Spheres of Influence

Spheres of Influence

In this post we’ll discuss the role that spheres of influence play in society.  As each of the three Venn Leader domains develop continuously throughout the course of our lives and our relationships with others move freely throughout each of them and from one to the next.  Within each domain our relationships move closer to and farther away from our Point of Authenticity – this is an indicator of the amount of interpersonal disclosure we share with the other people in our lives.   It is important to note that the domains can also be seen as spheres of influence.  A sphere of influence or SOI is a term that has traditionally been a geo-political term that meant “the area surrounding a settlement which is influenced by it in economic, political and social terms.”

However, in the context of this workshop we will use it to help explain social structure and the influence we have on others (ultimately leadership).  Many industries have taken this view of the SOI.  Luke Wroblewski uses the SOI to explain the concept of control versus influence from a business and marketing perspective.  The importance of relating the domains of the Venn Leader to the concept of SOI is that each of us has our own Point of Authenticity and so long as we are interacting with others we are influencing them in some manner.  Influencing is a key element of leadership.  The Venn Leader is aware of this influence and the second and third order effects of these interactions and relies upon them to accomplish the mission by influencing people inside and outside the chain of command.