Impactful Leadership is about making a difference.

Making a personal difference in the lives of the individuals that make up the teams you work with. Providing a positive contribution to the businesses and institutions you work in. And ultimately, creating purpose and meaning in your own life.

Impactful leaders often come in larger-than-life-size packages with broad reach. The world recently lost an example in Colin Powell, an impactful leader of epic proportion, influence, and decoration.

Impactful leaders also come in small, everyday varieties. Like Lisa, the Manager at my local Kroger Supermarket, who always has a smile on her face, provides amazing customer service, and is kind, generous, and helpful to her staff, even when they are messing up.

While the two examples I provide here work at vastly different scales, as I reflect on them both, I recognize some common traits and behaviours worth considering.

• A sense of selflessness
• An attitude of service to others
• An ability to keep calm, even under pressure
• Acting with compassion and care
• Seeing and valuing every individual's contribution

And the outcome is that people feel a certain way around these kinds of leaders.