Adam Braun

Absolutely.

Adam Braun

It’s a great question, and I think there are a couple of elements of leadership and critical steps to just be the most influential leader possible.

Adam Braun

The first one is to recognize that the core part of leadership starts with having a vision and get others to believe it. The difference between a leader and a lunatic is that only one of them has a follower, and the other one is a raiding madman.

And so, I think part of it starts with identifying what your vision is, gaining clarity around that, and then as a result of that transparency, being able to articulate a go forward vision that you can compel others to participate

Adam Braun

I think the second core step is to recognize that along with that journey, your single most significant responsibility is to make correct decisions over and over again out of these hundreds of micro-decisions that you have to make on a given day. But within that, the only way to continue to do so is to stay a constant learner.

The nature of learning and education, which is where I have focused my career, has changed drastically in the last decade. If you think about it, historically, we were full-time students in most people’s minds from ages of 4 to about 22. Then you were a full time professional, and there’s noticeable line in between those two different experiences.

Adam Braun

What I think we’re seeing going forward is a blurring of that line in which we are no longer just students through one period of our life and professionals through another.

Adam Braun

Invest in the ongoing education of our employees, our colleagues, and our family members.

Adam Braun

One of the skills I think every person should develop to the extent that they can is public speaking.

Manifest it in a lot of different ways, but one of them is just through this idea of persuasive communication in small group context or small meetings.

I remember at the start of my career, and I began my career at Bain, then I founded Pencils of Promise, grew that for about seven or almost eight years. Now, I’m still very involved in the organization. My core focus is MissionU, which is a college alternative for the 21st century.

And so, within that journey, one thing I’ve seen is that I get super nervous just to speak in front of a manager and a partner in front of four people. But I decided to focus on mastering that skill of persuasive communication that begins in a small group context that certainly applies to one on one. Over time, I forced myself into situations where I was speaking in front of groups that became audiences and that became crowds.

Adam Braun

Now, I’ll often give a speech in any given week in front of sometimes, as many as 10,000 people, and it was only through repetition and becoming a student of great public speakers, and putting myself near in it. I’m just doing it over and over that it became now, one of my strongest skills that have been incredibly valuable to help grow the organizations and companies that I’ve lead.

Adam Braun

Sure.

Adam Braun

One thing I would encourage every single Thriving Launcher to do is to make sure that you invest in your personal growth. Part of that means listening to great podcasts like this one, reading great books, but I encourage you to maybe find a conference or two throughout the year.

I used to go to no conferences; then I went to a handful now. What I found is the best thing for me is just identifying the one or two that I want to invest and spend quality time at and make sure you have a great experience there.

One other little piece of advice I would share is to recognize where you’re at today. Recognize where your goals are three years from now for yourself and your organization or your business, and start acting as if that three-year goal and down the future needs to happen in the next three months.

Adam Braun

Your hiring decisions and strategic decisions will reflect that, and what you’ll find is your entire organization or company will rise to that place in a much faster way if you start bringing that future aspirational goal a lot closer to the present.