The April installment of our inspiring TED Talks series looks at the theme of leadership – what great leaders do, how to inspire others, and what mistakes to avoid.
Roselinde Torres: What it takes to be a great leader
Roselinde Torres is a managing director at a consulting firm, who has spend over 25 years studying great leaders and seeing what makes them tick. She explains that there are a number of gaps and failures in 21st century leadership, mostly resulting from outdated leadership development programmes and obsolete business models. Torres has developed three simple questions that aspiring leaders need to ask themselves in order to thrive in the future – where are you looking to anticipate change, what is the diversity measure of your network, and are you courageous enough to abandon the past? Watch her TED Talk for a closer look at what makes a great leader in this day and age.
Drew Dudley: Everyday leadership
Drew Dudley, a leadership educator, gives a short but humorous and compelling talk on the subject of “everyday leadership”. He explains how we have made the concept of leadership to be something beyond ourselves; when we think of leadership, we think of having to do something momentous that changes the world. Dudley argues that we devalue or own small moments of leadership – we don’t take credit for it or allow ourselves to feel good about it. Indeed, he argues that leadership can and should be thought of as the everyday act of changing people’s lives.
Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action
Leadership expert Simon Sinek explores the idea of inspirational leaders, examining companies such as Apple and pioneering individuals such as Martin Luther King. Sinek shows how all great leaders think, act and communicate in the same way, which is completely different to everybody else. Sinek also presents his concept of the “Golden Circle”, “a naturally occurring pattern, grounded in the biology of human decision making, that explains why we are inspired by some people, leaders, messages and organizations over others”. His core philosophy is that inspirational leaders know why they do what they do – i.e. their true purpose, cause or belief. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it – so the goal is not to sell to people who need what you have, but to sell to people who believe in what you do.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our selection of motivational TED talks for April.