Inspirational Leadership - a special kind of action

Leadership thinking has long been dominated by images of the heroic individual and by theories that define what sort of person is most likely to be a leader. Impact’s approach is a powerful alternative to this and is one that creates significant and sustainable change. We don’t start with the idea of the leader as a special kind of person, but by defining leadership as a special kind of action – the act of leadership.

An act of leadership happens when someone sees an opportunity to act and has the courage to do so. It isn’t about position and doesn’t require any special traits or characteristics. We develop people’s capacity for noticing when such action is possible or necessary and help them to discover the ways in which they could respond. This approach results in people who act as leaders and who start to look and sound like leaders.

Acts of leadership often happen in response to negative situations - conflict, shortfalls, failures or confusion.

We represent these demands using three themes:

•  Meaning - conflict over goals and values; failure to frame situation in terms of broader goals

•  Value - exclusion, disregard, weakened sense of cohesion and community

•  Structure - drift, pessimism, role confusion, failure of ordinary resources

Leadership action is action that addresses these conditions.

How we work with you

Conventional leadership programmes often start with a prescriptive “model of leadership” and attempt to train participants in its use. These leadership recipes are often appealing, but beware! They are notoriously difficult to translate into sustainable changed behaviour and meaningful action. Our approach starts with action - things real people do in response to real problems - and builds a picture of how leadership can influence real situations.

Our programmes, leadership exercises and simulations are designed to be an engine for generating real-time leadership action. We repeatedly isolate and examine the examples of leadership action that are produced and question those that are not. The learning that this brings carries the force and conviction of personal experience.

Impact’s approach does not exclude other leadership models. Leadership frameworks within companies are wholly compatible with what we do; they describe the form in which leadership action should be expressed to fit the company’s values and culture. We meaningfully illustrate models and bring a positive energy to the way in which they are understood and applied within businesses.

Impact will help you to:

•  promote leadership action that encourages individual autonomy and initiative within a framework of interdependency

•  build individuals’ propensity for action and initiative taking

•  adopt a plan to continue leadership development back in the workplace.

In return your business will benefit from:

•  action-oriented, self-aware leaders who will improve organisational performance, profit and revenue

•  more committed staff and managers, who are more likely to take actions that make a real difference

•  retention of more motivated and engaged people

•  managers who are better able to articulate goals and influence others to help achieve them.

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