5 Key Practices That Elevate Impact Players Above the Rest | An Exclusive Interview with Best-Selling Author Liz Wiseman

Are you a leader who positively impacts big organizational decisions? Do you proactively ask for what you need—and confidently expect to receive it?

Liz Wiseman, who returns to the Women in Leadership Institute™ this week, empowers women leaders to lean into their ability to influence those around them.

Liz is a researcher and executive advisor who teaches leadership to executives around the world. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools, and the Wall Street Journal Bestseller Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work.

Why is influencing such an important competency for women leaders? Linkage’s research on the advancement of women leaders has identified the core competencies needed to scale the hurdles to advancement which exist in the workplace.

The “Influential” competency is all about delivering a message—an ask—in a way that leads others to listen and act. Influential leaders have an impact on important decisions made within their organizations, and they skillfully complement formal authority with effective personal influence. Influential leaders aren’t transactional—they are relational, and they use their ability to influence to move the needle and make progress.

We recently sat down with Liz to get a sneak peek of the insights she will be sharing with attendees at the Women in Leadership Institute, and to learn the five practices that elevate Impact Players above the average contributor.

Deana: Our ability to influence can be many things, including asking for what we need and expecting to get it, rallying others to do the work, and impacting important decisions. Women often negotiate and influence for others effectively, but we don’t always influence on behalf of ourselves. How can women leaders move beyond wanting to “do it all” and instead focus on influencing others?

Liz: The best managers aren’t just super-contributors who get things done by doing it themselves and using their staff as mere helpers; the best leaders are those who engage people at their fullest and build a team where everyone is contributing their best and playing at their biggest. These leaders are Multipliers, and their greatest influence is the effect they have on their own team. By looking beyond their own contribution and impact, they increase their influence and that of their entire team. Building a team of Impact Players is your ticket out of management and into leadership. When you no longer need to step in and fill the gaps left by talented but under-contributing employees, it becomes easier to be a good leader. You can reclaim your equanimity and fulfill your own role with clear vision and composure. It’s also how you take your organization to the next level and up-level your own leadership.

The Women in Leadership Institute spans four days of immersive learning and community-building for women leaders. How can the women leaders in attendance make the most of their time at WIL and apply what they learn to their roles and their lives?

Whenever you have a group of women gathered together, you will find a rich source of wisdom. At WIL, there’s so much more to discover than just the ideas you’ll hear from speakers on the stage. You might find the greatest learning will come from conversations from other participants—including in the event’s chat stream. Further, your best source for recharging, reimagining, and reigniting may just come from the chat stream in your own mind when you reflect on and process what you’ve heard.

Can you give us a sneak peek of some of the insights and messages you will be sharing with women leaders at WIL this November?

I’ll be sharing the mindset and practices that can help leaders and their teams increase their influence and impact.

In your book Impact Players, you explain what the most influential players are doing differently, how small and seemingly insignificant differences in how we think and act can make an enormous impact. Can you give us a sneak peek into one of the five practices that differentiate Impact Players?

There are five practices that differentiate the Impact Players from ordinary contributors. They are:

1. While others do their jobs, Impact Players are doing the job that’s needed.
2. While others are waiting for direction, Impact Players are stepping up, stepping back, and following.
3. While others are escalating issues up, Impact Players deal with the issues directly and finish stronger.
4. While others are sticking to what they know, Impact Players are asking for guidance and adjusting their aim.
5. While others add to the burden, Impact Players make work lighter for others.

The Women in Leadership Institute is taking place November 1–4, 2022. Didn’t get a chance to join us for the live experience? On-Demand passes are now available, giving you on-demand access to the recorded conference from November 14, 2022, through January 31, 2023. Learn more about On-Demand passes.