“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
Years ago I coached a team leader — call her Sarah — who ran the most “motivational” Monday meetings in her office. Hype music, big whiteboard goals, a genuine talent for getting a room fired up. Her team loved Mondays. By Thursday, half of them were back to old habits.
Sarah wasn’t failing because she lacked energy. She was failing because inspiration, on its own, doesn’t last. What she needed wasn’t a better speech. It was a different kind of leadership altogether.
Is your leadership built to spark a moment, or built to last a career?
Inspiration, Influence, Impact
I think about leadership in three tiers. Inspiration is fireworks — brilliant, loud, gone in seconds. Influence moves people to act, but only for as long as you’re in the room reinforcing it. Impact is different. Impact changes who someone is, not just what they do for a week — and that kind of change doesn’t need you standing over it to hold.
Stephen Covey said it plainly: “What you do has greater impact than what you say.” My old rugby league coach used to tell us “never stop believing in yourself” before every game — and decades later, it’s not the words I remember. It’s the way he coached us, week after week, that I still carry into every client conversation I have.
Feeling this one? You don’t have to figure it out alone — book a free High Performance Call and let’s talk through where you’re at.
Four Ways to Have Impact
- Establish real intention and purpose to impact the people on your team — not just their numbers.
- Develop genuine, caring interest in each person and in the role their contribution plays.
- Practise kindness, empathy and empowering language in the small, unglamorous moments.
- Invest in equipping, resourcing and supporting your people toward the best version of themselves.
Take action: Pick one person on your team this week and have a conversation with no agenda except understanding what they actually need to do their best work.
This is what I mean when I talk about being an Awesome Human as a leader — leaving people better than the moment you found them in, long after the meeting ends and the hype music stops. Influence gets the quarter. Impact gets the career.
If you want to build a team that outlasts your energy on any given Monday, book a free High Performance Call.
About Jet Xavier
Jet Xavier is a High Performance mindset and accountability coach who works with real estate agents, principals and team leaders to build sustainable, high-performing careers. Learn more about Jet.
This piece began as a column for Elite Agent — you can read the original here.
