Fiding leadership in ripples

Last week, we talked about the chaos of literal and figurative storms that happen in our lives. This week, we’ll take it to the other end of the water spectrum. Imagine being at a nice, calm lake where the water is glassy smooth. It’s quiet with the exception of a few birds singing their morning songs. You pick up a stone and toss it into the water. That distinct deep plop sound breaks the silence, and then the ripples begin to spread out and break the stillness of the water.

In many ways, that action and event mimics what we do in life. We are constantly throwing stones in the lake called Life.

What are the ripples that we make?

We make ripples every day in what we do by how we show up in our environments, and the choices that we are constantly making. At times, ripples can be those big “throw a giant rock in the water” events. For me, highlights from my career, including erasing the gender gap in leadership at multiple organizations, certainly fall into that category. Those types of moments can feel like a giant boulder hitting the water, impacting the land below, and ultimately changing the makeup of the lake forever.

Not all ripples are boulder-sized. Larger rocks may include items like a long weight loss journey, securing a sizeable budget for a project, or successfully wrapping up an educational achievement. Smaller ripples may include things like establishing a great working relationship with an individual, nailing a big test at school, or finishing that garden project in your backyard.

You are constantly causing ripples in your personal life, in your work environment, and even in those that you know and care about on a consistent basis.

Ripples require an intentional act

When I would camp with my son when he was in Cub Scouts, we always had a tradition of walking down to the lake first thing, and throwing and skipping rocks in the lake. He would go along the edge of the lake picking out the perfect rocks – flat and smooth rocks for skipping and large, heavy rocks to make a big splash. We’d then do our best to see how many skips we could get with a rock or how many ripples we could get with a big rock. As much fun as we had, none of it was by accident. We intentionally went to the lake. We sought out the right kinds of rocks. How we threw them in changed depending on what we wanted them to do. A fun and memorable moment filled from end to end with intent.

The biggest ripples will always come from intent. Think about some of the highlights of your career or best moments from your personal life. They likely are filled with intent as well. Some actions that can give you clarity and focus on creating impactful ripples include:

Set a clear goal of what you are trying to achieve – A strong point of reference and vision will help you in those tough and challenging times.

Focus on one or two things – Find those couple of actions “rocks” that you want to work on in order that make a difference. Focusing on too many things may result in very few or none coming into existence. Be sure that the thing that you focusing on is realistic to achieve.

Focus on consistency – Practice getting in the zone and becoming consistent in change actions or changes instead of trying to start off with something massive that can become overwhelming and ultimately prevent you from being successful. An example of this in your personal life may be to focus on eating one healthy meal a day instead of losing 10 lbs in a week.

Practice kindness and compassion to others and yourselves – It often takes a lot of effort to lift that big rock and drop it in the water to make a big splash. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it! Be sure to take time to check in with your team and working group as you work towards success. They’ll need reminders of the Why of the work and may need different or additional resources or help as time goes on. Don’t forget yourself along the way as well! Be kind to yourself and don’t be too hard on yourself as those setbacks come your way.

Areas to consider “tossing your rocks” in

Social and community needs
Volunteering and impact
Your personal well-being and self-care
Impact on your business
Impact on the customer
Impact on your employees
A GPA goal in school
Graduating or completing the course in a certain timeframe
X number of achievements or recognition by graduation

Ripples don’t last forever

For better or worse, ripples don’t last forever. They become less pronounced as they move further and further away from the point of impact until they blend into the stillness of the rest of the water.

Poor decisions and impact: Thankfully, this illustration gives us hope in those times that we make poor decisions that have a ripple effect in our lives. Time certainly has a way of smoothing situations out, and in the workplace, there is likely a larger ripple that minimizes or even erases your ripple. When you make a poor choice ripple remember a couple of things: 1) That more than likely the impact won’t last forever, even when it stings today. 2) One wrong decision or action doesn’t stop you from learning and making a positive impact in the future.

For positive impacts: It feels good to be a part of something that makes a big impact and has a far-reaching ripple effect! For high performers, it’s often of of the types of assignments or work that they chase the most. When those moments come, it’s important to celebrate, but it’s also important to remember that you can’t ride that success forever. I can think of many impactful things I accomplished in my 10 years since Passing the Baton started, that people don’t remember anymore. In the fast-paced world that we live in, it may only take 10 months instead of 10 years for people to forget the impact and ripples that you made.

You can’t create just one ripple and expect long-lasting success. You’ve got to be intentional to keep tossing those proverbial stones that create consistent ripples of impact. Your portfolio of success will leave a lasting legacy, and you’ll help smooth out those mistakes and missteps in the process as well.

Stay intentional to keep making ripples that positively impact your work life and personal lifestyle. You have nearly limitless potential to make a difference in your community and in others in a life-changing way. Your ripples matter, so make sure that they are ones that you are proud of.

Make a better tomorrow.
-ZH