Nick Vujicic · Gratitude
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Build mindfulness around the small things you take for granted (which actually may be big things) and practice more consistent gratitude in every area of your life.
THE QUESTION
What will it take in your life to transform your level of gratitude from I have to or I ought to to I get to?
Stephanie McMahon · Your Brand Is How You Show Up
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
You’re always on camera . . . even when you’re not. How you look and act is your brand.
THE QUESTION
How much of a scripted “character” are you bringing into your leadership role? Is your motivation self-focused and inward-focused, as opposed to being other-focused and outward-focused?
Dave Hollis · Vulnerability
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
First, recognize that vulnerability is an actual leadership competency, and that peers, colleagues, and direct reports crave relatability and transparency in their leaders. Second, the higher you are in an organization, the more warped and blurred your view becomes of what’s really happening on the ground. Remember not only to focus “on” the business, but to work “in” the business as needed.
THE QUESTION
Stephen R. Covey wrote, “Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic.” What actions are required for you to demonstrate the vulnerability that allows those around you to do the same?
Susan David · Emotional Agility
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
It’s human nature to confuse our emotions, opinions, and feelings with facts. The more aware you are of this challenge, the less you will do it. Both are legitimate, but they serve different purposes, so don’t conflate the two.
THE QUESTION
How do you find your own healthy balance between preparation (role-play) and impromptu (winging it) to ensure your next interpersonal engagement is less contentious and more rewarding and productive for both parties?
Daniel Pink · Peak, Trough, and Recovery
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
The more self-aware you are about your circadian rhythm, the better aligned you can be with everyone in your life—professionally and personally.
THE QUESTION
Have you identified the rhythm that leads your day? And can you create increased congruence with those high-leveraged demands that require your best thinking during your peaks and not your troughs?
Karen Dillon · Deliberate vs. Emergent Strategies
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Effective leaders intentionally build a culture where multiple strategies can thrive interdependently and exercise the humility and confidence to see the signs when it may be time to adapt.
THE QUESTION
What will prevent you from moving off your deliberate strategy onto an emergent strategy? How will you know it when it’s time?
Anne Chow · What’s Your Motive?
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Our motives are commonly driven by our mindsets and belief systems, and are manifested in our language and behavior. Become more mindful of how these are showing up in your life.
THE QUESTION
If you’re tempted to ask, “Where are you from?” what could you ask instead? But be sure to address your motives by addressing how you intend to use the information.
Chris McChesney · Keep a Compelling Scoreboard
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
People want to win in every part of their life—especially in their career. Provide a compelling, evergreen scoreboard that ensures clarity and builds engagement.
THE QUESTION
If it were illegal to use Excel or any bar-chart-generating software package, how would your scoreboard efforts look, track, and, more importantly, drive your desired behaviors?
Daniel Amen · Protect Your Brain
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Just because you can’t see your brain doesn’t mean it’s not there. Invest as much energy caring for it as you do your heart, lungs, skin, and other more conspicuous organs.
THE QUESTION
Are you willing to become the family or community pariah in order to save a life? Dramatic? Yes. Accurate? Even more so.
General Stanley McChrystal · Be on the Right Side of History
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
You are leaving a historical legacy, whether you’re conscious of it or not. Make the choice to be on the right side of history now before you’re forced to be a casualty on the other side later.
THE QUESTION
If a historian were chronicling your decisions, what might you pause and do differently?
Kim Scott · Radical Candor
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
As a leader, move outside your comfort zone and discuss the undiscussables with your team members. Solicit feedback from them and give feedback in return. It’s likely the greatest professional gift they’ll ever receive.
THE QUESTION
How can you better recognize the blind spots of those around you, and with a balance of courage and consideration, provide them feedback for improvement? And further, how can you become more aware of your own blind spots and accept feedback from others on them?
Dorie Clark · Twist If You Can’t Invent (And Even If You Can)
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Not only is there no shame in twisting an original idea, there is tremendous value. In many cases, it will be better accepted in the marketplace than the original version.
THE QUESTION
Can you stop questioning your lack of genius and creativity, and instead focus your ability to twist an existing idea to fill or create a new niche opportunity?
Bob Whitman · The Servant Leader
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Servant leadership doesn’t always literally mean serving. But sometimes it does.
THE QUESTION
How would you define and model servant leadership in every role of your life: parent, spouse, leader, colleague, committee member, and so on?
Susan Cain · Rethinking Introverts and Extroverts
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
People like people like themselves. And leaders can fall into the same trap. So be mindful not to dismiss or minimize those around you with personalities, communication styles, and proclivities that may differ from yours.
THE QUESTION
How can you recognize when your style—be it introvert or extrovert—might be lifting or limiting the potential contribution of others?
Ryan Holiday · Self-Discipline
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
We often think of self-discipline as being focused on doing something in particular. And although that certainly is true, exercising the self-discipline not to do something can exponentiate your creativity and productivity.
THE QUESTION
If you were to establish a greater degree of self-discipline tomorrow, is there one recurring habit that, if you could improve upon, modify, or even eliminate, would have a disproportionately positive impact on both your confidence and your ability to progress something enormously important to you?
Nely Galán · Hype Your Failures
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
The most successful and influential people achieve that stature not just by experiencing failure but hyping their failures for the benefit of others.
THE QUESTION
Which failure of yours, if revisited and publicized, could transform someone else’s confidence into their own successful journey?
Leif Babin · Extreme Ownership
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
When your team members see you own not just the successes, but the outright failures with no finger-pointing, you set the only acceptable standard.
THE QUESTION
Ask yourself: Do I demonstrate Extreme Ownership across every area of my life—professionally and personally?
Stedman Graham · Choose Your Identity
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Cease fulfilling the identity foisted upon you by others and, instead, create the identity that best leverages your passions, talents, and dreams. Be the version of yourself you want to be.
THE QUESTION
How will you create the identity that helps you pursue your “extraordinary” thing?
Liz Wiseman · Be a Multiplier and Not a Diminisher
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Multiplying leaders possess not only the self-awareness to recognize when they could be accidentally diminishing others but create and allow space for others to feel smart around them.
THE QUESTION
Do you tend to be the genius in the room or the genius maker of others? How can you become more multiplying and less diminishing in your interactions?
Jay Papasan · The ONE Thing
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Achieving any level of goal necessitates that you follow both a systematic and pragmatic approach that, ultimately, results in you doing something different . . . right now.
THE QUESTION
Did you skip the exercise above? If you did, not only are you a horrible goal setter, but you’re never going accomplish your Someday Goal . . . because you don’t even know what it is. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Go back and do the exercise.
Seth Godin · Fearless vs. Reckless
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Create a heightened understanding of when your fearlessness impacts people beyond yourself and results in diminishing them and even your mutual relationship.
THE QUESTION
When you find yourself confusing these two concepts, ask yourself, How do I want to show up? How do I want to be remembered? How do I want to make the other person feel?
Todd Davis · The Power of Relationships
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Resist falling into the trap of believing that your organization’s most valuable asset is the collection of your people. Your most valuable asset is your culture, built and defined by the relationships between your people.
THE QUESTION
Confront reality. Are you just repeating what sounds convenient regarding the power of relationships, or do you truly believe and act in a way that supports their value in your organization and overall life?
Donald Miller · Clarify Your Message
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
If your customer cannot find themself squarely in your messaging, it’s frankly useless—for both of you.
THE QUESTION
It likely feels counterintuitive, but are you capable of putting your business needs aside when creating your messaging—to bring your client’s business needs front and center?
M.J. Fièvre · Balancing Efficiency with Effectiveness
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Be mindful that even a strength such as efficiency in tasks can be a weakness if not bridged into effectiveness in relationships.
THE QUESTION
Have you folded your relationships into your to-do list, then hit the “Puree” button?
Whitney Johnson · Disrupt Yourself
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Exercise the boldness to understand where you are on your career journey and when it’s time to disrupt yourself before you are inevitably disrupted by external forces or people.
THE QUESTION
Where are you on your own three-year itch? Are you confident and competent enough to disrupt yourself and step over to the next ladder before it disappears? Are there skills you need to develop to become relevant and valuable enough to stick the landing?
Trent Shelton · The Power Perspective
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Harness the emotional and intellectual agility to carefully choose your response when an outside situation or influence changes beyond your control.
THE QUESTION
Can you turn the page when you (inevitably) face disappointment, unfulfilled expectations, or outright violations in your life?
Brendon Burchard · Prolific Quality Output
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
It’s easy to fall into the trap of measurement by volume or quantity. Instead, what differentiates successful and influential people is the quality of their output achieved through a relentless focus on the few necessary things that must get done.
THE QUESTION
Are you able to exercise the discipline to resist an array of opportunities and distractions that may validate your ego, and instead focus on the PQOs that could transform your brand?
Stephen M. R. Covey · Pulling the Plug
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Seeing past the “fog of war” to exercise integrity in a key moment of choice may mean pulling the plug now for the longer-term win.
THE QUESTION
What’s on your horizon, personally and professionally, that you need to proactively decide if you’re moving forward with full conviction, or if you should pause, reassess the opportunity, and perhaps pull the plug?
Nancy Duarte · The PowerPoint Plague
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
PowerPoint is not the problem. Visuals aren’t the problem. In fact, both are often quite useful to communicate a compelling vision. It’s the sequence of building a deck as the component of designing your presentation that’s the problem. First, structure the conversation by following the “what is and what could be . . . what is and what could be” framework. Then decide what visuals, if any, should be created to best drive home your point.
THE QUESTION
Are you willing to pay the price to know your subject so well, and bring it to life with your own storytelling skills, that you don’t need a presentation crutch?
Eric Barker · Knowing Your Story
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL INSIGHT
Stop your story. Stop the tape. Whose story are you living? Yours, or Mr. Wiley’s?
THE QUESTION
Are you willing, tonight, to put down Master Mentors and go into your kitchen (I don’t care what you’re wearing) and grab a whisk, or a wooden spoon, or a spatula? Doesn’t matter. Tell yourself your story. Alone. In the dark. With nobody listening. Out loud. Uncensored. You may be on the cusp of starting the next chapter in your own story.