John Stanko

"So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat.
He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself
was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw
his cloak around him" - 1 Kings 19:19.

Elijah had a 'word from the Lord' to go and anoint Elisha to be his successor. When he found Elisha, he did not overwhelm him by telling him that the Lord had chosen Elisha. He did not create a dramatic scene at all. Instead, Elijah just touched him with his cloak. Then he backed off and gave Elisha space to hear for himself and figure out what God was saying to him. Leaders must learn to influence others, just like Elijah did, so the followers can make their own decisions without undue pressure, manipulation or coercion from the leader. When people make decisions for themselves, they are much more apt to be convinced of the rightness of their decisions and follow through on their commitments.

LEADERSHIP STEP: If you are the 'boss,' people may be intimidated just by nature of authority/follower relationships. Your task is to remove the intimidation so you can truly influence others. Today's Step is for you to schedule one-on-one meetings with your direct reports and spend some time with them with no agenda but to get to know them, and allow them to get to know you. This may take place in your office, over lunch or at a sporting event, whatever works best.