When it comes to leading, are you trying to impress others or leaving a lasting impact, a legacy? Every leader will have to wrestle with this question, which sometimes feels insurmountable due to the numerous leaders who get it wrong.
I’ve gotten it wrong in the past. I tried to impress others. How?
Photo by Pietro Jeng on Unsplash
I began to track metrics religiously:
Every day, I had to check my website metrics. If the stats were up, I was ecstatic. I could then brag to others about the status of the website, how many people I reached, and how many shares I had.
I would share the good but not the bad:
If someone found my blog and I was placed on a “Top 10 Leadership Blog” list, I would tell others about it. I wanted others to know that people found value in me.
I shared monthly stats:
Why did I share monthly stats? Because, for the most part, metrics were improving. If I showed others how well those metrics were, they’d like me. They’d follow me. They’d see me as someone who offered value.
But I got it wrong. I was trying to impress others. I wanted people to see me. If they were impacted, great. However, the impact came second.
Stop Trying To Impress. Begin To Impact
I see leaders trying to impress others all the time. For them, their striving to impress may look different. I’ve seen business leaders do the following:
Buy a new vehicle every other year:
They had to be seen in the latest model of a high-end vehicle. Their status, their ability to impress, depended on their vehicle.
Throw lavish parties:
I’ve got nothing against a good party. In fact, let’s throw one soon! But, kidding aside, some leaders are dead broke, but they’re spending ten, fifteen, or twenty thousand dollars to bring a party together.
They’re not looking to make an impact, they’re looking to impress
Yell and scream to show their power:
With leadership, you gain a certain amount of social capital. You also gain esteem in the eyes of those you lead. You may be led to believe that you can impress others by the way you talk down, denigrate, or abuse your employees.
You may impress some, but you won’t positively impact those you lead.
How To Impact Others
Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10
Do you want to go from impressing others to impacting others in a positive way? I think you do. And there are some easy ways to do that.
What steps are those? How can you impact others? Do the following.
Treat others with respect:
The people you’ve hired and do business with want to be treated like human beings. They want to feel respected.
You can easily treat others with respect. Be kind, speak highly, and lift them up.
The more you treat others respectfully, the more impact you’ll have.
Offer assistance:
You have resources no one else does. Your resources may include connections to philanthropists, business partners, or mental health specialists.
You’re connected.
Make an impact by offering those connections to those around you. You’ll make an impact as you help others get what they want or need.
Follow through:
Maybe the biggest way you can make an impact is to follow through on what you say you’re going to do. When you say you’ll connect someone, connect them. If you say you’re going to do business with someone, do business with them. If you say you’re going to be there, show up.
The more you follow through, the greater your impact will be.
