The Power of the Ripple Effect

Have you ever run into someone who recalls something you said or did years ago—something you don’t even remember—that made a lasting, positive impact on them?

It happened to me recently, and it reminded me just how powerful even our smallest actions can be.

Several months ago, I reconnected with a woman I hadn’t seen in years. As we caught up, she told me that she’d once heard me speak about my career journey—how I had changed paths more than once, always seeking growth and new opportunities, even when it meant stepping into the unknown. She had felt stuck in her own career but was afraid of what might happen if she took the leap. But my experience made her believe she, too, could thrive on a new path.

I didn’t even remember telling the story. But for her, it made all the difference.

We often underestimate our effect on others. A kind word, a thoughtful gesture, or an encouraging nudge can set off a ripple that travels far beyond our immediate view. This is the essence of the ripple effect theory: every word, every action can influence emotions, shape behaviors, and alter perceptions. Sometimes that happens in ways we’ll never see, across large groups and systems.

It’s like dropping a pebble in a pond. The initial splash might seem small, but the ripples it creates expand outward, touching faraway edges.

This concept deeply resonates with me given my work at The Council Foundation. Our mission is to attract and retain talented interns and apprentices in the insurance brokerage industry—and, equally important, to positively shift how young people perceive our field.

At first glance, that mission felt overwhelming. How do we change the perception of an entire industry? How do we inspire the next generation?

But then I thought about the ripple effect. If we focus on small but meaningful actions, we can create impacts that extend well beyond a single interaction. Change doesn’t always require sweeping reform—it can begin with one intern, one conversation, one moment of encouragement.

Here’s what that looks like in action:

• A mentor takes 20 minutes to walk an intern through the context behind a client presentation, not just the task itself. That conversation helps change the way the intern understands the business and inspires them to pursue a client-facing role.
• A team leader includes an apprentice in a brainstorming session. The apprentice offers a creative idea that gets implemented and gains the confidence to share more.
• A manager publicly credits an intern for contributing to a project. That small recognition becomes one of the intern’s proudest moments and fuels their desire to stay in the industry.
• An executive stops by a summer intern welcome lunch to share their own nonlinear career story. One intern later says, “I didn’t think someone like me belonged here until I heard that.”

These moments aren’t costly or time-consuming. But their impact multiplies, especially for those at the very start of their careers. For instance: That first intern is energized by their new path, with a fresh sense of purpose that elevates team morale and contributes to a more dynamic, client-centered culture. Outside the office, they share their experience with friends, some of whom consider whether the insurance industry might also be the right fit for them.

To create this ripple, we need to cultivate mindfulness—a habit of being fully present, aware of our words and actions, and of their consequences. Mindfulness helps us recognize the power we hold in each moment. What feels insignificant to us might be pivotal for someone else. This is especially true when working with interns and apprentices. Early-career professionals are incredibly impressionable, and their environment during this period often shapes the trajectory of their work lives. Here’s why this stage is so formative:

1. They’re new to the professional world. With little prior experience, interns and apprentices look outward to understand norms. They model the behavior of managers, mentors, and peers. Early experiences often define their expectations of what work—and leadership— should look like.
2. They’re driven to succeed and belong. This strong desire to prove themselves makes them highly sensitive to feedback, recognition, and group dynamics. They quickly adopt the behaviors they believe are valued, whether collaborative or competitive, inclusive or isolating.
3. Their brains are still developing. Many are in their late teens to mid-20s, a time when judgment, long-term planning, and emotional regulation continue to mature. This makes them neurologically and emotionally receptive to the cultures and values they encounter.
4. Their emotional memories are vivid. Firsts are powerful—first mentor, first praise, first setback. These experiences become core memories that shape confidence, resilience, and identity.

All of this creates a window of opportunity to plant seeds that grow over entire careers. When we show interns and apprentices generosity, respect, and support, we shape the kind of professionals and people they’ll become. And when they carry that forward, they become the ripples; years later, they can be the leaders inviting interns to the table, the patient managers who coach instead of criticize, the mentors and advocates building diverse teams in the next generation of insurance professionals.

That’s how we change perceptions of our industry—one intern, one apprentice at a time. Not by trying to boil the ocean, but by tossing one meaningful pebble and trusting the ripple will reach farther than we imagine.