How To Make An Impact In The Workplace

Within the workplace there are Contributors and Impact Players – each representing a distinct way of working – the first leads to a job well done while the other carves a path to true leadership and generates immense value.

More specifically, Liz Wiseman, author of the book, Impact Players, explains that:

While others do their job, Impact Players figure out the real job to be done.
While others wait for direction, Impact Players step up and lead.
While others escalate problems, Impact Players move things across the finish line.
While others attempt to minimize change, Impact Players are learning and adapting to change.
While others add to the load, Impact Players make heavy demands feel lighter.

“Impact Players is written for aspiring leaders, striving professionals who want to be more successful at work, increase their influence, and multiply their impact,” explains Wiseman. “It is also a book for today’s leaders, those managers who want to cultivate more of this mindset on their teams. The book is likewise a handbook for organization development professionals, the developers of internal talent and stewards of an organization’s culture who must develop capability across the enterprise.”

Wiseman’s book focuses primarily on the distinction between the high-impact contributors and typical contributors and provides you data-based insights and practical tools. “The distinction between the Impact Player and the Contributor is not a classification of individuals but of practices,” says Wiseman.

“The book will likely be of greatest value to you as you think of Impact Player and Contributor mindsets as modes of thinking—orientations that we all move into and out of—and periodically ask yourself: Which mindset am I using right now?”

Interestingly, Wiseman explains that having the Impact Player mindset does not lead to workaholism or burnout. “There is a strong work ethic among the high-impact contributors, but it isn’t workaholism, the compulsive need to work incessantly,” says Wiseman.

She also clarifies the difference between an Impact Player and a high performer – people doing high-value, high-impact work as compared to equally smart, capable people who contribute in less valuable, less impactful ways. Impact Players work with greater focus and vision. Impact Players, like top athletes, practice with daily consistency.

Liz Wiseman

Wiseman also covers the topic of credibility in her book. She shares that you build credibility by:

Being curious and asking good questions.
Asking for feedback.
Admitting mistakes and fixing them fast.
Being willing to change and taking smart risks.
Helping teammates.
Bringing good energy, having fun, and making others laugh.
Cooperating with leaders.
Getting to the point and telling it straight.
Doing your homework and coming prepared.

Finally, Wiseman says the book’s practices are learnable and coachable. And, available to all.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

How To Be More Impactful Through Entrepreneurial Giving

This Thanksgiving as you think about what you are grateful for, think, too, about how you can be more giving. To help you discover a more giving you, read the new book, A Talent For Giving , by John Studzinski . It introduces the meaning of entrepreneurial giving - a hands-on approach to philanthropy that harnesses skills, expertise, and resources. Through thought-provoking insights, A Talent for Giving offers a powerful new roadmap for impact as Studzinski shows how anyone, regardless of financial means, can become a force for change. You do that by maximizing your Talent , Time , and Treasure and by embracing these values alongside others like Trust , Technology , and Trial , according to Studzinski. “Giving is any act of kindness or generosity that recognizes and respects the dignity of another human being,” shares Studzinski. “It can be something very simple – a smile, or a hug or a few words. And on a larger scale, it’s giving your time,...

How To Build Great Work Relationships

Here is a book I wish was published back when I was early in my career. It’s called, Bosses, Coworkers, and Building Great Work Relationships . It’s one of four books in the new Harvard Business Review ( HBR ) Work Smart Series . The book includes adapted content from 20 articles that previously appeared on HBR.org. “We probably spend more hours with our coworkers than with anyone else. So even if they’re not all perfect, it’s worth it to build connections that will provide you with support, help you network and learn, and keep your career moving forward,” shares HBR. “This book helps readers make so-so work relationships better, keep the bad ones from bringing them down, and help them build lasting connections with incredible people.” HBR adds that the book includes chapter takeaways and dozens of resources so that you can go beyond the book to engage in the media (video, audio, etc.) you learn from best. As you read Bosses, C...

How To Harness Employee Experience Design To Attract And Retain The Best Talent

Employee Experience Design (EXD) is designing with people and not for them. It’s a proven method for engaging and collaborating with your employees to help solve your most difficult workplace challenges. You’ll learn all about EXD in the new book, Employee Experience Desing: How To Co-Create Work Where People And Organizations Thrive , by Dean E. Carter , Samantha Gadd, and Mark Levy . “Many organizations are drowning in policies and initiatives. EXD is a way to reduce that burden while delivering better results both for employees and for the bottom line,” explain the authors. The book includes inspiring stories from brands like Airbnb and Patagonia, among many others, including those in retail, healthcare, hospitality, apparel, and biotech. It describes the power that’s unleashed when organizations design with and not for their employees. The first part of the book covers The Why of why EXD is so important and addresses legitimate – and tough –...

70 New Year's Resolutions For Leaders

With 2026 fast approaching, it's a good time to identify your New Year's Resolutions for next year. To get you started, how about selecting one or more of the following 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders? Perhaps write down five to ten and then between now and January 1, think about which couple you want to work on during 2026. Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times Conduct annual risk reviews Be courageous, quick and fair Talk more about values more than rules Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance Constantly challenge your team to do better Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own Err on the side of taking action Communicate clearly and often Be visible Eliminate the cause of a mistake View every problem as an opportunity to grow Summarize group consensus after each deci...

Don't Delay Tough Conversations With Your Employees

If you have an employee who needs to improve his/her performance don't delay the tough conversation with them. If you don't address the issue right now, the employee has little chance to improve, and you'll only get more frustrated. Most employees want to do a good job. Sometimes they just don't know they aren't performing up to the required standards. Waiting until the employee's annual performance appraisal to have the tough conversation is unhealthy for you and the employee. So, address the issue now. Sit down with your employee in a private setting. Look them in the eye. First, tell them what they do well. Thank them for that good work. Then, tell them where they need to improve. Be clear. Be precise. Ask them if they understand and ask them if they need any help from you on how to do a better job. Explain to them that your taking the time to have the tough conversation means you care about them. You want them to do better. You believe they can do better. ...

How To Be A Superboss

Here are ten questions (or bundles of questions) you should ask yourself to ensure you are thinking and acting like a superboss . These are from Sydney Finkelstein 's book, Superbosses . Do you have a specific vision for your work that energizes you, and that you use to energize and inspire your team? How often do people leave your team to accept a bigger offer elsewhere? What's that like when it happens? Do you push your reports to meet only the formal goals set for the team, or are there other goals that employees sometimes also strive to achieve? How do you go about questioning your own assumptions about the business? How do you get your team to do the same about their own assumptions? How do you balance the need to delegate responsibilities to team members with the need to provide hands-on coaching to them? How much time do you usually spend coaching employees? When promoting employees, do you ever put them into challenging jobs where they potentially might fail? I...

Are You A Perceptive Listener?

"Perceptive listening requires you to be totally focused, completely mindful, and perceptive of the conversation -- about what is spoken and what remains unspoken," explains John Jantsch , author of the book, Duct Tape Selling . He adds, "Perceptive listening reveals things that a distracted or even mostly active conversation can't reveal." To be a perceptive listener , ensure you hear and interpret the words as they're said, and also consider what the person isn't saying. What they might really be thinking, and how they are acting as they speak.

29 People Who Taught Us Life Lessons In Courage, Integrity And Leadership

The 29 profiles you will read in Robert L. Dilenschneider’s new book, Character , are about people who are exceptional exemplars of character. They’re inspirational because they used their abilities at their highest levels to work for causes they believed in. Because of character, they influenced the world for good. The dictionary defines “character” as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, the distinctive nature of something, the quality of being individual in an interesting or unusual way, strength and originality in a person’s nature, and a person’s good reputation. “But beyond these definitions, we know that character is manifested in leadership, innovation, resilience, change, courage, loyalty, breaking barriers, and more,” explains Robert (Bob), “Character drives the best traits in our society, such as honesty, integrity, leadership, and transparency, and it drives others to exhibit those qualities.” Profiled in the book ar...

Quantum Marketing

“Marketing today is at the brink of unprecedented disruption”, explains, Raja Rajamannar , author of the book, Quantum Marketing . “An explosion of game-changing new technologies, data and cultural shifts will render traditional marketing frameworks and strategies ineffective, and turn the function upside down.” Rajamannar’s book is all about the mastering the new marketing mindset for tomorrow’s consumers. He takes you beyond product marketing, emotional marketing, digital marketing and mobile and social marketing, into what he terms quantum marketing . You’ll learn how to : Replace advertising with better ways to efficiently engage consumers at scale. Hyper-personalize marketing with AI. Go virtual and immersive with everything from VR-AR product demos to gamification. Reach all five human senses, with Multi-Sensory Marketing and Sonic Branding. Invest in partnerships to capitalize on new opportunities beyond their immediate reach. Quantify impact with da...

Honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day On January 19 By Volunteering

As the nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 19, volunteer or make the decision to volunteer in your community. King routinely asked “ What are you doing for others ,” and January 19th is the ideal day to ask yourself that question. The federal holiday was first observed in 1994 when Congress designated it as a National Day of Service, inspired by King’s words, “everybody can be great because anybody can serve.” You can turn to Idealist (.org)* and similar types of websites to find volunteer opportunities right in your neighborhood or nearby surrounding area. Visit the web site, type in your zip code/city, and you will be presented with a variety of organizations seeking volunteers. And, if you are a leader in the workplace, encourage your team members to volunteer in the community as individuals. Or organize team volunteer afternoons or evenings for your employees. *VolunteerMatch merged with Idealist in January 2025.

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog