On May 6, 2016, I had a chance to attend Leadercast 2016. The event was live in Atlanta, GA, but I was able to attend via simulcast in Reston, VA. The speaker lineup included Dr. Henry Cloud, Andy Stanley, Chris Barez-Brown, Kat Cole, CMDR Rorke Denver, and Steve Wozniak. The event was both a source of ideas and energy.
Keith Wilmot , CEO of Leadercast, set the stage with a few facts underscoring the need for the event such as:
85% of U.S. population believe we are in a leadership crisis
50% of people are disengaged in their work
3 out of 4 people would take a new boss over a pay raise
Companies spend 300B on leadership development
Andy Stanley reviewed the qualities that those surveyed consistently say they want in a leader including honesty, authenticity, integrity, and trust. He pointed out that research shows that people follow the leader that communicates with CLARITY. His examples included Donald Trump and Barak Obama whose slogans are known by everybody vs. Hillary Clinton or George Bush. Hitler was followed by the Germans because of his clarity even though he lacked integrity. Andy provided his 4 step recipe for making vision stick.
Making Vision Stick
State it simply-(memorable is portable)
Cast it convincingly
Repeat it regularly
Celebrate it systematically
Kat Kole, president of Focus Brands, said that people close to the transaction know the right decision before the leader does. A good leader will listen and use the power they have to make it happen. Kat said, "If your vision is not clear, nobody will follow." A leader needs to help others come to their own vision. Kat does this by taking them to another location where they can see that something is possible.
I also had the privilege of hearing from an inspirational teenager name Aidan Thomas. He said the first real gift we need to give is our authentic selves. He asked what are we hiding of ourselves that are the parts people need to see? He went on to say that we are what we do with our circumstances and that we need to give through our trials to get to the other side.
Former Navy Seal CMDR Rorke Denver said, "Win the gunfight first, you can't take care of your buddies if you don't." He challenged leaders to sprint all the time. If the leader sprints, the followers will sprint. Denver as said that danger is real but fear is a choice.