This week, Tim Lupinacci welcomes David Walker, chief executive officer of EBSCO Industries, to the Everybody Leads podcast. David started his career as a CPA with Ernst & Young before joining EBSCO in 2000. He has served EBSCO in a variety of roles since, including CFO, COO, and CEO.

During this episode, David discusses his leadership journey, building culture in such a large company, and sustaining success over time. His experiences as the CEO of EBSCO provide him with a unique and useful perspective on leadership with themes of humility, investing in others, and not underestimating the importance of vulnerability and transparency. David also outlines:

• What sparked the trajectory of his leadership journey
• His leadership style and approach
• How he prioritizes culture-building and “empowerment without abandonment” in a large global company and lessons learned
• Balancing hard work with humility
• Building trust by being vulnerable, transparent, and open to feedback
• Dealing with making mistakes
• Resources he found helpful
• How to sustain momentum and success over time
• Daily disciplines to stay energized and focused
• How his company is focusing on its talent advantage
• Advice to leaders without a formal title
• Leaders with no formal title who have inspired him

Additional Resources: 

• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t  by Jim Collins
• Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins
• Turning the Flywheel: Why Some Companies Build Momentum and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
• Multipliers: How the Best Leads Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman
• Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact by Liz Wiseman
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Pat Lencioni
• Harvard Business Review

Non-profits:

• United Way of Central Alabama: https://www.uwca.org

Charity:

This episode is in support of David Walker’s designated charity, Hand-in-Hand. We have made a donation to this charity as a thank you to David for joining Everybody Leads. To learn more about this charity, please visit https://www.shades.org/about/ministries/special-needs.

Contact David Walker:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-walker-826090a

Learn more about EBSCO Industries:

• https://www.ebscoind.com

Thank you for listening, and please join us again to hear from more exceptional leaders.

Click for more: 

• https://everybodyleads.org
• https://www.bakerdonelson.com

Producer: Jason Plank
Intern: Claudia Bonney Amamoo