Leadership is about influence and the ability to inspire your team and organization to achieve a goal. Most of the time, leaders will focus on meeting the goals given by their boss and then leading or influencing their subordinates to achieve those goals. Rarely do we see leaders thinking about their sphere of influence, such as colleagues or people in leadership positions outside the organization, who could advance or delay what happens in your organization.

About 17 years ago, while I was researching the topic of leadership and looking for books to improve my professional skills, I found a book that helped me understand my role as a leader in my organization. The book, “The 360° Leader” by John C. Maxwell, describes the concept of the 360-degree leader and guides readers through the process of learning how to lead up, across, and down. It takes time and work to learn and implement this way of leadership, but it’s totally worth it. Leaders from all types of organizations will benefit enormously from this concept and will dramatically change the way they lead. Leading is a team effort. You need your boss, colleagues, and subordinates on that team if you want to succeed.

You lead up by learning everything you can about your job to help your boss achieve organizational goals. You need to stay organized and prepared to answer your boss’ questions and assist when needed. You also need to spend some time finding ways to connect with your boss’ peers. Your boss is trying to lead across as well, so everything you can do as a leader to help in that endeavor will be of great benefit.

Leading across is hard work, especially for an introverted person like me. As a leader, you need to spend time with your colleagues and build relationships. Your colleagues need to know that you are there to support them if they need you. Share information with them and try to avoid competition. The goal is unity for the good of the organization.

Leading down is where you spend the majority of your time. As a leader, this is an area where growth is necessary. It is not enough to tell your people what to do, but you have a greater responsibility to ensure that you are maximizing their personal and professional potential. You need to spend time getting to know each of your people. Learn as much as you can about their background, hobbies, and short- and long-term goals. Spend time evaluating and providing constructive feedback on their performance, focusing on their strengths and areas for improvement. Lastly, you need to be a role model to them. Show them through your actions, not just your words. If they see that you are not sincere, you will lose your ability to influence them.

We live in a very individualistic world. The way to change that is by getting more involved as a community, and you can start where you spend most of your time: your workplace. The key is to learn how to lead up, across, and down.

• Leadership