The Power of Positive Leadership | Chuck Wachendorfer | TEDxHawkesbury

Summary

The speaker emphasizes that everyone holds a leadership position, whether recognized or not, and that leadership is about making decisions that can inspire or negatively influence others. The key to positive leadership is conscious decision-making, which involves recognizing the situation, reflecting on its impact, reframing the perspective, and responding thoughtfully. By making small, intentional decisions consistently, we create a positive ripple effect, highlighting that our choices significantly affect our performance and the world around us.

Takeaways

• 👤 Everyone is in a leadership position, whether they recognize it or not, and has the potential to influence others.
• 🛠 The key to positive leadership is the ability to make better decisions, which is not always easy but is essential.
• 🤔 Our minds often make snap judgments without much thought, but being aware of this can help us make more conscious choices.
• 🌟 Early recognition of leadership can instill a sense of purpose and accountability, as the speaker learned from being the oldest in their family.
• 📉 Struggles and failures can be pivotal moments for realizing the importance of leading oneself before leading others.
• 🔑 Understanding the significance of decision-making is crucial for determining the impact one has on the world.
• 🧐 When making decisions, emotions, bias, overconfidence, and excessive optimism can interfere with our thinking.
• 🛑 Pausing to recognize and reflect on a situation before making a decision can lead to a better understanding of its impact.
• 🔄 Reframing a situation allows for a different perspective and can help identify the most crucial aspects of a decision.
• 📊 Responding to a situation involves applying quantitative methods and evaluating options, which is a conscious choice we often have more control over than we think.
• 🔢 On average, we make 35,000 decisions a day, many of which are automatic, but a significant portion are conscious and can shape our lives.
• 🏆 Decision-making has a greater impact on performance than talent and skill combined, emphasizing the importance of making great choices.
• 🌐 Positive leadership is about the cumulative effect of making small, intentional decisions consistently over time, creating a ripple effect in our lives and the lives of others.
• 🍪 Even seemingly insignificant decisions, like having a couple of cookies or being late to a meeting, can have a statement and impact on how others perceive us as leaders.

Q & A

Why is it a mistake not to assess our performance as leaders?

It's a mistake because most people don't see themselves in leadership positions, even though everyone has a leadership role in some capacity. This oversight can prevent us from recognizing the impact of our decisions on others and our own growth.

What is the common misconception about leadership roles?

The common misconception is that leadership roles are limited to high-ranking positions like CEOs. In reality, anyone, from a kindergarten teacher to a soccer coach, has a leadership role that influences others.

Why is it important to make better decisions as a leader?

Better decisions have the power to inspire and positively influence others. They shape our lives and the world around us, making it crucial for leaders to develop their decision-making abilities.

What is the significance of recognizing our leadership roles early in life?

Recognizing leadership roles early instills a sense of purpose and accountability. It provides a foundation for making conscious choices and setting an example for others.

What challenges did the speaker face during their leadership journey?

The speaker faced financial and emotional struggles after switching careers, which led to a pivotal realization about the importance of leading oneself before leading others.

How does the speaker describe the typical process of making decisions?

The speaker describes it as a linear and logical process: identifying options, choosing the best one, and implementing the decision. However, they note that this process is often interrupted by emotions, bias, overconfidence, and excessive optimism.

What is the first step in improving decision-making according to the speaker?

The first step is to 'freeze the situation,' which involves stopping and taking a moment to think about the decisions we are about to make.

What does the speaker suggest we do after recognizing the situation?

After recognizing the situation, we should reflect on what's happening and what it means to us in terms of our principles, values, and how it fits into the big picture of our lives.

How can reframing a situation help in the decision-making process?

Reframing a situation allows us to see it differently, focusing on its most crucial parts. This can lead to a change in approach and a better understanding of the decision at hand.

What is the importance of the 'respond' step in the decision-making process?

The 'respond' step is where we apply quantitative methods to evaluate our options. It's crucial because it's the point where we make the actual decision that will impact our lives and others.

How many decisions do we make on average per day, and what percentage of them are conscious?

On average, we make 35,000 decisions a day, and approximately 60% of them are conscious, meaning we are in the driver's seat more often than we realize.

What impact do our decisions have on our performance compared to talent and skill?

Decision making has twice the impact on our performance than talent and skill combined, emphasizing the importance of making good choices.

What is the speaker's final advice for enhancing positive leadership?

The speaker advises making one or two better choices a day to create a positive ripple effect in our lives and the lives of those around us.

How can small, intentional decisions contribute to positive leadership?

Small, intentional decisions, when made consistently over time, can lead to a cumulative effect that enhances positive leadership and influences others positively.

What is the significance of the 'pause button' analogy in the context of decision-making?

The 'pause button' analogy signifies the importance of stopping to assess and reflect before reacting. It's a call to action to go through the steps of recognizing, reflecting, reframing, and responding to make better decisions.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 The Universality of Leadership and Decision Making

The speaker emphasizes that everyone holds a leadership position regardless of their job title or role, and it's a common misconception to think otherwise. Leadership is about making decisions that can inspire and influence others positively. The speaker shares personal experiences of struggling with career changes and financial difficulties, which led to the realization of the importance of self-leadership and the impact of decision-making on one's life. The process of making decisions is not as straightforward as it might seem in textbooks, and emotions, biases, and other factors can interfere with the decision-making process. The speaker suggests that by pausing, recognizing the situation, and reflecting on its impact, we can improve our decision-making.

05:03

🔍 Enhancing Decision Making for Positive Leadership

This paragraph delves into the strategy for improving decision-making to foster positive leadership. The speaker introduces a four-step process: recognizing the situation, reflecting on its significance, reframing the scenario to see it from a different perspective, and finally responding with a well-considered decision. The importance of conscious choices is highlighted, with the speaker pointing out that while many daily decisions are automatic, a significant portion is conscious and can have a profound impact on our lives. The speaker also discusses the frequency of decisions we make, emphasizing that even small, intentional choices can create a positive ripple effect. The paragraph concludes with an encouragement to make better decisions daily and to be aware that those who look up to us as leaders are watching our actions.

Keywords

💡Leadership

Leadership refers to the ability to guide, influence, and inspire others towards achieving goals. In the video, the concept is emphasized as an inherent quality in everyone, regardless of their position or role. The speaker argues that everyone is in a leadership position, whether they recognize it or not, and that leadership is about the choices and decisions one makes that can positively or negatively affect others.

💡Decision Making

Decision making is the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from multiple alternatives. The video discusses the complexity of decision making, noting that it is not merely a linear process but one influenced by emotions, biases, and other cognitive factors. The speaker highlights the importance of conscious decision making in shaping one's life and the impact it can have on performance.

💡Snap Judgment

A snap judgment is a quick decision made without much thought or deliberation. The script mentions how people often make these judgments and form opinions rapidly, which can lead to a lack of conscious choice in their actions. The speaker encourages the audience to be aware of these snap judgments and to make more deliberate decisions.

💡Accountability

Accountability is the expectation that individuals will be responsible for their actions and will accept the consequences of those actions. The speaker shares a personal story of struggling with accountability and the realization that leading oneself is crucial before leading others, which is a fundamental aspect of positive leadership.

💡Influence

Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. The video's theme revolves around how the decisions made by leaders can inspire and positively influence others. The speaker discusses the power of decisions in shaping one's life and the world around them.

💡Emotions

Emotions are feelings that can affect one's judgment and decision-making process. The script identifies emotions as one of the factors that can interrupt and intervene with rational thinking when making decisions. The speaker suggests that being aware of these emotional influences is key to improving decision-making.

💡Bias

Bias refers to a predisposition or preference for one thing over another, often leading to unfair or unbalanced judgment. In the context of the video, bias is mentioned as a cognitive obstacle that can hinder effective decision making. The speaker encourages the audience to be aware of their biases to make better, more objective decisions.

💡Overconfidence

Overconfidence is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or judgments. The script lists overconfidence as a factor that can negatively impact decision making. The speaker implies that recognizing and managing overconfidence is essential for leaders to make sound decisions.

💡Optimism

Optimism is a positive outlook or hope for the best possible outcome. The video mentions 'excessive optimism' as a potential pitfall in decision making, suggesting that while a positive attitude is beneficial, an unrealistic level of optimism can cloud judgment.

💡Quantitative Methods

Quantitative methods refer to the use of numerical data in the decision-making process to evaluate options and make informed choices. The speaker in the video suggests that applying these methods is crucial for responding effectively to decisions, particularly in high-stakes situations.

💡Ripple Effect

The ripple effect is the phenomenon where a single action or decision can have far-reaching consequences, affecting many aspects of life. The video emphasizes the cumulative impact of small, intentional decisions made consistently over time, which can create a positive ripple effect in one's life and the lives of others.

Highlights

Leadership is not limited to formal positions; everyone has a leadership role regardless of their job title.

Leadership is about the choices we make, which can inspire and influence others positively or negatively.

Making better decisions is key to positive leadership, but it's not an easy task.

We often make snap judgments without much thought, which shapes our lives and the perceptions of others.

Conscious choice can shape our lives, and we have the opportunity to make this happen.

Early recognition of leadership instills a sense of purpose and accountability.

The speaker faced financial and emotional struggles, realizing the importance of leading oneself before others.

Decision-making has a significant impact on our lives and the world around us.

Decision-making is not just a linear process; it involves emotions, biases, and other cognitive factors.

To improve decision-making, we should pause, recognize the situation, and reflect on its impact.

Reframing a situation allows us to see it differently and understand its crucial aspects.

The final step in the decision-making process is to respond, applying quantitative methods and evaluating options.

We make an average of 35,000 decisions a day, many of which are automatic but a significant portion is conscious.

Decision-making has twice the impact on performance than talent and skill combined.

Positive leadership is about making small, intentional decisions consistently over time.

Even seemingly insignificant daily decisions can create a positive ripple effect in our lives and others'.

The speaker challenges the audience to make one better decision a day to create a positive impact.

People who look to us as leaders are watching and keeping score of our decisions.

The speaker concludes with the four steps of positive leadership: Recognize, Reflect, Reframe, and Respond.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Ana Fernandez Prada Reviewer: Walaa Mohammed

The first mistake we make in assessing our performance

as leaders is that we don't. It's not that we don't care.

It's that most of us don't see ourselves in leadership positions,

and that's a mistake. It doesn't matter whether you're a CEO,

a kindergarten teacher, a soccer coach, you work at the DMV,

or this guy right here. It's

a simple fact that we're all in leadership positions,

whether we recognize it or not.

You may not think you're a leader, but the truth is you don't get to choose.

I can tell it's making some of you nervous that he might be a leader,

but the truth is, all of us are leaders. We recognize it or not.

The only choice we get to make is the type of leader that we're going to be.

And the decisions that we make have the power to inspire

and influence others positively or do the opposite.

The key to positive leadership lies in developing our ability to make better

decisions. Making better decisions sounds easy. But it's not.

Think about the last time you were really and truly stumped.

The answer is almost never. We realize it or not.

We walk through our lives with our minds made up

and jump from snap judgment to snap judgment reactions, opinions, likes,

dislikes that we form the blink of an eye without much of a first,

much less a second thought.

Those thousands of small but incremental decisions are visible to those around

us, and that means we have

an incredible opportunity to shape our lives through conscious choice.

This is something I learned in an early age.

As the oldest in my family, I felt a responsibility to set an example.

This early recognition of leadership ingrained in me a sense of purpose

and accountability. But my journey as

a leader was was not without its struggles.

After switching careers, found myself on the brink of failure financially

and emotionally. I have a clear memory. Of laying on my bed.

Now, I had four other roommates. There's five guys living in a house.

We paid $750 a month for rent. So it tells you what kind of a house it was.

So I'm laying on my bed looking up at my ceiling. It's cracked and yellow.

I have no money, no food and no credit.

And I briefly thought about quitting my job.

And then I thought, well, then I'd have no money, no food, no credit,

and no job. So feeling depressed and lost.

It was during this time that I realized I had to do

a better job of leading myself before I could lead other people.

And the pivotal realization.

Was realizing that and understanding the significance the decision making had

on my life, and that would determine the impact I would have in the world.

So what do we do when faced with making a decision?

That's a question many of us have heard asked maybe in class,

like a management 101 class where it's made to sound like a linear,

logical process. You know? Step one, we identify our options.

Step two, we choose the best option. Step. We implement the decision.

If we're only that easy. Right now,

I'm not saying logic doesn't or shouldn't play

a role in decision making.

But if we think that's the only thing involved in decision making,

we're fooling ourselves. When we're making a decision.

There are any number of things that interrupt and intervene with our thinking.

Here's a short list. Emotions. Bias. Overconfidence. Excessive optimism.

You're going to have your own list,

as well as your own tendency to move in one direction or the other.

Now, I'm not going to spend time on where those obstacles come from.

But I am going to focus on what to do about that

and how our decision making can improve.

If we stop, take a moment, freeze the situation,

and give ourselves time to think about the decisions we're about to make.

Once we freeze the situation.

We can begin to recognize the impact it's having on us and those around us.

Most importantly, notice what's happening and most crucially,

recognize what's influencing and motivating and moving others,

including yourself, and causing them to react to respond in one way or the other.

Once we recognize the situation,

the next step is to reflect on what's happening and what it means to us,

how it fits into the big picture of our lives, our principles, our values.

What do we want this decision to mean? Stop.

Hit the pause button, recognize the situation,

and reflect on how what you're going to do reflects

on who you know yourself to be. Step three.

Use that recognition and reflection to reframe the situation.

Think of it as a spotlight or a magnifying glass.

How can I see the situation differently? What are its most crucial parts?

Sometimes we're going to need to change our approach,

and it's often a feeling of relief that arrives.

We're able to stop, freeze the situation and reframe it.

Last and for all of you keeping track,

this is the fourth and final on this to list. Respond.

This is where we get a chance to apply and use those quantitative methods.

We may have learned in that management one on one class about identifying

and evaluating our options. Your decisions matter. Right.

If you're coaching the NFL, it's up to you to call that final timeout.

And in the last minutes of the fourth quarter when the other team has

the ball in your goal line. Right. As in life, those decisions matter.

And just in just as in a football game,

the choices that we make matter just as much.

Research has shown we make 35,000 decisions a day.

35,000 series a day. So how do you take your coffee?

Brushing your teeth, getting dressed? Those are all choices we make.

That's 245,000

decisions a week. That's over 12 million decisions a year in our lives today.

Are there some of those decisions? Now we don't think about every single one.

Studies have shown that about 40% of the decisions that we make are automatic.

And that's a lot. But it's not nearly all of our decisions.

Saving a majority of our decisions.

In fact, a majority of our decisions,

60% are conscious we're in the driver's seat more often than we realize, right?

The hate groups research shown that decision making has twice the impact

on our performance than talent and skill combined.

I'm not saying talent and skill don't matter,

they just don't matter as much as decision making.

For those of us who are parents in the room.

What do we yell to our children as they walk out the door? Make great choices.

Right on one end of that 60% .

We have the decisions that we see coming that we take the time to consider deeply.

We know they matter. But on the other end of the of the spectrum or

the decisions that really don't matter much,

like which pair of my eight pairs of identical pair of brown socks I'm going

to wear is never going to be any kind of a high stakes moment.

What I want to focus on in the decisions in the middle.

Those low impact decisions that we make every single day that are visible to

those around us and can create a positive ripple effect in our lives

and the lives of those around us.

Positive leadership does not require dramatic change or perfection.

It's the cumulative effect of making small, tiny,

intentional decisions consistently over time.

By making 1 or 2 better choices a day,

we create a positive ripple effect in our lives and

the lives of those around us. And that's what I want to leave you with.

I want to ask you to make one better decision a day. Even you and you.

And I'll try and do the same. And here's the thing.

When we make 1 or 2 better choices a day,

we could have positive ripple effect in our lives. Those things count.

And whether we realize it or not,

the people who look to us as leaders are watching and keeping score. Right.

It may be the 1 or 2 cookies that you want to have as a snack in

the break room before lunch. Maybe it's before lunch, maybe it's after lunch.

Maybe it's before and after lunch. Or maybe it's being on time for a meeting.

Oh Right.

Being on time. Having a having a few cookies.

Being a couple minutes late to a meeting, having a cookie or two.

In the break room is not going to make much of a difference,

but if I have a few cookies a few times a day, that's a lifestyle choice.

Being late to every meeting is a statement.

Those things count and people are keeping score whether we realize it or not.

Your decisions matter. The next time you find yourself reacting,

I want you to stop. Hit the pause button.

Freeze the situation and take yourself through

the four hours of positive leadership. Recognize. Reflect.

Reframe and then and only then respond. Thank you.