Indispensable Lessons for Inspirational Leaders

A few years ago, I took a class at work called, “Executive Inspirational Leadership” – and as luck would have it, Adam Bryant, my guest today, was the instructor. The class was centered around inspiration and how to optimize your leadership voice to accelerate growth in the company. I was so excited to learn from one of the most respected and noted experts on executive leadership, and needless to say, I was not disappointed at the end of it. 

In fact, I left extremely energized and motivated to put in practice every piece of information I got - and I’m sure you’ll feel the same way after listening to my discussion with him.

Today, I invited Adam to talk about the ways we can increase our leadership capacity and capability to be more impactful and inspirational leaders. He shares some of the insights he gained from interviewing hundreds of CEOs and underlines the qualities and skills he discovered in them by asking simple, yet powerful questions.

Adam Bryant is the Managing Director at Merryck & Co. – a leadership development and executive mentoring firm – and he joined the company in 2017, after a 30-year career in journalism, including 18 years at The New York Times. In addition to his roles as a reporter and editor, Adam created the weekly Corner Office column in 2009 where he interviewed 525 CEOs and other leaders, over a decade. Based on the themes that emerged from those interviews, he wrote two books - “Quick and Nimble” and “The Corner Office” - and he’s soon launching his third, called “The CEO Test”.  

Since joining Merryck, he has started a popular interview series on LinkedIn with Board of Directors, CEOs and CHROs – Chief Human Resource Officers – and he writes a monthly column on leadership for Strategy + Business Magazine.

Listen to Episode 03 of Roar, to learn some of the challenges that make or break all leaders, how the new normal might look like in terms of leadership once the pandemic ends, and how do we prepare for all the changes that are going to happen.

Some questions I ask:

What is your background and how did it shape you to be who you are today? (04:50)What was the most valuable lesson you learned while working as a columnist and an editor at The New York Times? (07:46)What led you to start the Corner Office? (11:06)What was a defining moment that pushed you to find your Roar – that thing inside that allowed you to move past inhibition, fear, or anxiety around what you wanted to do? (14:35)Has anything shifted or changed, given that we’re in a global crisis, that you think is important to call out to the forefront in terms of what leaders should be focusing on right now? (26:32)What do you think that the new normal might look like and what changes do you see as being inevitable once the outbreak is over? (28:40)What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received? (34:04)Can you tell us a little bit about your books? (37:23)

In this episode, you will learn:

How being able to adapt to change and finding his voice at a very early age empowered Adam to pursue working at The New York Times. (06:20)How practicing the art of dumb questions can lead to innovative ideas. (09:06)What Adam focused on, as he explored the minds of the leaders he interviewed. (12:36)Entrepreneurship means taking leaps of faith, trusting your gut, and accepting you’re going to be wrong sometimes. (16:26)The three questions that lead to the most insightful answers. (18:40)The “bank-shot” questions CEOs ask when they are hiring people. (21:41)How to communicate complex strategies in a simple and easy-to-understand way. (22:57) Adam’s advice on the importance of building relationships. (42:59)

Connect with Adam:

WebsiteLinkedInTwitterBooksStrategy + Business Magazine

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