7 of our top Blogs on leadership, Brené Brown, Malala, business

Image: Sheryl Sanberg, COO, Facebook, features in our most popular blog

The Growth Faculty's best blogs are packed with tips for leaders and managers.

Themes in the most popular blogs include leadership, team culture, soft skills, traits of leaders and managers.

I've summarised each below, but first, here's the quick checklist of our top blogs:

• 10 LESSONS FROM THE BEST SILICON VALLEY BOSSES
• OUR FAVOURITE QUOTES FROM MALALA YOUSAFZAI
• 4 DESTRUCTIVE TRAITS OF PERFECTIONISM, FROM DR. BRENÉ BROWN
• BRENÉ BROWN TOP TIP: ASSUME OTHERS ARE DOING THE BEST THEY CAN
• 15 MANTRAS FOR WINNING LIKE THE ALL BLACKS AT TEAM CULTURE: JAMES KERR'S LEGACY
• GREAT IDEAS: SUBSCRIBED BY TIEN TZUO {INTERVIEW}
• 10 LESSONS FROM ONE OF THE BEST BOSSES IN THE WORLD
• TOP 30 BRENÉ BROWN QUOTES FOR LEADERS
• 10 OF THE BEST BUSINESS BOOKS FOR SUMMER TO KICKSTART 2021
• HOW THIS CEO’S TEAM GOT SO GOOD, DELOITTE CAME KNOCKING

10 LESSONS FROM THE BEST SILICON VALLEY BOSSES

One of our most popular blogs shows a strong fascination with Silicon Valley and the top dogs who reside there.

Kim Scott, former CEO coach at Dropbox and Twitter, worked with many of them, and told us about it in her book Radical Candor.

• Be a time saver, not a time waster (lesson from Sheryl Sandberg, when at Google) 
• Be relentless in your learning (lesson from Drew Houston, co-founder of Dropbox)
• Just say it! (lesson in feedback from Kim Vorrath, team leader at Apple)
• Let peers promote their colleagues, not managers (lesson from business operations lead Shona Brown at Google)
• Be humble (surprising lesson from the late Steve Jobs at Apple)
• Everyone notices what kind of mood the boss is in (lesson from Russ Laraway, former manager at Google)
• Never be late for a meeting, and don’t tolerate tardiness in others (another lesson from Sheryl Sandberg when at Google)
• Make work fun (lesson from Dick Costolo, former CEO of Twitter)
• A boss that holds you back makes staff miserable (lesson from Larry Page, co-founder of Google)
• You can’t give a damn about others if you don’t take care of yourself (lesson from Kim Scott herself, former CEO coach at Dropbox and Twitter)

4 DESTRUCTIVE TRAITS OF PERFECTIONISM, FROM DR. BRENÉ BROWN

One of the popular articles is about the research findings on perfectionism, from bestselling author and TED sensation Dr Brené Brown in the lead-up to her sold-out 2019 event hosted by The Growth Faculty. Read more about her Australian tour IN THE ARENA WITH BRENÉ BROWN: CHOOSING COURAGE OVER COMFORT.

What Brené Brown says perfectionism is:

Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system.

Perfectionism is an unattainable goal.

Perfectionism is addictive.

Perfectionism sets us up to feel shame, judgement and blame.

What Brené Brown says perfectionism is not:

It’s not striving for excellence.

It’s not the self-protection we think it is. It’s a 20 tonne shield we lug around.

Perfectionism is not the key to success. 

Perfectionism is not a way to avoid shame.

4 DESTRUCTIVE TRAITS OF PERFECTIONISM, FROM DR. BRENÉ BROWN

Brené Brown asks if you've ever experienced one of these? 

• Your client doesn’t ring you back, and you think they’re a time-waster.
• Your friend cancels a bike ride, and you're convinced they take you for granted.
• Your sales manager loses an account, and you view them as hopeless.
• Your colleague asks you to pay the bill, and you assume they’re a tightwad.

Sounds familiar?

Then, it might be time to revisit the value of “assumption of positive intent.”

Read the full blog for how to do this....and it's HARD.7

• How would you sell a subscription to a floor? Put sensors in it, and sell access to the data. Smart floors are the ultimate connected device to detect what’s going on. (eg. pedestrian traffic information for schools and councils, and hospitals - who can, for example, tell if a patient has fallen).
• How to get started: Don’t try to force yourself into a recurring model for day one. Just start with your customers. Use technology, get them to sign up for an ID, start tracking them (check their privacy wishes, have them opt in to use a service), and then see what are they actually doing.

10 LESSONS FROM ONE OF THE BEST BOSSES IN THE WORLD

We’re big fans of Indra Nooyi here at The Growth Faculty.  

The former CEO of PepsiCo was our special guest for a prestigious evening business event in 2019. Quotes from the event here.

Indra Nooyi was twice named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, and is globally praised for her work ethic, intellect and prescient and strategic thinking. She's also got a good sense of humour, as some of these quotes show. 

• Indra Nooyi's key lessons for leaders: Thank people - perhaps even the parents of your executive team (as she did!).
• Keep learning throughout your career.
• Develop a set of guiding principles.
• Be authentic.
• Don’t be afraid of change.
• Don’t ignore your moral compass for results.
• Stand firm for what you believe in.
• Communicate your vision simply and often.
• Walk the walk.
• Innovate by learning.

TOP 30 BRENÉ BROWN QUOTES FOR LEADERS

Who doesn’t love an inspiring quote, and nobody inspires enthusiasm more than the TED sensation and 5 times #1 New York Times bestseller author Brené Brown.  

Here are some of our favourite Brené quotes from her book Dare to Lead.

Read more from our sold-out 2019 live event:  22 QUOTES TO INSPIRE YOU TO DARE TO LEAD FROM BRENÉ BROWN {FROM LIVE EVENT}

“Cynicism and sarcasm are first cousins who hang out in the cheap seats.”

“Studying leadership is way easier than leading.”

“Self-compassion is an easy list to write, and a hard list to live.”

“I wish doing the right thing was the easy thing, but it rarely is.”

“Cynicism and sarcasm are bad in person, and even worse when they travel through email and text.”

Brené Brown's wisdom on communication is also on show in this blog:  

BRENÉ BROWN: 4 REASONS BEING UNCLEAR IS UNKIND

HOW THIS CEO’S TEAM GOT SO GOOD, DELOITTE CAME KNOCKING

An interview with Dean Robertson – whose whole team was invited to join Deloitte, after ranking in the Top 10 Best Places to Work in Australia, and being named Microsoft Partner of the Year.

1. Here, some of Dean’s tips on what CEOs can do to improve team culture:Have a dogmatic vision about where the company is going and why.
2. Never buy the “basic” drinks package for a team event, don’t scrimp in the quality of laptops.
3. Delegate and trust.
4. Hire for behavioural alignment with your whole team AND yourself.
5. Be honest and open with the team about mistakes.
6. Be humble about your own skills.
7. Seek first to understand, people almost always have good intentions.

If you'd like to increase your professional development, The Growth Faculty virtual masterclasses Time For Transformation make learning and development entertaining and easy. Ensure your team are trained to pivot, adapt and innovate in these unprecedented times. See who's up next.

And, don't miss our biggest leadership education event of 2020......

Tickets available to Simon Sinek -The Infinite Game

The Growth Faculty is proud to present New York Times best-selling author, TED Talk sensation and "unshakable optimist", Simon Sinek in a powerful and exclusive two-part live virtual event this November, 2020.

5 takeaways in quotes from Simon Sinek:

“When you get the conditions right, trust and cooperation prevail. Leaders set the conditions.”

“Being a leader is nothing to do with being in charge but looking after those within your charge.”

“Everyone of us has the opportunity to be the leader we wish we had. So, be the leader you wish you had.”

“Becoming a mother is the best leadership training. You quickly understand it’s not all about you.”

“When culture is important we must hire slowly and fire rapidly. We usually do the opposite.”

And one more, just for the millennials…

“You’ve grown up in a world of instant gratification. Fantastic for shopping but terrible for love and for jobs.”

This is a short summary of some of our most popular blogs - many of them include exclusive interviews with international business authors. 

If you'd like to increase your professional development why not consider becoming a member of The Growth Faculty? One membership, unlimited access to 30 live virtual Time For Transformation masterclasses and the best live virtual events - PLUS year-round leadership content On Demand with videos, podcasts and book summaries. Join a community of knowledge seekers who are inspired by the best. Access $4350+ value for just $398 AUD. See who's up next.