In today's episode, I talk with leadership author, speaker, and entrepreneur Drew Dudley. Drew inspires us to appreciate leadership in all forms and rewire the way we think of what it truly means to be a leader. He shares some practical tips on how to discover the leader within ourselves, the power in recognizing leadership in ways that may not be traditional, his famous lollipop story from his viral TED talk, and the low down on why Canadians are so polite. Drew's brand new book, This is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters just came out last week.

Key Takeaways:

[4:14] Drew fell into his current path by accident. He recounts his time and takeaways from Cystic Fibrosis Canada and a role at Leadership Development at the University of Toronto. He loved mobilizing the college students and translating corporate and business speak into a youthful language.

[6:26] Often in leadership, the terms "accessible, practical, and simple" can be seen as pejorative. Drew feels that precisely the opposite is true. Leadership should be open to all, streamlined and tangible. One of the reasons he wrote This is Day One, is to meet people exactly where they are in leadership. We no longer should be intimidated by the term leader, and don't have to wait for a title or paycheck to validate how little or much we matter.

[10:24] We are surrounded by leaders every day. Most of the leadership on this planet comes from people that don't see themselves as leaders and Drew traces it back to education and socialization. It's hard to feel like a leader when it feels like your validation comes from outside other than yourself.

[15:54] Education should provide a safety net for making mistakes and failing. When the youth starts out as "perfect" with points taken away for what is viewed as a failure, it takes away key characteristics such as courage and resilience.

[19:55] Most of us feel like imposters from time to time, but the brave ones acknowledge it and talk about it to empower those around us.

[21:49] When Drew works with leaders of all forms, the Top 3 values that usually come up are integrity, honesty, and respect. He works with folks get crystal-clear on those values, prioritize them, and give credit for exemplifying them throughout their day.

[25:18] There is a strong distinction between real leaders and catalysts for harm. Real leaders expand the capacity for others and remove fear in order to succeed and expand. Catalysts for harm add fear in order to win for themselves or just their select and chosen group.

[31:28] We explore the idea of management as a business skill and leadership as a human skill.

[34:26] We talk some cross-border leadership, and Drew encourages us to love Canada from afar.

[36:13] It's important to show people that they matter and have the ability to impact the world. When we feel as though we don't matter, that breeds helplessness and fear, which turns into anger and hatred.

[37:16] Drew shares how to start living Day One as a leader, and to turn core values into actionable demonstrations. Pick a value, define clearly what it means by asking yourself the phrase "this value is a commitment to _____?", create a question you can't answer without living it, and then recognize when you or those around you embody it.

Resources:

Purchase Bring Your Whole Self to Work and gain access to bonus material.

Mike Robbins Website

Mike Robbins Podcast

Mike Robbins on Facebook

Mike Robbins on Twitter

Mike Robbins on Instagram

Drew Dudley

This Is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters, by Drew Dudley

Entrepreneur.Com/DrewDudley

Drew Dudley: Everyday leadership