Influence isn’t a given. It’s built on trust—and most leaders don’t realize what’s holding them back.
It started with a frustrated VP.
We were sitting in a coaching session, and he was venting about a team that just wasn’t getting it. He had a clear vision, strong credentials, and years of results to back him up. But his team seemed disengaged, even resistant.
“I don’t get it,” he said. “I’m doing everything right. I’m delivering. But it feels like I’m on an island.”
He wasn’t lacking intelligence. Or competence. Or drive.
What he lacked was influence.
Not the kind that comes from a title. The kind that people what to follow. The kind that builds trust, moves people, and multiplies leadership.
And like many leaders we coach, he didn’t even realize it was missing.
Influence Isn’t Automatic
Influence is the currency of leadership. Without it, leaders may get compliance, but never commitment. Results, but not resilience. Output, but not ownership.
Yet influence is often misunderstood. Leaders assume that if they work hard, communicate clearly, and perform well, influence will naturally follow.
But here’s what we’ve found in our work time and again: influence isn’t a given. It must be earned, and it starts with trust.
Trust Is Built, Not Assumed
The foundation of influence is trust. And trust isn’t one thing. It’s a mix of four key ingredients:
- Character: Can I trust you?
- Chemistry: Do I like you?
- Competency: Do you know what you’re talking about?
- Credibility: Can you make it relevant in my world?
Everyone values these ingredients differently. And every leader has natural strengths and blind spots.
Some over-rely on their expertise (competency), but miss the mark on connection (chemistry). Others build great rapport (chemistry) but struggle to follow through (character or credibility).
The problem? Most leaders don’t know which ingredient they’re leaning on, or which one they’re missing. Until they do, their influence will stay limited.
Where Leaders Get Stuck
When trust is incomplete, influence breaks down.
Leaders push for buy-in but meet resistance. They share bold visions but spark skepticism. They rely on what made them successful before and don’t realize it’s not working now.
This often shows up in high-performing leaders who have hit a ceiling. They are competent and experienced, but their leadership feels flat or transactional. Teams comply but don’t engage. Progress slows. Influence stalls.
That’s why we help leaders diagnose which ingredient of trust they’re underutilizing, and how to grow it.
You Can’t Coach What You Can’t See
At Leaders Rising Network, we give leaders and teams a clear framework to:
- Diagnose their influence patterns
- Understand which trust ingredients they overuse or overlook
- See how different team members prioritize trust differently
- Shift from transactional leadership to transformational influence
This isn’t about unchangeable personality types. It’s about patterns of leadership that can be coached, shaped, and multiplied. There are skills you can develop to build meaningful and sustainable influence.
Influence Isn’t About Charisma
One myth we confront regularly: influence is not about being charismatic, extroverted, or polished.
Some of the most influential leaders we work with are quiet, steady, reflective. Their influence doesn’t come from personality. It comes from presence.
They show up. They listen. They care. They tell the truth. And over time, their influence multiplies because people know they can be trusted.
This kind of influence isn’t loud. But it’s powerful. And it lasts.
What Happens When Influence Unlocks
When a leader begins to build influence intentionally, everything changes:
- Meetings shift. There’s less posturing, more progress.
- Trust grows. Feedback flows both ways.
- People follow. Not because they have to, but because they want to.
- Leaders scale. They’re no longer the bottleneck. Their influence is carried forward by others.
We’ve seen it reshape executive teams. We’ve seen it unlock high-potential leaders who felt stuck. We’ve seen it revitalize organizations from the inside out.
It doesn’t happen overnight. But it starts with a simple decision: to stop relying on title or talent alone, and start building influence on purpose.
Key Takeaways for Leaders
- Influence starts with trust. And trust is made of four ingredients: character, chemistry, competency, and credibility.
- Every leader over-relies on one or two. And misses the mark on others that their team or peers might value more.
- You can’t coach what you can’t see. But once leaders understand the trust dynamics at play, they can adjust and grow.
- We can help. We offer a roadmap that helps leaders diagnose their influence patterns and unlock the next level of their leadership.
Ready to See Where Influence is Breaking Down?
We help leaders build trust that leads to lasting influence. Let’s talk about how to equip your team with the tools that transform leadership from the inside out.
