1.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
GAINING CREDIBILITY AND INFLUENCE FOR MISSION
LEADING SELF FOR MISSION

2.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
OPENING PRAYER

3.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
— Describe five ways to enhance your credibility in a new parish role.
— List five ways to enhance your personal and position power to
influence others for mission
— Use influence appropriately to accomplish exceptional work as a
parish leader

4.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
CONTENT OUTLINE
1. Gaining credibility in a new role.
2. Gaining and enhancing personal power
3. Transforming power into influence

5.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
GAINING CREDIBILITY IN A NEW ROLE
GAINING CREDIBILITY AND INFLUENCE FOR MISSION

6.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
NEW IN A ROLE? GAIN CREDIBILITY
¡ Build credibility in a new role through competence.
¡ Be willing to learn and adapt to new ways of doing things
¡ You do not have to know everything – just who or where to get the resource
needed
¡ Be willing and open to admitting when you do not know but be proactive in
offering alternatives or links to where this information can be accessed from or
who can help.
¡ Communicate clearly and supportively.
¡ Use correct grammar and spellings when speaking and writing.
¡ Learn and adapt to different communication styles
¡ Be current with social media
¡ Be comfortable with microphones and public speaking

7.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
GAINING CREDIBILITY - TIPS
¡ Seek and receive feedback at every turn
¡ This is a sign of maturity, intelligence and willingness to learn rather
than weakness.
¡ Do not get defensive when given feedback
¡ Express value for feedback received even when you do not use it.
¡ Dress and comport yourself appropriately
¡ Dress as you would like to be addressed.
¡ Be courteous and watch your manners.
¡ Be careful of the people you associate or are associated with.
¡ Add value to people individually and collectively.

8.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
GAINING AND ENHANCING PESONAL POWER
GAINING CREDIBILITY AND INFLUENCE FOR MISSION

9.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
Power: The capacity to influence behavior.
The capacity to get things done especially for other people.
¡ The effective use of power and politics is a critical leadership skill.
¡ A leader’s power comes from helping others accomplish their tasks.

10.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
A POSITIVE VIEW OF POWER
¡ Power can be used to make a difference in the lives of other
parishioners, the needy and the poor.
¡ It is the means through which we can accomplish work and
influence others for Christ – for salvation and apostolate
¡ Lack of power that can actually lead to unhappiness

11.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
ABUSE OF POWER
Power is often associated with craftiness, aggression, brute force and
deceit, because this is how many people in our society have used power.
“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Lord Acton
¡ In what ways have power been abused in parishes by lay
leaders?

12.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
PERSONAL POWER: STEPPING STONE OR STUMBLING BLOCK
Insert figure 5.1

13.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
Sources
Human Capital: an individual’s
abilities and competencies.
Social Capital: a person’s social
connections within and outside an
organization.
Types
— Position Power
— Personal Power
High social capital (which is related to
position power) puts employees in
better position to capitalize on human
capital (which is related to personal
power).
SOURCES AND TYPES OF POWER

14.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
SOURCES OF PERSONAL POWER
¡ Expertise - Work related knowledge; comes from education, self-
directed learning, and experience.
¡ Personal Attraction - Based on charisma, agreeable behavior and
physical characteristics.
¡ Effort - Is viewed as a sign of commitment and dedication.
¡ Legitimacy - Taking action congruent with the prevailing value
system; focuses on the “hows” and “whys” of doing things the
right way.The Parish Guidelines!!!!

15.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
WAYS TO ENHANCEYOUR PERSONAL ATTRACTION
Ways to enhance your likeability:
¡ Support an open, honest, and loyal
relationship
¡ Foster intimacy by being emotionally
accessible
¡ Provide unconditional, positive
regard and acceptance
¡ Endure some sacrifices if the
relationship should demand them
¡ Provide social reinforcement in the
form of sympathy or empathy
¡ Engage in the social exchanges
necessary to sustain a relationship

16.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
DISCUSSION
¡ For the purposes of developing spiritually – committed parishioners and
engaged parishes, what specifically can you do, as a parish leader, to enhance
your personal power in these areas:
¡ Expertise
¡ Personal Attraction
¡ Effort
¡ Legitimacy

17.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
SOURCES OF POSITION POWER
¡ Being in certain positions in the parish can be sources of power because:
¡ You have access to information through horizontal (other parish leaders) and vertical
(clergy and parishioners) relationships in the parish. (Centrality)
¡ Your role gives you the flexibility to exercise judgment such as chairman of a fundraising
committee (flexibility)
¡ Your role gives you the opportunity to interact with influential people such as clergy,
Deans, Archbishop, etc. or to make announcements. (visibility).
¡ Your role involves working on objectives and issues that are relevant in the parish.
(relevancy)
¡ One of the perceptions is that lay people struggle for positions because they
want power for the sake of power or for their own personal gain or they use
power against others. What are the things that we do unconsciously to
support this view? What can we do to change it?

18.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
GAINING POWER AND INFLUENCE
TRANSFORMING POWER TO INFLUENCE

19.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
TRANSFORMING POWER INTO INFLUENCE
¡ Most people will personal power are able to influence others.
¡ Do they always influence for good?
¡ Not everyone with position power influences others and some of
those who do, do not always influence for good.
¡ For example, some parish leaders incite others to ignore those that do not
agree with them, pulling others down, putting stumbling blocks in other’s
projects
¡ What other examples do you have?
¡ Influential people have power, but not all powerful people have
influence
¡ How can we, as parish leaders, influence others for Christ?

20.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
INFLUENCING STRATEGIES
¡ The Three Rs
¡ Retribution –use of coercion and intimidation
¡ Reciprocity – Exchange (bargaining) and ingratiation
¡ Reason – Persuasion based on facts, needs and personal values or goals (aligned with
gospel values and kingdom goals
¡ Which do you tend to use most often? Least often?

21.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
PROS
¡ When there is unequal power balance
— When commitment and quality are not important
— When there is no time
— When there are serious violations, result is immediate
— When the request can be specific and unambiguous
requests
— Can be effective when resistance to request is likely
— Anyone has examples of when this strategy has been used
appropriately or inappropriately in a parish setting?
CONS
¡ Ignores the rights of others and the principle of
fairness
¡ Impact is short – lived
¡ Promotes eye – service
¡ People do not internalize the values and goals of the
kingdom of God
PROS AND CONS OF RETRIBUTION

22.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
PROS
Effective when:
— Parties are mutually dependent
— Each party has valued resources
— There is adequate time for negotiating
— Established exchange norms exist
— Commitment to goals not critical
— Needs are specific and short-term
— Anyone has examples of when this strategy has been used
appropriately or inappropriately in a parish setting?
CONS
¡ Mutual satisfaction is the goal but these may not be
aligned with common good and gospel values.
¡ Use of friendliness and favours can be used to
deceive and obligate the receiver to go against his/
her conscience, common good and gospel values and
kingdom goals of salvation and apostolate.
PROS AND CONS OF RECIPROCITY

23.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
Pros
Effective when:
¡ Adequate time for extensive discussion
— Common goals
— Parties share mutual respect
— Parties share ongoing relationship
— Effect is internalized and ownership taken
— Builds trust and understanding – why meeting attendance is crucial
— Engenders congrence of goals and values
— Anyone has examples of when this strategy has been used
appropriately or inappropriately in a parish setting?
Cons
¡ Manipulative leaders can use this strategy to deceive
by getting people to become less defensive and
vulnerable.
¡ Time consuming
PROS AND CONS OF REASON

24.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
Issue Selling: convincing your boss (parish priest or president) that a particular
issue is so important it requires their attention.
— How do you convince a parish priest to abide by the dictates of the parish
guidelines?
Exercising upward influence or managing the “boss”

25.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
In your role as a parish lay leader, recall occasions when someone tried to
influence you to do something undesirable using either retribution,
reciprocity or reason.What happened? How did you resist their influence?

26.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
REASON
— Explain the adverse effects of
compliance on performance
— Defend your personal rights
— Firmly refuse to comply with
the request
RECIPROCITY
¡ Examine the intent of any gift or
favor-giving activity.
¡ Confront individuals who are
using manipulative bargaining
tactics.
¡ Refuse to bargain with individuals
who use high-pressure tactics.
HOW TO NEUTRALIZE UNWANTED INFLUENCE
STRATEGIES:

27.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
Retribution
¡ Use countervailing power to shift dependence to interdependence
¡ Confront the exploiting individual directly
¡ Actively resist
HOW TO NEUTRALIZE UNWANTED INFLUENCE
STRATEGIES:

28.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
MODEL OF INFLUENCE AND POWER
Insert Figure 5-2

29.
LEADING FOR MISSION PROGRAM
CLOSING PRAYER