How Leaders Make the Greatest Impact

In my work as a speaker, I visit large organizations worldwide. At one of these companies, I met Jaden. He didn’t carry a dream of climbing the corporate ladder. He was content with his role as a manager. However, deep inside, he aspired to create a lasting impact on his people and organization. 

I got to know how each day he cheerfully greeted his people with a passion for encouraging them to deliver their best. He continuously thought about how he can create a better future for his organization. And believe me when I say that most of the time he did succeed in it. 

I had an opportunity to meet Jaden over lunch, where I asked him how he can create a positive and lasting impact each day at work. And he said, “Payal, I believe in a simple equation of work: The quality of your results = The quality of your mindset.” His thought hit me to the core.

Companies want leaders like Jaden who make a positive impact on people and company results. For this reason, corporations and business houses have an inbuilt gym, medical facilities, executive health packages, healthy food in the cafeteria and wellness programs. All these benefits are with a focus on keeping people healthy so they can be productive and create the highest impact. But are people truly healthy? Have all these benefits brought a massive improvement in people’s productivity? Have the company’s results increased significantly? Are people giving their best each day? No doubt, these benefits are essential and must be provided. However, when it comes to the employee’s health, take a step back, and check on their mindset. What do you notice? Fear, stress, anxiety, doubts, disinterest, negativity or passion, belief, positivity, interest, happiness? Do they give up easily or continue to overcome all challenges? Are their workplace relationships surviving or thriving? How do they approach work each day?

Leaders make the greatest impact when they think and make beneficial decisions, are innovative, passionate, motivated, happy, cheerful, excited, joyful, at peace, and confident. A company moves ahead when each person takes responsibility to be in the driver’s seat, knowing when to apply the brakes to negative thinking patterns and when to pull over to avoid “hitting” someone else. Only then can higher mileage regarding progress and performance be experienced. The new success equation is

 Quality of your results = The quality of your mindset.

Think about the business world we live in today. Think about how much negative news floods the television. Think about the disruptions and rapid changes happening. What do you think that does to your mind over time? If you don’t watch what you let into your mind, then you are allowing weeds to grow. You may be smart, savvy and skilled. But if you don’t work on developing a healthy leadership mindset, you can’t create a lasting impact. 

As is rightly said, a ship does not sink because of the water around it, it sinks because of the water that enters it. You’ve got to disrupt your old mental patterns. 

So what’s the best way to have a healthy mindset? To proactively feed it. And that is a lot easier than you may think. In my talks, I share numerous powerful techniques that have enabled my clients to create a thriving work environment. A powerful technique to start immediately is what I call Activate Awareness. Ask a few of these questions to yourself:

• What do I need to improve on myself?
• Is my way of thinking, helping me to achieve my goals?
• Am I holding on to something I need to let go of?
• Who are my success partners–online and offline?
• How do I feel at work daily? Who is responsible for my feeling?
• Does my mood often change at work?
• Am I judgmental about myself or peers?

Whatever your people feed their minds on today, is what will affect the results tomorrow. You can make the greatest impact on yourself, your people and your organization. Always remember, what plays in the mind, is what’s out in action! 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A version of this article first appeared on Thrive Global.