Best Advice from 13 Impactful Leaders

Mentoring advice is extremely valuable, even for experienced leaders. It can be a lighthouse, guiding you away from rocky shoals and onto a clearer course. At the end of every Work Alchemy podcast interview, I ask the highly impactful leaders that I interview to share one piece of advice with the audience, leaders like you who want to have more impact. This is a rarified group, curated for their knowledge, influence, and impact, so they’re worth listening to. Pull up a chair and listen to their advice:

1. Marianne Williamson – Internationally acclaimed spiritual author, teacher, and former US presidential candidate

Don’t see your business as separate from the rest of your spiritual life. Recognize the ethical responsibility of being in business. Will someone’s life be positively impacted by their interaction with your business?

2. Miyoko Schinner – Leader of B Corp food brand company, Miyoko’s, passionate culinarian, former restauranteur, and co-host of the PBS cooking show, Vegan Mashup

Become very intentional about what you’re trying to do. Make sure for whatever action you take that intention resides in that moment.

3. Matthew Weatherly-White – Active in business-shaping legislation and a thought leader in impact investing, founding B Corp owner of Caprock

Make sure that the impact you want to have is operationally material. Too often, entrepreneurs want to start a business in which the intended impact is ancillary to the operations of the business.

4. Christina Keller – CEO of family business Cascade Engineering, a triple bottom line company with social and environmental impact

Look long-term. What do I want my business, community, and greater world to look like in 10 years? Work backwards from that future state. That makes you naturally expand to become an impact organization.

5. Shawn Askinosie – Named by O: The Oprah Magazine as one of the 15 Guys Who Are Saving the World and CEO of Askinosie Chocolate, one of Forbes’ 25 Best Small Companies in America

Take a process inside your company to identify what the collective calling is of the company, including the leadership team and you as the owner. Take the time to search the depths.

6. Gloria Nelund – Former senior leader at Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, innovative impact investment firm founder

Do a self-assessment: determine what you’re really good at, your experience, and what you bring to your industry. Then focus there.

7. Peter Krull – Named one of the 100 Most Influential Financial Advisors in America, his company, Earth Equity Advisors, is a Best for the World B Corp

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. When you do, admit it, understand what happened, and move on. Embrace that challenge of allowing people to make mistakes.

8. A Mei Chang – A leader in for-profit companies Google and Apple, and in global non-profits USAID and Mercy Corps, author of Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good

Get out of the building (a Lean Startup term). Rather than try to come up with the perfect plan, go talk to the people you’re trying to help and work with them. Learn from actually doing.

9. Marc Allen – Visionary co-founder of New World Library, a major player in the independent publishing world (and author of one of my favorite books about business, Visionary Business)

Keep a clear dream, a clear idea that your heart is fully engaged in. When you do, magical creation happens, heart and mind working together.

10. Linda Kohanov – Bestselling author with equine-facilitated leadership, emotional and social intelligence, and stress reduction programs

Be emotionally heroic. Walk into situations where conflict occurs. Have compassion for everybody, but also know that even when you don’t know what to do next, by being there and caring, that is an act of heroism that is in some sense more important than any physical heroism we see.

11. Steve Linton – President of Deltec Homes and thought leader in sustainability

Make sure you’re thinking about accomplishments, not activities. It’s so easy to get caught in the day to day. Having impact is not about checking things off a list. It’s about making sure you know you understand what you have to accomplish to do what you’re setting out to do.

12. Seungah Jeong – B Corp/Benefit corporatio MPOWERD President/CEO

Keep talking to those around you. Form relationships. There is so much support you can garner from those with a like-minded desire to have impact. It’s invaluable for your growth.

13. John Salzinger – Benefit corporation/B Corp MPOWERD Co-Founder/Chief Business Development Officer

Be brave. Be fearless. Really believe in what you’re doing. These leaders know how to have impact. After reading their advice, and perhaps listening to a few interviews, how can you apply that advice to your own organization? Take some time to consider what you can apply to yourself, for your own growth and impact.