Leadership = impact

5 action steps to integrate into your leadership energy to make an impact you're proud of

I took a moment the other day to remember my career journey - which started as a camp counselor! 

I thought of how seamless it is for me to connect with people and build the trust thread between us. Even when I was 16, a camp counselor and lead bus counselor - parents trusted teenage me to care for their littles (our youngest on the bus was 3 years old!) during a 1.5 - 2 hour bus ride. That’s wild non?! I think it is now in retrospect. And I’m also honored that they trusted me to confidently do my best to keep their kids safe, engaged and excited on the way to camp and on the way home. 

In every role I’ve held, I cared about my impact on the business, to the team, to the guests, to the culture, and for myself. I understood rather quickly how to establish connection with others and build the trust foundation. I wanted to make an impact and I wanted the role I was in to make an impact on me. I wanted to learn - always. 

this is a photo of impact on my life. a dear friend, former client and AGM to a neighborhood restaurant had heard me when I told her how frantic I was because I was running behind and realized I needed coffee for the morning but the lines that my roaster were too long for me to get what I needed. She listened and then texted me a few hours later and let me know to stop by on my way home as there were coffee beans waiting for me in a cup. I teared up in gratitude! She knew how important my morning ritual was and she made an impact on my day and even further that I’m here writing about it here.

Impact does not always mean that all it’s sunshine, butterflies and rainbows. Sometimes the impact is showing others what is not aligned for them - and that’s ok! I learnt very early on that I, as a human, am not for everyone.

Thank goodness - there are too many people in our world for me to have an impact on. That is too draining. 

To support you all in determining how you’d like to make an impact, below are some suggestions that you can make your own. Give them a try, practice, add in your unique voice and energy and take note of the impact it makes on you and anyone that crosses your path.

Here are 5 actions steps you can integrate into your leadership energy to make an impact on your colleagues, guests and community.

• Introduce yourself with an authentic story - people relate to stories and events that they also lived through or they are working towards one day. 

• Be honest - don’t only share the shiny moments. Share the moments that were sticky and you were uncomfortable and what you learnt along the way. Also, when you don’t know something - admit you don’t know and commit to finding the answer. 

• Be curious - ask lots of questions to better understand the core of what someone is sharing with you. Curiosity also shows that you care and you want to learn about someone and the experience they are living through. 

• Listen actively - create the space for your colleagues, guests and community to share with you. Let them articulate their thoughts fully before responding. We all want to be heard and seen, and listening respectfully is an act of kindness. 

• Take action - when someone shares with you, take action steps to follow up, implement or collaborate. This shows you took what they said to heart and processed it.