Burke Walker
Chief People Officer
Spring Venture Group
Episode 252
Positional Power vs. Personal Influence: The Real Secret to Leadership Growth
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleMarch 27, 2025 · 11:56
Thesis
“Effective leadership hinges on a conscious balance between positional authority and cultivated personal influence, with true growth stemming from individualized development plans and a pervasive growth mindset rather than generic training.”
Show notes
U.S. corporations spend $160 billion a year on leadership training. Burke Walker's view: most of it doesn't move the needle — because mass programs can't solve an individual problem.
As CPO at Spring Venture Group, Burke has built his leadership development philosophy around a concept that sounds deceptively simple: the balance between positional and personal power. Positional power is what your title gives you. Personal power is what you build — through relationships, soft skills, expertise, and the reputation you develop over time. Leaders who lean too hard on positional authority, especially early in their careers, tend to struggle. The ones who figure out how to cultivate genuine influence are the ones who last. His development approach follows that logic: instead of generic group trainings, he invests in individualized plans, small cohorts, and one-on-one coaching — the interventions that actually produce measurable change in behavior.
Burke's parting advice is one of the most practical frameworks in this batch: your personal brand is what pops into people's heads when they see your name on caller ID. Not your LinkedIn headline — their gut reaction to you. Define three to five ways you want to show up, find accountability partners, and audit the gap between intent and perception. Energy is either a faucet or a drain. Know which one you are.
What you'll learn:
- The positional vs. personal power framework — and why the balance determines leadership effectiveness
- Why $160B in corporate leadership training underperforms — and what individualized development looks like instead
- How to use Predictive Index and 360-degree assessments to build well-rounded leadership feedback loops
- The growth mindset in practice: how to wire leaders to embrace challenge rather than avoid it
- How to measure the ROI of leadership development programs that go beyond mass training
- A practical framework for building and managing your personal brand as an HR leader
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What you'll take away
- 1Successful leadership requires balancing positional power (authority granted by role) with personal power (influence built through relationships, soft skills, and expertise).
- 2To 'move the needle' in leadership development, focus on individualized plans, small cohorts, and one-on-one coaching, as mass trainings often provide a 'one-size-fits-all' approach.
- 3Utilize behavioral assessments (like Predictive Index) and 360-degree feedback tools to gain well-rounded insights into leaders' strengths and development opportunities.
- 4Cultivate a growth mindset within leadership, encouraging individuals to embrace challenges as opportunities, be receptive to feedback, and develop persistence.
- 5Proactively build a personal brand by defining 3-5 ways you want to show up, seeking accountability partners, and ensuring you are perceived as a 'faucet' of energy rather than a 'drain'.
What most organizations get wrong
- •While mass group trainings have value, they are insufficient for real leadership growth, which occurs most effectively through individualized, specific, and small-group coaching.
- •Leaders can struggle when they lean too heavily on positional power, especially early in their careers, underscoring the greater importance of personal influence.
In Burke's words
“Any leader that can figure out the balance between positional and personal power will be a successful leader.”
This quote encapsulates the core argument about the duality of leadership influence.
“If you really want to move the needle, in my opinion, on leadership training, it needs to come down to more of that individual-specific small group. Real one-on-one coaching, those types of things that really move the needle.”
This highlights the guest's belief in tailored, intimate development over generic programs.
“The more you can embrace that growth mindset, you'll look for challenges as opportunities. You'll look for, you want to be receptive to feedback, more persistence, more grit, those kinds of things.”
This explains the practical benefits of adopting a growth mindset for leaders.
“When the caller ID pops up with your name or anyone's name, everyone has a reaction or a perception of that name. And that's your brand to me.”
This vivid analogy effectively explains the concept of a personal brand and its immediate impact.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Traditional mass leadership trainings often fail to deliver real, individualized growth and can be a significant budget expenditure with limited ROI.
- •Measuring the true impact and growth of leaders is challenging without structured feedback mechanisms like 360 reviews and clear development goals.
- •Leaders may struggle to transition from relying on positional authority to building personal influence, especially in new or larger roles.
- •Employees face significant financial stress due to monthly expenses, impacting their well-being and requiring employer support (as per sponsor message).
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Dave, thanks for taking time to talk with us about your career
WSJD Live: The Career Path
You've talked about the balance between positional and personal power in leadership
The Balance between Positional and Personal Power in Leadership
Burke: $160 billion is spent by US corporations on leadership training
Burke: The Future of Leadership Training
Burke uses assessments like Predictive Index to shape his leadership development programs
Burke: How to Use Assessment in Leadership Development Programs
Spring Venture Group uses the growth mindset philosophy to guide its leadership development
Spring Venture Group's Leadership Growth Mindset
Personal brand is what an individual does to build their personal brand
Burke on Building His Personal Brand
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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