chic-fil-a leadercast marcus buckingham

Here are my notes and take aways from Marcus Buckingham’s presentation at this year’s Chic-fil-A Leadercast! Enjoy!

• Authenticity is your most valuable commodity as a leader
• Before you deliver content to people you have to know people (Custom marketing and content i.e. Facebook, Netflix, and The New York Times)
• Most leadership development programs are formulaic as opposed to algorithmic. They operate on the premise that there is a perfect leader out there and we’re all supposed to look like that.
• Leadership by it’s very nature is idiosyncratic all great leaders are not the same
• You can teach concepts and transfer principles to all leaders in your organization
• Catch excellence and reflect it back…many people miss the concept or principle and instead adopt the practice…practice without principle is dangerous
• The techniques of one leader are not easily transferred from one leader to the next because it often comes off as inauthentic

Stand Out Tool: 9 Areas of Strengths

1. Advisor: What is the best thing to do?
2. Connector: Joining the best in other people together.
3. Creators: what do I understand? They need quite, time, and process.
4. Equalizer: What is the right thing to do? Not just relationship but responsibility. You want to make it right. You do what you say you’re going to do.
5. Influencer: Every conversation is a sale. Try to move others towards your agenda.
6. Pioneer: What’s new, what’s next?
7. Provider: No person gets left behind. Are you okay, care about others, shepherd.
8. Stimulators: Raise the energy in the room
9. Teacher: How can I learn, I can they learn, no one is ever finished

• There is no perfect leadership profile only perfect practices that fit you profile
• Your challenge as a leader is to take what is unique about yourself and make it useful to others