Harriet Minter - Great TED Talks: Leadership: An Unofficial Guide with Words of Wisdom from 100 TED Speakers

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Disclaimer: TED TALKS is a trademark of Ted Conferences LLC and is used herein solely for identification purposes, to identify the subject matter of this book. This book is a publication of Quarto PLC and it has not been prepared, approved, endorsed or licensed by Ted Talks LLC or any other person or entity.

What do we mean by leadership? It would be easy to confine leadership to the workplace or to say its something we do when we want to influence others, but as these 100 TED talks show, leadership can show up anywhere and everywhere. And some of the toughest directing we will have to do in our lives isnt over others but ourselves.

Great leaders bring together a mix of skills and values to decide a pathway into the future. In this book, Ive highlighted the key traits Ive seen in great leaders time and time again, from resilience to authenticity, via bravery and empathy. That is not to say that these traits are fundamental to leadershipIm sure we all know people in positions of power who show none of them. However, I hope that by bringing them together in this book well start to shape the kind of leadership we want to see in the future.

TED is based on the principle of one simple idea being able to change the world. In this book, there are 100 ideas that I hope will bring about some sort of change for you as a leader. You dont have to read it from start to finish in numerical order (although if that makes the most sense to you, please do so), but I would suggest you try to find a little nugget of wisdom from each of the chapters. That way, youll gain a rounded sense of what it means to be a leader in todays world. If a particular piece of advice really resonates with you, you may want to watch the whole talk, and so we explain on the opposite page how to watch the talks online for free.

Not all of the talks are about leadership directlyin fact, Id say the majority arent. I believe that it is this broader knowledge that gives us the tools to adapt and grow as leaders. It also gives us somewhere to turn to when we are in need of inspiration. So, if you come across a talk that feels a little abstract, take extra time to listen to it and see what thoughts it sparks. The lessons I have learned from these TED talks will not be the final ones they have to share.

This book of tips is designed to be quick and easy to skim through. You can read it from front to back or back to front, or dip in and out whenever you need inspirationits completely up to you. And if you want to refer back to a tip later but cant remember where it is, thats no problem. At the back of the book are two indexesone for topics, and one for the speakers quotedso its always easy to find what youre looking for.

Crucially, you dont need to have seen a single TED talk to enjoy this book. But maybe youd like to deepen your learning and watch one of the talks now? Again, thats no problem, as at the time of publication, all of the talks are available to watch free online.

You will find the links to the talks included in this book as part of the speaker index. Or you can simply go to ), youd type How I Held My Breath for 17 Minutes.

Occasionally, though, a talk might not be there. During the production of this book, a few of them hadnt yet made it onto the TED website. But dont worry: theyre all available to view on YouTube too. In other words, if a talk doesnt come up when you type it into TED.com, go to YouTube.com and search there instead. In this case, be sure to put the title in quote marks ( ) so that YouTube knows exactly what its looking for (there are a few billion other videos on the site, so it pays to be specific).

Alternatively, you might prefer to type the title into Google (again, surrounded by quote marks). In that case, the talk should appear in Googles listings under the Videos heading.

Whether you choose simply to read the book or use it as a stepping-stone to the wider universe of watching TED talks, its time to open your mind and be inspired. Prepare to get a whole new perspective on your life and profession and where it can take you!

BE RESILIENT no matter whats happening around you

Leadership isnt a one-day jobyou have to turn up again and again in the face of adversity. This chapter teaches you how to stay motivated even when it feels like nothing is going your way.

01/100 PREPARATION IS KEY

Build in time to practicenobody beats a world record the first time out the gate.

How long can you hold your breath underwater? David Blaine holds the world record at just over seventeen minutes, but when he set out to achieve that goal he was way off target. In his, literally breathtaking, talk the performer describes what motivated him to go for the world record and what he learned along the way.

All of Blaines work requires intense preparationfor this particular event he spent fifty-five minutes each morning practicing breath-holding techniques. This made him tired and ill, but he kept going because he knew the importance of preparation. His first attempt failed, but he came back and tried again.