more than a persons job title, they get to know the person behind the name badge. They

approach each individual with genuine curiosity, inquiring about not only their professional

goals but their personal goals and the legacy they want to leave their organization and their

community. These are leaders who freely give of themselves expecting simply that at some
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point in time the recipient on their time, talent, or treasure will be generous enough to share

with another person who could benefit from their gifts.

In short my understanding of the words responsible and influencer have developed in

nuance and understanding, but the real growth occurred in the appreciation of the practices of

these exceptional leaders.

Application of Knowledge
While analyzing the components and behaviors of the responsible influencer, it is

impossible to ignore the parallelisms between the transformational leadership model and the

attributes of responsible influencers. That said, when we were presented with the opportunity to

select a topic for practical research I took the opportunity to research the efficacy of

transformational leadership characteristics as they relate to the increase of real estate

salespeoples motivation and productivity.

There was an increase in the overall productivity and an increase in the loyalty of the

salesperson to their manager when the manager was a more responsible influencer and

transformational leader. The study is attached as an artifact.

Additionally, I have enclosed a 90-day action plan that I share with all of my agents as

we are preparing for the fourth quarter. Additionally, I ask them to bring in their personal and

professional calendars to schedule deliberate time with this their families and set up consistent

time for business development as we head in the holiday season.

Creation of New Knowledge

Personal
I will complete a revised wholistic personal development plan wherein I will set goals

in each area of my life with the intended purpose of deepening my understanding of and

aptitude toward the leadership qualities of a responsible influencer. This will be completed no

later then December 23, 2017.

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Professional

I will meet with each member of my firm before November 15, 2017 to ensure that

their 90-day action plan is completed and that they have calendared their time with their

respective families and their respective real estate practices.

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References

Bass, B. M. (1999). Two Decades of Research And Development In Transformational

Leadership. European Journal of Work & Organizational Psychology, 8, 9-32.

Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture.
Public Administration Quarterly, 17(1), 112-121.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. San Diego: Talentsmart.

Dey, R., & Carvalho, S. (2014). Are Transactional Leaders Also Emotionally Intelligent? - An
Analysis of Sales Executives in India. International Journal Of Business Insights &
Transformation, 7(2), 42-49.

Mullins, R., & Syam, N. (2014). ManagerSalesperson Congruence in Customer Orientation and
Job Outcomes: The Bright and Dark Sides of Leadership in Aligning Values. Journal Of
Personal Selling & Sales Management, 34(3), 188-205.
doi:10.1080/08853134.2014.890905
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