Dec. 17, 2019

#6 Barry Brown: Shaping the shapers

My guest in this conversation is Barry Brown. Barry helps leaders be more of who they are and be more effective in bringing forth the change they seek to make in the world. He's someone I call a "shaper of shapers," and by the end of this conversation, you'll understand why.

We dive right into the deep end about what it means to be a grounded, humble leader, and what it means to embrace the limits within our work as a pathway to our individual and collective evolution. We also discuss how to bring a craftsman mindset to your work.

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Make Things That Matter

Show notes

Barry's focus [0:02:50]
Putting the body into submission to the mind [0:05:17]
A leader's first transformational relationship [0:06:15]
"So they're reading all these books on leadership, but they're not gonna miss lunch today.""" [0:07:15]
Internal & external measures of leadership [0:07:52]
"You just adorn yourself iwth these external symbols, and if you get enough of them, then people believe you, and that's called 'leadership.' " [0:08:42]
Where "leadership" misses traction [0:09:32]
The relationship between what we do and who we are being [0:10:06]
"You don't need to leave your current job to find yourself. Meaning isn't tied to a different position in another company.""" [0:12:14]
"It starts where you are with what you're doing." [0:13:26]
"There is no escape door out of their own life. They have to enter their own life where they are with a different mindset and embrace.""" [0:16:20]
Discomfort & limitations as aids to our leadership and growth [0:18:17]
What is the reward of being limited? [0:19:56]
"When people see you able to accept your own limit...those around you will empower you.""" [0:21:08]
How do you reconcile our abilty to grow vs accepting our limits? [0:23:19]
How do you learn humility? [0:26:04]
Vulnerability as an opening for connection [0:27:24]
What is the strategic value of a leader showing weakness? [0:29:49]
How can individual limits can make a team stronger? [0:34:01]
Removing the manhole cover [0:37:07]
How do you start this with your team? [0:41:35]
How we use work itself as the vehicle to take us deeper into ourselves [0:42:25]
What if the team doesn't want this? [0:46:13]
How to change culture, bit by bit [0:47:58]
"You raise a flag, and see who gathers at the pole.""" [0:51:13]
How to keep the room safe by setting boundaries as a leader [0:52:47]
"When we make something, we're becoming someone. And then you're not just making the product, you're becoming that kind of person.""" [0:57:36]
The craftsman mindset [1:00:23]
The new kind of leader [1:04:16]
"Shaping the shapers""" [1:05:01]
"The products that we're making are shaping the world. Who's making those products? That's the shapers. And who's shaping the shapers, that are shaping the world?""" [1:05:21]
"The possibilities of production are endless now. The new question is not what can you produce, but what kind of person can be trusted to handle this?'' [1:06:07]
The scarcest resource in the new economy [1:07:38]
"That question alone is not answered by means or capital. That kind of question is answered by the kind of person who can say 'this is what I want. I want to bend the capital and means to this desired end.' And that has to be something authentically human, that makes the world celebrate." [1:08:50]
"Any leader that sustains their impact over time has developed a robust interior spiritual life." [1:12:33]

People, books, companies, resources etc mentioned in episode

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