Impact as a valuable concept for leadership for life has been on my mind for a while now. I have attempted to write a post about it on various occasions, only to reach a block or a wall in the form of not knowing how to procede or in the form of self-doubt about my own ability to articulate the points that I want to make about this topic. These blocks and self-doubts tell me that I value this topic a great deal, for I want to explain myself in such a way that I am able to convey the importance of this concept. Recognizing the inadequacy of my words, I allow myself to write anyway, acknowledging that I do not pretend to have even begun to master this principle nor do I assume that I will adequately address it in this post.
I am coming to a greater awareness that what I do and say or don't do and don't say all have an impact that is greater than I am capable of knowing. Being in a position of leadership has heightened my awareness of my impact on other people. I find myself reflecting more about the effects my words and actions might have on others, and I am learning more to value listening and hearing the perspectives of others before I react or respond. In a position of leadership, what I do has the potential of sending a message that carries not only my voice, but also the voice of the position I am in and all of the influence that position entails. I need to realize that, whether I like it or not, when I speak someone is listening.
For much of my life there are certain people whose words and actions have had a greater impact on me than others. In hindsight I realize that these individuals have frequently been men and women in positions of leadership and authority. I have had higher expectations of these people, which has influenced the impact I allow them to have on me. Through the ways I have interpreted their words and actions I have been lifted up, encouraged and supported as well as disappointed, attacked and betrayed. Even subtleties in their tone and posture have sent messages, whether they intended them or not, that have had a huge impact on me.
The point I want to make here is about awareness. The more aware I am of the outcome I want to achieve as well as the impact and potential impact of my actions, the more likely I will be to make decisions that take that impact into consideration. If I make decisions with a greater level of consciousness regarding how my actions and words may be interpreted, then I may be more likely to achieve the impact I desire rather than having to deal with the consequences of any number of unintended outcomes. The more consciously aware I am of the decisions I make and the direction I am headed, the more likely I am to reach my intended destination. We underestimate our impact as leaders at the peril of our organizations and those who trust us to lead them.
That is not to say that as leaders we need to be perfect lest we inadvertently influence someone in an unintended way. On the contrary, I think it is important that we acknowledge our imperfections and rejoice in our humanity, so as to send the message to those we lead that perfection is not a necessary or even desirable quality for a leader. In fact, if I do not allow myself to be seen as a fallible human being, I run the risk of alienating others and perpetuating the erroneous idea that to lead is to be somehow more than human. There is value in discovering that a person one has idolized, however great the things that have been learned from that person, is also a human being. Rumi, in his wisdom, has said that "the true teacher knocks down the idol that the student makes of him." The impact of recognizing the common humanity in those we perceive as great teachers and leaders is potentially much more beneficial than continuing to revere them from afar on an unreachable pedestal upon which we have placed them.
Finally, with the recognition that we are all human beings, regardless of our formal titles and leadership roles, we all have a greater impact on the world and people around us than we can ever fully know. Margaret Wheatley, in her book Leadership and the New Science, explains that "None of us exists independent of our relationships with others. Different settings and people evoke some qualities from us and leave others dormant. In each of these relationships, we are different, new in some way." Let us not underestimate the impact we, ordinary human beings, have on others, for small things can make a big difference.
"We never know how our small activities will affect others through the invisible fabric of our connectedness." Margaret J. Wheatley
