What does it take to be an effective leader? Haas School of Business Alumnus and Founder of Group Sixty, Darren Reinke talked with host Sean Li about his book The Savage Leader: 13 Principles to Become a Better Leader Inside Out. Their conversation covered how leaders can form a better bond with their tribe by being humble, showing their curiosity and eagerness to learn. 

Darren tackled and shared his learnings over the years and how the willingness to put in hard work will eventually pay off. And his definition of perseverance means getting out of your comfort zone, even if you need to face your own fears. 

But does facing your fears mean saying yes to everything? Tune in until the end of the show as they talk about how his experience taught him that great leaders are authentic and how reaching deep inside to know your values will help you prioritize which things to say yes to.

Find nuggets of wisdom in this episode as they talk about self-limiting beliefs and encouraging your team to face their fears and take risks with you.

Episode Quotes:

How do you connect with your tribe better?

"People generally think of communication as voice inflection, how you frame a conversation, project, vision, but I think there's something actually more fundamental than that. It's about humility, curiosity, empathy, and being present. Accepting that other people have value to any conversation. You don't know everything. You don't know the answer to every question. There's something that can be gained from even the rank and file in your organization. I think the same thing holds true for curiosity. The intrinsic curiosity that leaders should have about the world, around them, about the people around them. I think that connects back to humility."

How do you become a great leader?

"The willingness to be introspective. So that gets to the points of being humble, being curious, being more self-aware of yourself and the people around you. You have to be willing to put in the hard work because growing and changing is definitely not easy. It requires two things, which is that desire to be great, which creates that North Star for yourself. The introspection, which allows people to get to who they are as a person. What they need to do to get better. Then they have to put in the work because we can't just think about change."

Thoughts on Surfing and Facing Fears:

"I think to me, the upside for surfing is just too valuable. It makes me think about life. We're so anchored on things we can and can't control. I think I started to have this moment, I don't know if it was lucid or the opposite of that. I realized if I can just truly let go of the things that I can't control, it's like a superpower. In the same thing, it's like when you're surfing. All you can control is what's above the surface."

Show Links:

• Darren on LinkedIn
• His Book: The Savage Leader
• His Company: Group Sixty
• Their Podcast: The Savage Leader Podcast

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