Know Your Blast Radius

Leaders make an impact, with every action, statement, question, reaction, facial expression… even with silence.

The more senior the leader, the bigger the impact.

Sometimes those impacts are positive. Sometimes they are negative.

But every leader makes an impact with everything they do.

The best leaders, the self-aware ones, understand fully what their impact can be, and they modify their reactions accordingly.

The less good leaders, the ones lacking in self awareness, fire away and do their thing without considering (or caring) what the impact might be. When I am coaching someone with this profile, their defense mechanisms often sound like this… I am who I am… I do what I do… I have gotten this far acting this way, and I am not changing now.

Uh oh…

I was recently wrapping up a workshop with a top client, and one of the participants came back into the room to share an idea with me. He put a phrase to this concept of leadership impact that I had never heard before, and immediately fell in love with.

Blast radius.

We chatted for a while talking about leadership blast radius, and how the best leaders know that they create one, AND have a sense of what theirs can be. And the best ones modify their behaviors and reactions with potential blast radius in mind.

I love this idea. Know your blast radius. Make sure that your impact matches up with your intent, and make sure there is a layer of self awareness baked into your choices.

Good luck, and have a great day!