As a leader I try to stay abreast of what top leaders are talking and thinking about. One of my go-to resources when I am traveling is the USA Today. While not only being a fast read in hotels and on airplanes, it is a wealth of leadership knowledge.
The following are 12 Things Leaders Are Talking and Thinking About I have gleaned from the paper over the last several months.
- Leaders Are Talking About Taking a Moment and Being Proud of the Work They Have Done – After winning the snowboarding gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Shaun White said, “I don’t think you could ever forget this day in the sport of snowboarding. I’m proud that I’m on top, and I don’t say that often about myself because I try to stay hungry for that next win, but I’m changing my ways and I’m really proud of myself.” – February 15, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About How Pornography Is Destroying the Lives of Countless Leaders – Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore’s comments on educating his players on the dangers of pornography said, “When you sit down with young men and they open up and talk about their struggles, oftentimes you can track it back to pornography. It’s been a major issue in their lives… Educating our players about the harmful effects of pornography is similar to the importance of honoring women, respecting women and looking at them as human beings and not sexual objects. Most of these young men are going to be husbands and fathers. It’s our job to educate them.” – March 14, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About Their Responsibility in Solving the Pornography Epidemic – Moore added, “When you’re committed and relentless about trying to lead and do the right thing and you’re presented with information that you think is important for your players to know and you don’t do it, it’ll haunt you. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t share this.” – USA Today, March 14, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About Trust Issues – Senate Commerce Committee chairman John Thune asked Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, “After more than a decade of promises to do better, why should we trust Facebook on privacy?” – April 11, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About Owning Mistakes – Zuckerberg said, “We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.” – April 11, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About How Hard Work Works – Wisconsin Badgers head football coach Paul Chryst said, “For the longest time, the narrative was that Wisconsin was going to have a great offensive line. Well, that just doesn’t happen. You’ve to work at it.” – April 11, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About Managing Expectations – On living up to his $210 million contract, Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer said, “If you go out there and try to prove your contract or worth your head is in the wrong spot. I try to avoid falling down the trap of living up to my contract or proving I’m worth it. Good or bad, I can’t go down that path.” – May 1, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About Creativity and How to Keep Things Fun and Interesting – When asked for advice for how to get in the comedy business, Jimmy Fallon said, “Don’t worry about money, just do it because it’s fun and it’s interesting for you. Keep it interesting and stay creative and keep dreaming and keep believing and it will all fall into place.” – May 22, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About the Importance of Self-Confidence – Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry said, “You’ve got to block that (criticism) out and really be your own worst critic and your own biggest fan. It’s hard to do at times, because everybody’s human. But consistently that (confidence has) gotten me through some tough times.” – May 22, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About Thriving in Chaos – Warriors assistant coach Bruce Fraser on Curry’s ability to thrive in chaos, “His disposition, and the way he views not only basketball but the world, is that the glass is always half full. One of his (favorite) lines to me is that he thrives in chaos… He actually embraces chaos. I think that kind of stuff strengthens his mind.” – May 22, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About Eliminating Unnecessary Mistakes – Air marshal instructor Gary Decker said, “At 37,000 feet, we can’t call for backup. We’re in a confined space, we can’t make mistakes.” – May 22, 2018
- Leaders Are Talking About Being the Last Line of Defense for Their Organizations – Assistant supervisory air marshal Mike LaFrance added, “We are the last line of defense on board an aircraft. If everything else fails, the air marshal is there to take down anything that may happen.” – May 22, 2018
As a leader, are you talking about any of the issues above?
The original article appeared here.
