This morning I logged on to find that TED had uploaded a presentation that Seth Godin had given at a recent TED conference.
For those of you who don’t know Seth, I suggest that you look at his blog. He constantly puts up posts that make me think abut what it is that I am doing and how I can interact with my world. Most of his blogs are ‘business’ focussed, or they have something to do with ‘marketing’, but only if you read them literally. Often his wisdom is applicable in many ways.
This presentation leverages off of his recent book: Tribes.
I was lucky enough to download a free audio version of his book when he first released it (Yes, it is a legit copy. No, I didn’t steal it. Seth released some copies for free as part of a viral marketing plan). I’ve listened to his book twice now, and even though I’m not surprised by it’s content, I was inspired by what it was that he had to say. Now, don’t get me wrong: if you haven’t been studying leadership for years and years (as I have – I have Masters Degree in Business Leadership that “proves” it!) you are likely to come across a lot of new (updated) material that will help you to think about leadership for the new century. If, though, you have a good grasp on the ‘theory’ then you are likely to enjoy the new spin that Seth brings to this old discussion.
Ultimately, I think, despite everything else, it comes down to the ability for people to commit to WANTING to be a leader. At the very end of his presentation, Seth leaves us with what he sees as the dimensions of good leaders:
- They challenge the status quo
- The build a culture
- They have curiosity about others, about how things work ‘out there’
- They connect people, and
- They commit.
He also leaves us with a challenge. A challenge that only takes 24hrs to complete. ”Begin a movement”.
What are you passionate about? What woul it take for you to begin to build your tribe? Let me know. I want to hear about it.
