Articles by Big Fish Coaching

Leadership and You – Simple steps to creating personal impact

By
Dawn Harvey

As a business owner or executive you recognise the importance of strong leadership. To deliver this a broad range of skills, competencies and qualities are necessary. The personal impact you make is the factor that breathes life into these skills and separates you from the rest.
As a leader you are in the spotlight. People are watching and listening to the messages you convey. This means you must be aware of the subtle messages you are sending in all interactions.
Personal impact is about your total communication. It’s made up of body language, words, paralanguage (how you say things) and visual impression.
Follow these simple steps to define and increase your personal impact.

Step 1 –Think about and reflect on leaders you admire

Choose 3 leaders you admire. How would you describe their personal impact? What do you see? What do you hear? What resonates with you about their style?

Step 2 – Consider your current impact

Think about the impact you have in the following situations:
When you are presenting to a group.
When you are taking part in a meeting.
When you are meeting 1 to 1.
When you meet someone in the corridor.
When you walk into a room.
Reflect on the messages you convey by your visual impression, your body language, your words and paralanguage. How would you describe your personal impact? How does this affect your role as a leader?

Step 3 – What will you commit to do differently?

You have dissected the personal impact of leaders you admire and made an assessment of your own current impact. What can you learn from the leaders you admire? Write down 5 things you will alter to improve your personal impact. Practice these changes and ask for feedback on the results. Small changes can have a big impact.

Dawn Harvey is the founder of Big Fish Coaching. She works with business and individuals to develop the skills they need to achieve success. To learn more about how you can take control of your career contact Dawn at info@bigfishcoaching.co.uk

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