Leadership Lounge: How to Create and Maintain Impact as an Emerging Leader

The way you lead has a distinct and long-term impact on your direct reports, your peers, and your organization more broadly. You can inspire or demotivate. Rally or divide—and the imprint you leave on people tends to endure longer than the outcomes themselves. At senior levels, your words carry disproportionate weight. A passing comment can redirect weeks of work. Silence can be interpreted as disapproval. A question can either open up debate or shut it down entirely.

So, how do you create a positive impact that lasts?

It isn’t defined by one bold decision or defining moment. It lives in the ripple effects your leadership generates over time. In whether people grow under you. In whether performance strengthens when you step back. In whether your presence builds clarity and confidence—or caution. Impact isn’t what you intend. It’s what others consistently experience. Which means lasting impact requires intention, reflection, and the discipline to continually recalibrate how you show up as a leader.

About the authors

Shannon Knott is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Leadership Consulting Practice. She is based in Durham, NC.
Erin-Marie Collins is a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Executive Assessment and Development Practices. She is based in Melbourne.