Practical leadership development
Leadership development is often linked to individual personality traits – styles, qualities, competencies. At Impact we’ve always challenged that idea – because leadership isn’t defined by your job title or a list of character traits. We reframe leadership as a type of action – action that serves other people and moves the situation or the group on.
Leadership action comes in many forms. It could be helping a group make sense of something by connecting it to a strategy or organisational goal. It could be pausing activity with a team to reflect on progress and challenge assumptions. Or it could be asking someone ‘what do you think?’ and really listening to their answer.
Why the essential leadership skills films exist
Most organisations don’t suffer from a lack of leadership content - they struggle with transfer. And simply being in a leadership role, or understanding the theory isn’t the same as being able to lead well in the moment - especially when certainty is limited and interdependence is high. Our essential leadership skills film series is designed to help bridge the gaps.
Find the full playlist on YouTube
Each short film focuses on one core human leadership capability. These are all drawn directly from Impact’s leadership playbook. They're not “soft skills” - but are foundational capacities that consistently make a difference in complex, human systems.
How the films are designed to be used
Each film is:
- Short enough to be revisited
- Grounded in real workplace dynamics
- Focused on micro‑shifts, not heroic change
- Paired with a simple, practical exercise leaders and teams can use immediately.
Leadership skills we explore
- Awareness: this film describes self-awareness, social awareness and situational awareness, and includes a short exercise to build awareness in real time.
- Collaboration: most leaders can bring people into a room, but without alignment, the outcome is often compliance - here's what collaborative leaders do differently.
- Curiosity: 70% of people face real barriers to asking questions at work, this film explores how curiosity shifts the energy, depth and quality of your leadership.
- Empathy: not as niceness, but as the ability to understand how leadership behaviour is experienced by others, and includes a paired task you can try in your next team meeting.
- Listening: learn the five levels of listening and master the most underrated of leadership skills, plus take 10 minutes for a simple listening exercise.
- Noticing: the capacity to stay responsive as situations shift, rather than relying on fixed behaviours.
Each film stands alone. But together, they build a coherent picture of leadership as human, relational and contextual work – not a performance of traits, but a practice leaders develop over time. Here's an example to get you started, but be sure to check out the full playlist on YouTube.