Tap, tap. That’s the sound of your shoes hitting the ground for the first time, with everyone watching and expecting you to “lead.” But what does “impactful” really mean in real life, away from pie charts and whispers in the boardroom? Spoiler alert: it’s not what the expensive poster says about vision and synergy. What does it take to lead with meaning? The Reza Satchu family influence offers real insight.

Leaders that have an impact don’t wear capes and shout instructions or swoop in at the last minute. They’re the ones who will get their hands dirty and go through the mud with everyone else. My old supervisor, Carol, once halted a meeting in the middle of a sentence to help the janitor fix a faulty projector cord. According to chaos theory, a single flap of a butterfly’s wing may cause a tornado to form across the globe. Carol showed that a small act of kindness spreads through a team faster than an HR memo.

It’s easy to mix up volume and influence. Just because one person’s voice is louder than the others doesn’t mean the room’s heart is beating with them. Leaders who have an impact listen more than they say. They push back, but they do it with questions, not orders. What would happen if you gave your crew the script and let them run the show for a day? Sometimes being a leader involves letting go of the wheel, putting your palm on your heart, and believing that your team knows how to get there.

Errors? You can blame those on the high cost of living at the University of Hard Knocks. A leader who admits their mistakes, even if it makes them blush, gains his crew’s respect. People don’t want to work with a general who lives in an ivory tower and can’t say sorry. If you’re not making mistakes now and then, you’re probably walking the safe road and wasting your genuine potential by making paper airplanes.

Empathy needs to leave the page and enter the room. It’s paying attention to who is quiet in meetings, who brings homemade soup because they can’t afford to eat out, and who needs a pep talk more than a report. Good leaders aren’t psychic, but they do pay attention. They can see the stories beneath sleepy eyes. They ask, listen, and do something. Sometimes it’s pizza Fridays, and other times it’s a quiet word in a cubicle.

Real change, above all, makes waves that last long after you’ve left the pond. I vividly recall how my first supervisor would write me birthday greetings by hand and leave coffee on my desk after I worked late. That was decades ago, and I’m still feeling the effects.

Leaders do impact the future, but they also shape lunch breaks, sighs of relief, shared laughs, and the feel of Tuesday afternoons. Impact is never loud or self-important, but you can tell it’s there the moment it walks in. A little bit of humility, a lot of faith, and the ability to chuckle when the PowerPoint crashes just as the CEO walks in are all parts of the secret recipe.