488: Leadership Means You Go First, with Keith Ferrazzi

Keith Ferrazzi: Leading Without Authority

Keith Ferrazzi is the founder and CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, a management consulting and team coaching company that works with many of the world’s biggest corporations. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Keith rose to become the youngest CMO of a Fortune 500 company during his career at Deloitte, and later became CMO of Starwood Hotels.

Keith is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Fortune and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Who’s Got Your Back* and Never Eat Alone*. He’s the author of the new book, Leading Without Authority: How the New Power of Co-Elevation Can Break Down Silos, Transform Teams, and Reinvent Collaboration*.

In this conversation, Keith and I discuss the importance of co-elevation in leadership. We also explore the six deadly sins that leaders should avoid — and discuss why it’s all on you, especially at the start.

Key Points

Six deadly excuses leaders should avoid:

1. Ignorance: there’s no excuse to sit back and do nothing.
2. Laziness: do not abdicate your responsibility to lead.
3. Deference: beware hiding the truth just to defer to the organizational chart.
4. Playing the victim: avoid running away or resigning to self-pity.
5. Cowardice: if someone scares you, it’s probably an opportunity to grow.
6. Indulgence: stop indulging resentments as they often hold back your career and limit personal and professional success.

Resentment leaves us blind and powerless; it’s been compared to drinking poison and hoping the other person will die.

Book Notes

Download my highlights from Leading Without Authority in PDF format (free membership required).

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