Newsleader staff, writers attend Leadercast

by Cori Hilsgen

news@thenewsleaders.com

Newsleader staff and writers recently attended Leadercast -The Brave Ones event, sponsored by the Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce, and held May 8 at the Waters Church in Sartell.

Webcast digital technology allowed attendees to see and listen to speakers, telecast live worldwide, who spoke about leaders and actions worth following.

Speakers included Adam Stanley, Bill McDermott, Commander Rorke T. Denver, 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai, Peyton Manning, Seth Godin, Ed Catmull, Aja Brown and Rudy Giuliani, who shared stories about how they became brave leaders and how others can also be brave.

Values of integrity, authenticity, people-first (focusing on individuals instead of numbers), excellence and discipline (with a commitment to a purpose) were emphasized. Behaviors of bravery (unrelenting boldness), beyond you (using influence for the benefit of others), vision (consistently moving toward a better future), culture, simplicity (bringing clarity to the business), creativity (allowing others to dream) and insight (always resolving to do the wise thing) were encouraged.

The Rancics, who have a hit reality show, which recently debuted its seventh season, are restauranteurs and more, hosted the Leadercast event.

Communicator, author and pastor Stanley spoke about how supporting causes that break your heart have resulted in great movements.

As SAP’s first non-European CEO, McDermott said complexity is killing companies and how important it is to listen to people. He stressed how important it is to have empathy for the customer.

Navy SEAL Commander Denver, who has led special-forces missions in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and other areas, said the counterpoint to bravery is fear and people can’t have brave moments without fear. He said bravery doesn’t have to get bold results, and it can be a solo experience.

From age 10, Yousafzai pushed for the rights of education for Pakistani girls. She was shot by the Taliban when she was 15, while traveling on a bus with friends on her way home from school. Yousafzai emphasized it’s important to take action now and not to wait for someone else to do so. She said her father encouraged her to speak out because “if you don’t speak out then you have to live with the situation forever.”

“In every field of life we find brave people,” Yousafzai said. “Bravery has no limit.”

Newsleader publisher/owner Janelle Von Pinnon said she was especially impressed listening to Yousafzai and her knowledge beyond her age.

Newleader editor Dennis Dalman said he saw a similar theme among the speakers.

“Despite the impressive variety of the backgrounds of all the speakers, it’s remarkable their suggestions for developing strong leadership skills were so similar – find your passion to change something and then do it, never mind the naysayers and the skeptics, forge ahead with confidence and learn to marshal all kinds of team players of varying talents who share a common goal without regard to ego trips,” Dalman said. “There was a lot of wisdom and solid practical knowledge shared at Leadercast. One bit of advice that sticks with me is something Malala Yousafzai said. She said, ‘Speak up yourself. Don’t wait for someone else to speak up for human rights.’ That advice, from such a young girl, is something we should all act upon. History would be less blood-drenched if more people everywhere had followed such simple but powerful advice.”

Super bowl-winning quarterback and five-time National Football League Most Valuable Player Manning said everyone has faced major decisions with much riding on the outcome. He said it’s important to push our limits. Manning said sometimes what you do with what you don’t know can be more important than anything else. He also talked about how we should learn to thrive on adjusting and coping with changes in our lives, devoting ourselves to intense preparation, finding a way to instill trust in others, bravely adjusting to new realities, becoming a master observer, and understanding the sustained power and influence that comes from relationships with others.

Author of 17 books, including Purple Cow, Godin said it’s our, not others, time to be brave. He spoke about not being afraid and holding something back, that change has a twin sister – tension, and doing work that matters. He encouraged attendees to be the purple cow and do something that’s worth making a remark about.

Co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation Catmull spoke about unconventional leadership and how failing sometimes leads to better results. He stressed how important it is to remove the blocks to creativity and allow it to flourish, and that errors don’t need to be prevented but instead just need to be fixed.

As the city of Compton, Calfornia’s youngest elected mayor at the age of 31, Brown brought policing task forces and gang leaders together to bring peace to the city. These actions resulted in a 78-percent decline in violent crime. She said if not her then who? Brown said bravery is born in every person.

Giuliani was New York City’s 107th mayor during the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. He said leaders are not born, they are made through experience and more. Giuliani said everybody is afraid, but it’s important to put fear in the right place and let it motivate you to work harder to do a better job. He stressed it’s the people who work for employers who are the ones who get the job done. Giuliani said people need to find their place where they can contribute and help other people.