Leading with Impact: Becoming the Leader You Want to Be

How to step outside your comfort zone and become the kind of leader you want to be

Imagined by Rebecca at

Canva Team

One of the best definitions of leadership I have heard came from John Maxwell. He says that the essence of leadership could be boiled down to one word: influence.

As I look at my leadership journey, a twinge of guilt sets in as I think about Maxwell’s view. My first formal corporate leadership role came at the age of 33. I was eight years into my career and had received successive promotions and responsibilities. I was also too naïve to be intimidated. After all, I had a title that clearly explained that I was in charge.

Except I wasn’t. People were doing what I told them to do and ONLY what I told them to do. And what they didn’t want to do became a battle of subtle undermining tactics to my authority.

I achieved substantial progress using my uninformed approach. But it eventually led to burnout and some negative political outfall. After this experience, I embarked on a journey to understand what leadership was all about. Along the way, I picked up some hard-earned lessons that informed my current leadership style.

If you are a leader who wants to understand how to influence without pulling out the “I am the…