To develop something new that solves a significant problem and creates real value for customers, you have to take risk proportionate to the potential return. Yet, most people are conditioned to avoid risk. Leading innovation requires a willingness to pursue a goal without knowing exactly how you’ll achieve it. To overcome the fear of failure and move forward with pursuing the unknown, leaders must learn to embrace the concept of being “directionally correct.”

Kreek is a powerful guide who teaches us how to realize our full potential at any stage of our career and lives. Drawing on his 8 years of intensive Olympic training, ocean expeditions, and career as an executive coach and corporate trainer, Kreek shares winning strategies from the trenches, where the strongest minds prevail. From promising start-ups to Fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, General Electric, the Chicago Blackhawks, Mercedes-Benz, L’Oréal, Kreek has helped hundreds of thousands of leaders clarify values and strategy, develop high-performing teams, manage change and maximize leadership capacity. After 73 days alone at sea, Adam Kreek and his expedition team survived a near death capsize in the Bermuda Triangle, the subject of the Dateline NBC documentary Capsized. Four years earlier, Kreek won Olympic Gold with his eight man rowing team. A two-time Olympian, he holds 60 international medals and multiple Hall of Fame inductions.

Topics

During this interview, Adam and I discuss the following topics:

Leadership lessons he learned from his rowing experiences
The inspiration behind his book
What Responsibility Ethic means
The different “Locus of Controls”
How his team dealt with integrating new members into his team
How to deal with competition within an organization

For the complete show notes, be sure to check out our website:

https://leaddontboss.com/125

The Responsibility Ethic | Former Olympian Adam Kreek | Episode 125