Cannonball!

You know that feeling on your first day of vacation … the warmth of a hot summer’s day and the anticipation of refreshingly cool water as you run off the dock yelling “Cannonball?”

Family and friends laugh at and rate your form, the waves from your cannonball ripple out into the lake, and everything returns to calm. Not a care in the world. Not a second thought about those waves.

But what if every one of those waves you created impacted someone you knew? 

Leaders pretty much do a cannonball into their work environment every day. Their actions create waves that ripple throughout the organization, impacting the people they work with. But are they fun, exciting waves that people are splashing around in? Or scary ones that have people clinging to the dock or jumping out of the water to safety? 

Don’t underestimate how every idea, action, email, 1/1 conversation and meeting impacts your people – in both positive and negative ways. The negative or paranoid reactions will result from a lack of trust and clarity throughout the organization.

You also have the potential to inspire, support and develop your people every day. Great leaders understand the immense power they have to ignite an organization through their actions. 

The next time you jump into the lake at work, take a moment to think about how the waves you create will impact the people you work with.