Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

159. Earn Your Audience: You Can’t Lead If No One’s Listening

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Sep 10, 2024

In this engaging discussion, John Hennessy, former Stanford president and current Alphabet chairman, and Tina Seelig, director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, delve into the art of leadership development. They stress that effective leaders are cultivated through empathy, humility, and storytelling. The duo highlights how cultivating communication skills and embracing diverse perspectives fosters collaboration and innovation. They also emphasize that true leadership empowers others, making clarity in communication essential for inspiring change.

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INSIGHT

Leadership Void and Experiential Learning

John Hennessy identified a leadership void and wanted to address it through education.
He emphasizes experiential learning as key to developing leadership skills.

INSIGHT

Knight-Hennessy Leadership Model

The Knight-Hennessy Scholars leadership model comprises traits, behaviors, and goals.
Traits are inherent qualities, behaviors are actions, and goals are desired outcomes.

INSIGHT

Empathy and Humility in Leadership

Humility in leadership involves openness to new ideas and recognizing the value of others' contributions.
Empathy enables leaders to understand and respond effectively to the needs of their community.

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What it takes to develop as a leader.

Great leaders and great communicators aren't born, they're made. That's why John Hennessy and Tina Seelig, directors of Stanford University’s Knight-Hennessy Scholars, are working to create the great storytellers of tomorrow, today.

"We decided that there was a leadership void, and that was a driving motivation to do this," says Hennessy, former Stanford president and current Alphabet chairman. The program, which he co-founded in 2016 with Stanford alum and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, equips scholars with essential leadership skills through hands-on experience and collaborative problem-solving.

Seelig, executive director of the program, emphasizes that great leadership centers on effective storytelling. "No matter how compelling your invention, your idea, the thing you want to do in the world, if you can't communicate it in [an] effective way, nobody's going to listen," she says.

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Hennessy, Seelig, and host Matt Abrahams explore what it takes to develop as a leader, discussing the role of communication, the power of empathy, and the centrality of storytelling.

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Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction
(01:36) - The Core of Knight-Hennessy Scholars
(02:24) - Knight-Hennessy Scholars Leadership Model
(04:03) - Empathy and Humility in Leadership
(06:29) - Storytelling in Leadership
(07:51) - Challenges in Storytelling
(09:25) - Diversity in Leadership
(11:49) - Feedback in Leadership Development
(12:59) - Aspiring to Big Ideas in Leadership
(13:45) - The Leading Matters Podcast
(15:39) - The Final Three Questions
(19:00) - Conclusion

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