Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact

Specifically, the tendency to “work outside their official job scope to solve problems or realize opportunities” was one of the top three differences between high-impact and typical contributors.

Some people seem to know how to make themselves valuable. They pay attention. They look for the most productive places to put their capability to use. They make things work, and they get the job done, even when the job gets difficult. They not only deliver results but send ripples of positive impact throughout their team and across the organization

“It’s one thing to be ‘in the room where it happens,’ but the thing about Mike is that he makes it happen no matter what room he’s in.”

In contrast, Impact Players take charge of situations that lack leadership. When they see an opportunity for improvement, they don’t wait for permission to act. They step up, volunteering to lead long before higher-ups in the organization ask them to do so. They are disruptors of the status quo who choose to lead rather than let things be. They off

Step Up, Step Back. When it’s clear that something needs to be done but it’s unclear who’s in charge, Impact Players step up and lead. They don’t wait to be asked; they get things started and involve others, even when they’re not officially in charge. They practice a fluid model of leadership—leading on demand rather than by command. They take thei

Typically managers can articulate the more pronounced differences between their top and low performers; however, when it comes to their most influential, impactful players, the top of the top, there seems to be an ineffable quality about them. There is a certain je ne sais quoi in how they approach their jobs and an art form to the way they contrib

A service mindset alone isn’t enough to tackle the messiest problems; other underlying mindsets are also at play. Add to the service mindset a strong sense of agency (I can act independently and make decisions) and internal locus of control (I, not external forces, control the outcome of events in my life). Now we have a winning formula for dealing

Do the Job That’s Needed. When dealing with messy problems, Impact Players address the needs of the organization; they venture beyond their assigned job to tackle the real job that needs to be done. Impact Players aim to serve; this orientation prompts them to empathize with their stakeholders, look for unmet needs, and focus where they are most us

While Contributors play their position, Impact Players play where they are needed. They work in the interstitial space, where big, messy problems don’t fall into any one person’s job boundaries, strategic initiatives get stuck, and unmet needs go unanswered and eventually go elsewhere. For these top contributors, job descriptions are starting point