What makes a social impact leader unique?
Social impact leaders sit in a unique leadership space, coming from a variety of backgrounds and cross-functional sectors, often intersecting and crossing over from sector to sector. Whether they are Nonprofit CEO’s, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) executives, Diversity & Inclusion experts, Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) investors, Government agency heads or Philanthropic supporters, social impact leaders are using their acumen and experience to kick down aged doors and develop new methods and strategies to do business and advance progress for society.
Successful social impact leaders operate according to a common leadership thread. They are keenly focused on helping others, delivering results to stakeholders, and advancing positive change for society – quickly and effectively. These leaders stand out in their ability to propel systemic change forward by building sustainable models to tackle societal issues that are seemingly insurmountable to others. They are our leaders for today and for tomorrow. They are here to stay and their impact will be felt for generations to come.
All leaders have a lot to learn from how these social impact leaders think and work. Here are a few key traits:
They have vision.
Social impact leaders are driven by vision and mission. By nature, they are obstacle seekers and solution drivers. Most likely, these leaders moved into their field to create change around a problem or set of problems that in others’ minds are intractable. Often, you will hear the most expert social impact leaders be described as visionary. In many ways they are – they develop a clear line of sight to an end goal. This vision comes from a tremendous and insatiable drive to understand all knowledge around a problem. Their commitment to learning and understanding creates their ability to evaluate complex issues, develop solutions and build a structure of change – all quickly and effectively.
They are strategists.
Social impact leaders are not dreamers and believers. They are strategists. These leaders understand that social impact issues, by their very nature, are complicated and as a result require in-depth analysis and a comprehensive strategic planning process. While these change-makers are propelled forward by their vision, they are strategic leaders of action. They seek and utilize data-driven approaches. Often, social impact leaders will reach outside their own sector to partner with knowledge experts that can assist with problem identification and strategic advancement. For instance, in many fields technology innovators become key partners to social impact leaders, enabling the collection and analysis of key data that help drive important decision-making. With strategy as their ballast, social impact leaders chart a course so that they and their teams can move swiftly and with purpose – as many of the problems they work to solve do not have the luxury of time or meandering.
They are poised for and embrace change.
If the pandemic showed us one thing, it’s that change can happen quickly and also, often comes at the most unexpected times. The harshness of the global pandemic hit industries, businesses and individuals hard. In response, the most talented social impact leaders rose up and leaned into the change, capturing unforeseen opportunities to keep progress moving. Many, especially in the nonprofit sector, faced greater need with fewer resources. How did these leaders continue to thrive and stay on track, some even fostering growth? They embraced the change and they strategically adapted to it. These leaders, bolstered by previous strategic planning, strong operational efficiency and solid fiscal stewardship, found themselves in a greater position of strength than many of their peers and used that position to navigate through very difficult waters. At a time when their leadership strength was needed most, they stepped forward to navigate through change to lead us to
They drive impact.
At the end of the day, it’s how lives, careers, and social systems are impacted positively that matters. Even the greatest vision will not be sustained by a lack of impact. If leaders want to help advance progress in education for instance, but get cemented in problem identification such as lack of supplies, they won’t gain enough traction to keep their stakeholders engaged. And, most importantly, they will be caught in a never-ending loop around the problem and not help those they seek to serve. Those leaders that are the most talented and successful are the leaders who drive tangible impact – and share how that impact is changing lives, advancing careers and improving systems. They work outwardly so that any progress that has been made is felt by others. They are great strategists but they are also great at execution. In essence, they understand how to operationalize vision and strategy to move quickly and deliver value to those they serve.
Today’s social impact leaders have the ability to drive important, lasting change and are stepping into the spotlight to serve as examples for other leaders to follow. Keep a keen eye on them – they will continue to work to have great impact on our world. They are here to stay.