As a coach, I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration and tools for helping others improve leadership. Learning about other people’s experiences, strategies, and ideas about leadership.
Here are 5 of the best TED talks that summarise what makes great leaders
Simon Sinek, “Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe”
Simon Sinek affirms that building and creating trust is the foundation of any good leader, but requires a lot of responsibility. In this talk, Sinek breaks down how to improve leadership by cultivating a trusting work environment, and how this environment is crucial to creating strong workers and leaders.
Dan Ariely, “What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work?”
All of us have, at one point, wondered what exactly it is that’s so fulfilling about our work. Dan Ariely, breaks it down for us. He understands that no one is purely motivated by a wages alone, and things such as pride and creativity are as motivating. He understands that being challenged is crucial to feeling satisfied at work, and that simply sitting around doing nothing won’t lead to feelings of fulfilment.
Shawn Achor, “The Happy Secret To Better Work”
Psychologist Shawn Achor explores what it means to be happy in your job. Surprisingly, he discusses how it isn’t our work that affects our happiness, but the other way around. Achor believes if we’re happy, we’re more inclined to work harder, meaning our mindset directly affects our work. Achor discusses how our happiness levels and our work are inherently bound together.
Ricardo Semler, “How To Run A Company With (Almost) No Rules”
CEO Ricardo Semler doesn’t believe in rules. At least, he doesn’t believe companies need to impose a host of strict guidelines in order to run efficiently. In fact, he thinks employees will work better if they don’t have to report their holidays or be told what to wear. He wants to dissolve what he calls the “boarding school aspects” of business, just to see what happens. In his TED talk, Semler dives into what a company with fewer rules would look like, and how it would affect corporate and employee success.
Roselinde Torres, “What It Takes to be A Great Leader”
Roselinde Torres has spent time observing great leaders doing what they do best, and she’s come up with three questions she believes are crucial for CEOs to ask in order to be successful. Torres is focused on what makes a great leader, and though the answer isn’t black and white, she spends her TED talk breaking down what does and doesn’t work for leaders in todays worlds.
