Launching unscripted&co means collaborating with people whose North Star is aligned. Sonia McDonald is one of these people. 

As a motivational keynote speaker, executive coach, advisor and award winning author, her life’s work is to build a world of courageous leaders. Sonia leads with heart, channelling a fiercely positive business mindset.

Here is an excerpt from Sonia McDonald’s new book “Leaderships starts within: First Comes Courage”. Prepare to be inspired. 

Chapter 7. Courage is impact. 

Impact is the second point on our courage compass. According to the Lexico by Oxford dictionary, ‘impact’ is defined as  an action of one person when they come into contact with another. This contact causes a marked effect or influence on the other person.

I would say that impact means change to people’s lives. This change might be in knowledge, skill or behaviours. It can be change that is positive or negative, but always has a long term effect on a person and their life. This change is by intervention, either directly or indirectly, and can be either intended or unintended. Impact, in these terms, often results in development for everyone involved. It’s a great example of growth mindset. 

“Genius is in the idea. Impact, however, comes from action.” Simon Sinek

What does leading with impact mean to you? 

Direct and intended to be most powerful. 

In leadership, your impact needs to be direct and intended to be most powerful.

It is equally important that the context of the impact you are aiming to have on your team, your business or the people around you is positive. That it is driven by developing the right cause and effect relationships with intention. Impact is delivering results in the face of disaster and overcoming adversity with courage, and with intention. Sounds very familiar doesn’t it?

Courageous, impactful leadership is motivating and inspiring to those around you. It helps them to set high personal and professional development goals, and then achieve them.

It’s also incredibly important when leading with courage and impact, to also lead with authenticity and legitimacy. By this I mean walking the walk and talking the talk. Leading by example and inspiring others through your own actions. It’s not an isolated incident, action or situation that delivers this result. It’s a genuine, consistent, long term approach and ongoing commitment to positive change that delivers sustainable and self-reinforcing results. 

It’s what true courageous leaders do. Purely speaking about having an impact and making a difference is not enough. There must be action.

Leaders with impact, have an action bias.

This action bias was also what drove Aung San Suu Kyi in the early years of her political career. Suu Kyi was a politician who fought valiantly against military rule and for democracy in the country of Myanmar. She fought for human rights and freedom of the press. She received a Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work and for the positive impact it had on the country she loved. She endured nearly two decades of house arrest for her views and actions. Throughout this whole time she led with impact. She delivered positive change in the lives of the people she loved. The country she fought for. It’s an amazing example of the true power of courageous, impactful leaders.  

However, Aung San Suu Kyi also holds the example of what happens when leading with impact goes wrong. When it is misguided.  When the outcome of leading with impact is negative.

When finally released from house arrest and after being elected to political power in the country, Aung San Suu Kyi’s talk continued, however her action stopped. She lost her action bias. In this situation, the end of action ultimately led to a change in attitude and perspective.

It’s also a basic human behaviour. If your beliefs and behaviours are not aligned, your beliefs are easier to change than your behaviours. Its officially called cognitive dissonance and even someone in Suu Kyi’s position was not immune. 

Losing action bias creates negative change.

This loss of an action bias also led to a change in behaviours in Suu Kyi. Her values, beliefs and behaviours were no longer aligned, and her persona and leadership approach changed to suit. It’s a trap that leaders must be aware of and continue to consciously avoid. For Suu Kyi, this led to the loss of her Nobel prize, but more tragically, it meant the loss of her beliefs and authenticity for her people. 

Without the right context and the right drivers, supported by an action bias,  leading with impact can return negative results. This leads to a situation that is not conducive to better people, a better society, better communities or a better world. It becomes destructive and harmful. It causes negative impacts and outcomes and will ultimately fail. 

How to avoid negative action bias, lead with courage and deliver a positive impact?

1. An attitude of service.

Conducting yourself with an attitude of service to your team, your community, your organisation. Being a servant leader. This will allow you to genuinely connect with people, earning their trust and influencing them in positive ways. This drives authenticity and genuineness.

2. Lead with purpose.

You can’t lead blindly. It’s physically impossible. As a leader with impact, you must lead with sight – with purpose and direction. Purpose and direction for both yourself and for the team. It’s about leading through example, setting a goal that is relatable and achievable, and working towards it. Using this direction to inspire and motivate your teams. Celebrating victories, successes and achievements along the way.

3. Generous with time and energy.

Participating in your team: this sounds very much like kindness! And yes, they are linked. People need to feel supported and to be supported through this experience, and kindness is the best way to do this. Generosity of time and energy from leadership provides a sense of belonging, of personal importance in team members. If your team feel they and their contributions are valued and important to achieving the goal, they will be more motivated, involved and more resilient to the hiccups that inevitably happen along the way.

4. Lead by example.

It’s been said many times, and it can’t be overstated. Leading through example in modelling positive behaviours, continuously learning, having a growth mindset, learning from your failures and working with resilience to overcome obstacles is the strongest tools in your leading with impact toolbox. It’s been proven time and again to deliver high performing results. It is critical, there are no two ways about it. 

5. Generous with time and energy.

Inclusiveness and diversity of thoughts, beliefs and viewpoints are your secret keys to success. As a leader, ignoring biases in building your team will deliver the best results. Promote talent, regardless of how it is packaged. Acknowledge diversity and different perspectives. Encourage healthy debate and constructive challenging.

6. Manage conflict effectively.

As a leader, it’s your duty to have those tough conversations, to call out negative behaviours and challenge them to be changed into positive actions. We mentioned in an earlier chapter, the example of the young leader and his epiphany of the power of having courageous, touch conversations. This story also supports the important point that to be effective, you must have these tough conversations with kindness. This provides a safe working environment for people to perform at their optimum.

7. Build collaboration.

Being part of a tribe is a basic and essential human trait. And it is at risk of being lost in our individualistic world today. Building collaboration in your team is what underpins the development of diversity. It builds strength across teams and supports achievement. It accesses diverse skills and different viewpoints to enrich outcomes and ensure they are sustainable.

“The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.” Tony Robbins

In leading with impact, emotional intelligence is critical. Being very aware of the direct and indirect actions of your leadership and the impacts these have on those around you are incredibly important. If you identify these actions, you have the opportunity to amplify the positive and reduce the negative impacts that you have on those around you.

In support of this awareness, also being aware of the intentional and unintentional impacts of your leadership is also important. We all need to be on guard to ensure that even our unintentional actions do not negatively impact those around us and their journeys. Regardless of whether an action was intentional or not intentional, most times the result or impact on others is the same. So be aware of this and make sure you only deliver positive intentional and unintentional impacts.

This is definitely tough. It means that as leaders we need to be constantly checking in and maintaining our situational awareness. But it’s necessary to be successful. Being a leader with impact can change the world. Creating positive impressions on those around you will inspire changes in behaviours and beliefs. Being a courageous leader, being a kind leader will drive positive change and allow you to lead with impact.