This is one of the best talks on leadership I've ever heard (h/t @jmf_5 for sharing) by Kent Thiry, former CEO of DaVita.



Summary of lessons below.

1. This is not a dress rehearsal, this is your life. Know what you REALLY want out of and value in life and pursue it.

2. The most important thing in life is to figure out what the most important thing in your life.

Can you write them out? Do these match with your daily actions? How do you spend your time, money, and energy? Do they match with what you wrote down?

3. Just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, leadership is in the eyes of the lead.

You ARE the type of leader that other people experience you to be, period. Doesn't matter if you think they misunderstand you. Take responsibility for how they perceive you.

4. No one cares how much you know. They want to know how much you care.

5. Management is a business skill. Leadership is a human skill.

If you want to learn about leadership, you have to learn about yourself first.

6. Leadership is not a function of position. It is a function of behavior. You don't have to wait to 'lead' until you are in the c-suite.

7. No one washes a rental car. Figure out how to give ownership to people.

If people don't feel they have ownership over their 'village' (the company), they will respond as such.

8. A community produces most what it honors most.

Another way of saying, you get what you incentivize.

9. Intentionality rules.

People can intuitively feel what your intentions are. Their perception of your intentions will dictate whether or not people want to follow you as a leader.