When you think of good leadership, what comes to mind?

Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter argue that good leadership isn’t rooted in power or public speaking skills. They say that, in fact, mindfulness, selflessness, and compassion are the key components.

“If [you are] focused on things that are going to feed [your] ego, [you’re] not necessarily going to be doing the things that will be most helpful to other people,” Carter explains. “[And] what the research and our field work really showed us is that in the long term, people don’t want to follow you.”

In this episode, you’ll learn how to cultivate selflessness as a leader without being a pushover. You’ll also learn a simple ritual that could help you start you day with more focus and a clearer sense of your priorities.

Carter and Hougaard are the coauthors of The Mind of the Leader: How to Lead Yourself, Your People, and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results.

Key episode topics include: leadership, managing people, managing employees, managing yourself, psychology, self-awareness, mediation, mindfulness, compassion, selflessness.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original HBR IdeaCast episode: Leading with Less Ego (2018)
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