Kaplan Community Podcast
Listen for free to the personal stories of alumni from Kaplan Business School. Join host Kieran Howard, as we share stories about life as a student, life after graduation, future plans, and staying connected. Get involved with us on our KBS Alumni LinkedIn group at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/6567849/, and with Kaplan Business School at www.kbs.edu.au.
Kaplan Community Podcast
S2 Ep 7 Adam Murphy and mindful leadership
Adam Murphy is an Academic Head of Management, HR and Law in Kaplan Business School. Listen to Adam's passionate discussion of leadership and mindfulness. He says, 'We make a serious mistake when thinking that authority and leadership are the same thing. While the vast majoring of us don't have executive authority, many of us are influential leaders.'. Effective leaders are mindful of their influence.
Adam explains, 'Leadership doesn't come from the top of the organisational chart, but it can come from you. It starts by making a better choice. It starts by choosing to grow and pushing yourself to develop leadership, strengths and capabilities.'.
Regarding mindfulness, Adam askes, 'Where is your focus? You can focus on something that's upsetting you or going wrong. If you do, you're going to feel terrible. But look around! The contribution that you make to the lives of other people, the love that you get from other people, the companionship of your friends, the the privileges that you have.'. Be grateful for the contributions you can make! 'Gratitude is certainly a much better state to be in than feeling upset, angry or frustrated.'
Gratitude is exemplified in Adam's story of Jonas Salk and the polio pandemic. Find out what Jonas contributed!
TIMELINE
00:24 Introducing Adam Murphy
02:02 Difference between leadership and authority
04:47 Leadership potential in you!
08:31 Who is most effective, competitive or collaborative leaders?
13:30 Ghost in the machine!
16:28 Why solve problems if you don't get credit for the solution?
18:40 Tackling new problems shapes tomorrow's leaders
21:15 Diamond in the pocket
25:13 Conflict? Change your focus!
27:40 International students finding meaningful jobs
28:38 Adam's eulogy, thoughts from Stephen Covey
30:02 Jonas Salk, polio - a huge contribution!
31:05 Wrap-up
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The Kaplan Community podcast is a platform
for the wider Kaplan community
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to share ideas and insights
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that can guide us on our professional
and academic development.
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It's easy to listen
to tackle some hard hitting issues,
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and we think it's a great way
to appreciate diverse perspectives on life
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learning and careers. Hi,
my name is Adam Murphy.
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I'm an academic head at Kaplan Business
School, and I'm also a facilitator
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for Kaplan Professional
and the 11 leadership program.
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Welcome, listeners
to the Kaplan Community podcast.
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So we've been gathering perspectives
from around Kaplan
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Business School and Kaplan
and said about a host of issues.
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And today we've got Adam Murphy with us.
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How are you today, Adam? Fantastic.
You're on yourself.
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I'm good. Thanks for being here.
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Welcome, Adam. It's good to see you again.
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So, Adam, because of your work with
careers and academic internship program,
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I'd like to ask you some questions
about leadership and career progression
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so leadership doesn't come from the top
of the organizational chart. It's
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not the board of directors or the senior
executive team that lead the company.
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What directors and senior
executives do is exercise authority,
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which means they use status to compel
other people to perform
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with authority and leadership.
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The same thing. I mean,
we all know about political regimes
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ruled by dictators
who live these obscenely lavish lifestyles
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while the country's citizens
starve to death.
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They kind of like a parasite
on their own people.
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How is that leadership?
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And I've worked for organizations
that were run just like that.
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Maybe you have to.
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When I was a young clerk, a legal clerk,
I worked for a law firm
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where the managing partner
obviously cared about nothing more
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than his own financial gain.
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Even at the expense of the firm's staff
and the firm's clients.
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Again, that's not leadership.
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That's outside. Now, I'm not saying
that you'll see I was a tyrant
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just because they have authority.
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Authority itself isn't a bad thing.
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But when we think authority and leadership
as being the same thing,
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we we make a serious mistake. Here's why.
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The vast majority of us aren't
company directors and senior executives.
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So if we make the mistake
of defining leadership too narrowly
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and as something that comes from the board
and senior management,
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then we place ourselves
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outside of that definition
and deny ourselves the opportunity
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to develop our own leadership capabilities
and exercise our own leadership skills,
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which can be kind of convenient
in a way to I mean, who needs
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the additional responsibility, right.
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Especially if I'm not being paid for it.
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And that's that's the key right there.
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How often do we tell ourselves,
I'm not being paid to do that
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or I'm not being paid enough to do that?
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We tend to become so focused on
what we're getting
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or what we're not getting
from our companies, but.
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We ask things like, what's in this for me?
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How well or how poorly are
my needs being met?
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Do I deserve a better deal?
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And we completely miss what matters most.
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One of the fundamental principles
we cover in the academic internships
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is that our relationship is not a place
where you go to get something.
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It's a place where you go
to give something.
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So when you say something
to yourself, like,
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I'm not paid enough to do that
or that's not my job,
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particularly when it comes to leadership
responsibilities.
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What you're really saying
is I'm good with where I'm at.
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I don't require any further gross
or professional development.
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I'm just going to shill right here.
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And so you don't grow.
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You limit yourself to the borders
of your job description,
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and then you wonder
why your career is stagnant.
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But growth is also an essential human need
and it's a need we all have.
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We all have the need to expand
and evolve and get better.
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So when we choose not to grow,
because that would mean doing something
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that we're not, I do,
then that need for growth is not met.
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And then we feel unfulfilled.
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And that's a terrible day.
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And I think that's a terrible deal.
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My company doesn't pay me enough to do
anything more than I'm required to do.
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So I'll just limit
my contribution and myself
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to only what I'm required to do
and be unfulfilled.
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Fulfillment comes from growth
and contribution
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promotions and pay rises
and recognition awards.
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They're all nice
and they're all satisfying.
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And they made a different need
that we all have the need to feel special
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and the need to feel important.
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But the satisfaction quickly passes
and you're left craving the next hill.
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Lasting fulfillment comes from growth
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and contribution, because your work is
not about what you get.
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It's about who you become.
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And why would you ever choose to limit
who you could become?
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Leadership doesn't come
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from the top of the organizational chart,
but it can come from you.
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It starts by making a better choice.
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It starts by choosing to grow
and pushing yourself
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to develop leadership,
strengths and capabilities.
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No matter what your job title is
or what your job description says.
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I was inspired about hearing
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the need for growth
and contribution at work.
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So if anyone can develop leadership
strengths and capabilities,
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regardless of their current position
in the organization chart,
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where should they start?
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They should start by nailing
their current role.
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You can't just abandon your job
responsibilities to go focus on
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building your leadership skills.
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Here's an approach
that I've found helpful.
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Begin with the end in mind.
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It's the second habit in Stephen
Cowboys' book, Seven
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Habits of Highly Effective People.
Have you read that one, Richard?
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Yes, I have. It's it's on my bookshelf
at the moment. Yes. Fantastic.
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So that second habit is really just about
having a vision for where you want to go.
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And in the book, Steven
asks you to imagine your own funeral
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and what you would hope
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that the people would be saying about you
and the kind of person that you were.
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So we can use that. Let's use that.
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Let's start with the end in mind.
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So what I want you to do is imagine
that you're sitting in your interview
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for your next job.
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That can be our endpoint
for your current job.
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And the interviewer
asks you this question,
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what were you hired to do
in your last job?
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And we all know that
the question is a total setup.
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The very next question is going to be
what were your proudest accomplishments?
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And what the interviewer
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is really listening for is outcomes
linked to expectations.
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Did you deliver on your promises?
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Were your achievements based on what
you are actually hired to do?
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So to answer both questions optimally,
we need to know our job
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description extremely well.
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And we have to become outstanding
at delivering on those duties
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and responsibilities,
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because another thing the interviewer is
going to ask is for references.
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And we want our referees,
when they talk about us,
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to bring with tremendous enthusiasm
and obvious admiration. That's our.
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That's how outstanding
we have to be at delivering
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on the responsibilities
in our job description
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so that our managers, our team
members are direct reports and our clients
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brim with tremendous enthusiasm
and obvious admiration.
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So is it easy to get your job description
and turn it into a simple survey?
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And at the end of every week,
do a quick audit on yourself.
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Ask yourself, how well did you deliver
on each responsibility that week?
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So one of my responsibilities in my job
description is about content
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development and delivery.
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I'm responsible for guiding the
preparation of and proactively managing
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subjects, encouraging innovation
in curriculum development
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and developing new subjects.
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So at the end of every week, I ask myself,
what did you do this week
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to guide the preparation of
and proactively manage subjects
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encouraging innovation in curriculum
development and developing new subjects?
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And some weeks I have
something great to write.
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Like this week I developed
a brand new subject.
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Some weeks I have absolutely
nothing to write.
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I didn't do anything that way
to make good on that promise.
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So I follow this process for each
and every responsibility
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in my job description.
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And then the very last question
I ask myself is,
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what can you do next week
to improve on this week's performance?
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And I focus on the responsibilities
where I did nothing or I fell short.
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And I come up with ideas about what
I could do next week to do a better job.
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And then I scheduled the time
in my calendar to go and make it happen.
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What about competition?
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I've always been very competitive.
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That's part of why
I used to excel in sales related roles.
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I was driven by things
like being the best, challenging myself
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and some leaders,
even foster competitiveness.
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Part of why I left
that behind was actually
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I wanted to improve my collaboration.
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So my question is, in your perspective,
is competitiveness a good thing?
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I think it is. I like
competition. It keeps.
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It keeps things interesting.
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It's a little bit on that theme of
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we come alive when we have a target
to work towards.
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And you might remember a movie
about a horse called Seabiscuit.
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Do you ever see that, Kiran? Seabiscuit.
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Yeah, I know that one. Yeah. Yeah.
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From memory, his character gets injured
before the race in the climax of the film.
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And so he has to kind of God and instruct
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the replacement rider
on how to ride Seabiscuit.
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And he says, what you want to do is
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when the the the closest competitor
to Seabiscuit is Seabiscuit
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is a fantastic horse
when the next best horse comes up.
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Eye to eye with Seabiscuit holds
Seabiscuit right there.
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Don't don't let Seabiscuit
take off at that point.
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Let's Seabiscuit feel the pain
of being eyeballed by a competitor.
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The greater than the motivation to just,
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you know, to really fire up the engines
and them and Rupert over the finish line.
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I think the competition managed in a
in a fun and enjoyable way.
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I think that can really do
that for people.
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I think it can inspire them
to dig deeper and to go further.
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So the first step is
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basically to become a leader,
you have to know what your role is
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and excel really excel
in your current position.
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Whatever that is.
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But what then? What comes next?
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Then we decide we're going to contribute
beyond our job description.
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And this step is all about your company's
strategic goals.
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You need to know what they are.
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So get a copy of
your company's strategic plan.
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If your company doesn't
have a strategic plan, then find out
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the old fashioned way
by talking with senior managers.
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What are the initiatives and the projects
and the objectives
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that are critically important
to your company?
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Now, this really matters
because it's a wonderful thing to decide
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that you're going to contribute
beyond your job description.
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But the last thing you want to do
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is put your hand up and let everyone know
that you're ready to help out .
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You do that and everyone goes, great,
here's all the crap I'd rather
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not do myself. And typically the reason
they'd rather not do those task
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is because they lack relevance
to the company's strategic goals.
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Serving and being of service
does not mean becoming servile.
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We want to contribute in a meaningful
and impactful way,
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not volunteer to become
somebody else's pet monkey.
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So what are your company's
strategic goals?
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That's where you're going
to focus your contribution.
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And hopefully the responsibilities
in your job description already
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directly contribute to the achievement
of at least some of those strategic goals.
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Start with those ones.
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What more could you be doing to help
the company achieve those strategic goals?
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A couple of business goal.
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We have a strategic goal to become a
leader in developing job ready graduates.
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And one of the specific targets
underpinning that goal is enrolling
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100 students into the academic internship
program each trimester.
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My job responsibilities
directly contribute to the achievement
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of that target. So the question is,
what more can I do to make that happen?
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Well, I can host workshops to promote
the academic internship program.
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I can do things like coming on
225
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this podcast to talk about it
and promote it more.
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I can make the academic internship
experience so valuable to students
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that they spread the word
to other students. What's our standard?
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Tremendous enthusiasm
and obvious admiration.
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And then you're going to need to broaden
your focus to include the strategic goals
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00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,000
that aren't directly supported by your job
responsibilities,
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but can be advanced by you
contributing what you already do well.
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So Cabeus has another strategic goal
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to become a leader in sustainable growth
of student enrollments.
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00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:50,760
Now, that's not an area that my job
responsibilities directly impacts.
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That's more the domain of the student
recruitment team and the marketing team.
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But that doesn't mean
I can't make a meaningful contribution
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by basically just doing what I already do,
but in support of those
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other parts of the business.
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So I support student
recruitment by facilitating
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workshops for our agent partners
and their clients.
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00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,880
And I support marketing by feeding up
student success stories
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that can be posted on our website
to attract new students.
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And it's when you start doing these kinds
of things that you really begin
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to cultivate leadership capabilities
by supporting other parts of the business
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to achieve strategic goals and objectives
beyond your own job description.
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00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,120
Adam, to recap, you've
talked about a couple of steps.
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Step one is to excel
in your current position.
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And step two is to support
249
00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,520
others to achieve strategic goals
beyond your job description.
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So what comes next?
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The next step is the best one.
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It's by far, by far the most fun.
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And I call it the ghost in the machine.
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It's the place where you have the greatest
opportunity to grow professionally
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and have a meaningful and lasting impact
on your company and its people.
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It's the step where you go
hunting for any issues, problems,
257
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obstacles or challenges
anywhere in the business
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that are preventing the company
from achieving its strategic goals.
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And when you find them, you resolve them.
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To do that, you need two things.
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You need trust and you need creativity.
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Here's why you need trust.
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There's a problem in the company.
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It's jeopardizing a strategic goal.
265
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,240
Most people are oblivious to it
because they're focused on themselves
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and what they do.
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If somebody in the company knows about it,
maybe it's just one person who knows
268
00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:34,280
and they have their reasons
for not speaking up about it.
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00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:38,600
Perhaps speaking out would mean openly
disagreeing with their manager, or perhaps
270
00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,560
they don't believe speaking up would lead
to the problem being fixed anyway.
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So what's the use?
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00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,160
Whatever the reason is,
they won't speak up.
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And so the problem remains unresolved.
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00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,880
I mean, we've all been in situations
where a work colleague
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00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,440
has confided in us and told us
about a problem just like this.
276
00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:56,880
Now, why did they tell you
and nobody else?
277
00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,440
Well, they told you
because they trusted you.
278
00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,480
So trust is the first thing you need.
279
00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,280
You need people all throughout
the business to trust you enough
280
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,520
to tell you about these kinds of problems.
281
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,400
You probably already have several people
that you work with who already do.
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00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:14,560
You want to expand that network
to as many people
283
00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,880
as you can in as many different parts
of the business as you can.
284
00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:20,880
That's how you're going to find out
about the problems.
285
00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,120
But practically nobody
else even knows exists.
286
00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,680
The second thing you need is creativity,
287
00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:29,120
because you can't just write an email
288
00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:32,560
to the senior management
explaining that the business has a problem
289
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,840
that would betray the trust of the person
who told you about it,
290
00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,480
and you depended on that trust to learn
about the problem in the first place.
291
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:41,320
So you need to get creative.
292
00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,000
You need to figure out a way to either
solve the problem yourself
293
00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,880
or at least bring it to the attention
of other people who can solve the problem
294
00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:53,160
without anyone ever realizing what it is
that you're really up to.
295
00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:55,160
And sometimes that's easy.
296
00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:56,960
Sometimes it's just about recognizing
297
00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,200
that one part of the business
needs informational resources.
298
00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:02,720
Then another part
of the business already has.
299
00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:07,080
So your job is to just bring the two parts
together. Problem solved.
300
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,080
But sometimes it's not easy.
301
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:13,640
I've agonized over problems for weeks
for coming up with a viable solution.
302
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,880
But when you do and you implement it
and then afterwards
303
00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,160
you catch up with the person
and you ask them about that problem
304
00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:24,280
they told you about,
and then they tell you that somehow
305
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:27,160
it just got resolved.
You feel like you could fly.
306
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:33,560
So I think some people might be wondering
what is the point in solving problems
307
00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:37,920
if you don't get any credit or recognition
for solving them?
308
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,280
Adam, because you know that you do.
309
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,080
And you're not doing it
310
00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:45,520
for praise or merit badges
or more stars on your chart anyway.
311
00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,640
You're doing it because by expanding
the network of people who trust you
312
00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:53,880
and by applying your creativity
to the resolution of complex problems,
313
00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:57,440
of strategic significance,
you're growing and developing
314
00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,000
the personal attributes
that underpin leadership.
315
00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,640
People trust you with their problems
and you can solve them.
316
00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,360
That's a leader.
317
00:17:05,360 --> 00:17:09,720
And any one of us, from the CEO down
to the most junior admin person,
318
00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:12,840
can further develop
the trust that people place in them
319
00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,680
and the creativity
they apply to solving problems.
320
00:17:16,360 --> 00:17:20,240
And then when you are promoted
or recruited to a position of authority,
321
00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,000
you won't need to rely
so much on the authority
322
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,720
because you're already
have the leadership skills.
323
00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,960
I'd say the act of getting attention
324
00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,280
itself is also something
that's overlooked.
325
00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:37,960
So this was part of the book
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.
326
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:42,040
So it's a very popular one, a great
discussion of women in the workplace.
327
00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:47,800
But it does apply across demographics
that not everyone wants to make waves
328
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,880
or put their hands up,
speak up at meetings.
329
00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,680
So, you know, if it's not always about
330
00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,720
waiting, it's not always
just about performing and waiting.
331
00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:00,680
How should somebody get noticed?
332
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,880
Is there a positive
way for somebody to say, hey, look at me,
333
00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:06,840
I'm doing something good?
334
00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:08,600
There's definitely a positive way.
335
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,640
The positive way is be so extraordinary
336
00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,320
at what you do that
other people do the signaling for you
337
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:21,080
that your coworkers go out of their way
to seeing your prices in meetings,
338
00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,800
that your clients or customers or students
339
00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:27,520
write emails or or put in phone calls
340
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:32,280
to talk about how thrilled they are with
with the contribution that you've made.
341
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:36,360
If you are doing a fantastic job,
you wouldn't need to
342
00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:37,560
to vouch for yourself.
343
00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,760
You're the people around.
You will do that for you.
344
00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:43,680
Adam, we're really proud of our internship
at Kaplan Business School.
345
00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,240
So how else can the Kaplan Business School
346
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,240
Academic Internship program shape
the business leaders of tomorrow?
347
00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:55,400
You know, it's funny, Richard, there's
there's always a couple of students
348
00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,480
to come to me at the beginning
of their internship each trimester
349
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:00,480
because they have a problem
350
00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,480
and it's usually something like
the internship company is only giving me
351
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:09,000
basic things to do or my new manager
doesn't explain things to me properly
352
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,480
or I'm not really getting what I want
from this internship.
353
00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:14,360
And my answer is always the same.
354
00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:16,440
My answer is always good.
355
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:19,920
Now, they don't like
hearing that very much.
356
00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,760
But that's my answer,
because I know that the biggest problem
357
00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:26,440
we all have is that we think we shouldn't
have any problems. Think about it.
358
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,920
Isn't your entire professional career
really just a progression through level
359
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,360
after level of problems,
of increasing complexity?
360
00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:36,880
Let's say you're studying for a degree.
361
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,560
Well, you have problems to solve.
362
00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,320
You've got tuition fees, workshop
attendance, assessment performance.
363
00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:44,800
You have to figure all this out, man.
364
00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:47,200
Won't it be great
when you finally get to graduate?
365
00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:50,200
So you solve all those problems
and you graduate.
366
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:51,520
What do you get?
367
00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:53,960
A new set of more complex problems.
368
00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,080
Now you need to find a job.
369
00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:00,680
Job hunting, networking,
job applications, interviews, rejection.
370
00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:02,400
You have to figure all that out.
371
00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:04,600
JS Won't it be great
when I finally get a job
372
00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:07,800
and then you solve all those problems
and now you're unemployed?
373
00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,480
So now what do you get? A brand
new set of even more complex problems.
374
00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,560
And so it goes on. You get the picture.
375
00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:18,440
And I love that most people are really
looking forward to their retirement. Why?
376
00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:20,560
What do they think is waiting for them?
377
00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,000
Their retirement is just more problems.
378
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,080
There's always going
to be problems to solve.
379
00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,840
So if you have problems in your internship
or in your job, that's great.
380
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,360
Let's figure out how to solve them now.
381
00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:35,200
So when they show up again,
at some point in your future career,
382
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,760
which they always will,
you'll know what to do.
383
00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:40,280
And students come to their internship
384
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,200
with expectations
about how their internship should be.
385
00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,520
And then sometimes they're disappointed
by the problems that show up.
386
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:51,120
The problems are the internship
and leaders solve problems.
387
00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:53,400
So the internship teaches students
388
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,720
how to embrace problems
and deal with them like a leader
389
00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,640
instead of just trying to avoid
them like everybody else
390
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:03,000
. Adama internship program at
391
00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:06,400
Kaplan Business School
is really authentic, it gives students
392
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,240
both the ups and the downs
of working in a job in Australia,
393
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:14,240
but particularly when people are feeling
a bit down, something's happened.
394
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,520
Do you have any advice
or any anecdotes that you use
395
00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:20,880
to make yourself feel better again
to pick yourself up?
396
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:27,560
The story that I tend to use the most
for those kinds of situations
397
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:31,120
is a story that I call diamond
in the bottom in Western culture.
398
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:35,480
The tradition is that the man buys
the woman the engagement ring,
399
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,040
and then at the ceremony,
they exchange wedding rings.
400
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:41,680
And then at some point after the ceremony,
401
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,320
the new bride will say to her husband,
402
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,400
Now you need to get me an eternity ring,
403
00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,000
which is the ring
that none of us know about.
404
00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:54,480
I didn't know that. And I'm like, what?
405
00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,400
I just bought you an engagement ring.
406
00:21:57,600 --> 00:21:59,600
And a wedding ring.
I finally got a wedding ring.
407
00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,320
I only got the one. You're
now going to search.
408
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,000
And so, you know,
we were married for a couple of years,
409
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,600
and I was working at the time.
410
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,720
It was actually when I where I began
my teaching career.
411
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,400
This is going back
just 15 years or something.
412
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,520
I thought to myself, geez, wouldn't it
wouldn't it be great to surprise my wife
413
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,280
with a ten thousand dollar fraternity
ring and ten thousand dollar diamond ring?
414
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:24,240
So I designed this thing myself.
415
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,240
I went to a a premium jeweler in Sydney
416
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:32,600
and designed this thing myself with their
with their guns, and they deliver it.
417
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:34,720
And this thing is a special.
418
00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,800
Anyway, the other part of the story
is because it was the beginning
419
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:41,000
of my teaching career,
I had zero confidence in the classroom.
420
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,280
I had this Russian student that sat
421
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,280
at the front of every class
on one of my Saturday classes.
422
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,240
And it really unnerved me
because I knew at any point
423
00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,520
she could stand up
and just start criticizing me.
424
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,440
And I didn't have the confidence or the
425
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:01,440
the fortitude to be out there,
whether that kind of attack.
426
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:05,840
And as fate would have it
on my very last day on that Saturday,
427
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,280
a very last class,
we started with this student.
428
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:11,560
I've got the ring in my pocket.
429
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:15,120
And after this class,
I'm headed straight for Sydney Airport
430
00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:18,320
and I'm meeting my wife. And we're
flying up to the Gold Coast together.
431
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,160
She still knows nothing about the ring.
432
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:23,120
We're going to present it to tour up
there. It's going to be super romantic.
433
00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:24,920
I can't wait. I'm so excited.
434
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,440
I'm just going to get
through one more class.
435
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,320
The student stands up in the middle
of the whole thing and says,
436
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,240
I don't like the way you think.
437
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,680
But it wasn't my worst
438
00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:37,520
nightmare in case,
439
00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:42,200
because I had a diamond in my pocket
and I don't know where it came from,
440
00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,400
but I was able to say, look,
I really appreciate that feedback
441
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,160
and everybody learns differently
and has different preferences,
442
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:52,200
particularly from their facilitators.
443
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,200
So how about we perhaps
have a conversation, a quick chat
444
00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:57,760
after the class?
445
00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,720
So perhaps I can talk about
how in the future
446
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:03,440
the facilitators here
can better serve your mates
447
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,680
and it should just drop because she was
448
00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,840
she was obviously agitating
for compensation and she didn't get one.
449
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,720
And I've been in plenty of
confrontational situations in my career.
450
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,400
I mean, I was a lawyer
and I'd never before handled
451
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:22,680
a confrontation like that
was so much points.
452
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:23,960
And that frustrated me.
453
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,920
I was like, well,
if I'm capable of that, why can't I?
454
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,280
What can I produce that on demand?
455
00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:31,600
And I know it's not the ring.
456
00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:33,080
I know it's not the diamond in the pocket.
457
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:37,680
That's just some minerals and a gym
that's not actually creating
458
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,840
any meaningful difference in the way
that I that I respond to confrontation.
459
00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:47,640
And after a lot of thinking about it,
I realized that I was right.
460
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:49,880
It wasn't the ring
had nothing to do with the ring.
461
00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,960
It was about me was about where I'd chosen
to direct my focus.
462
00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:58,680
And my focus in that moment
was on this beautiful surprise
463
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:04,440
that I had spent 12 weeks orchestrating
to present to my lovely wife.
464
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:09,080
And that focus was so strong
that not even a potentially
465
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,760
upsetting confrontation
could cause me to deviate from that.
466
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:16,480
So the key is, where is your focus?
467
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:19,960
If if something's upsetting you
or something's going wrong
468
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,440
or there's something bad
that's happening to you.
469
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:23,880
Sure, you can focus on that.
470
00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,040
And if you do, you're
going to feel terrible. But.
471
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,760
Look around what's bad
and what's wrong is always available,
472
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,440
so is what's right and what's good.
473
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:34,520
There'll be there'll be things
474
00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:38,360
that are also going on in
exactly the same time that are good.
475
00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:40,480
The contribution that you make to
476
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:43,960
the lives of other people
belove that you get from other people,
477
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:48,760
the companionship of your friends,
the the privileges that you have.
478
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,040
All of these things, if you just decide
to shift your focus to that,
479
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:58,400
you might not move from feeling down
or feeling upset to elation.
480
00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:00,320
You may move to gratitude.
481
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,560
And gratitude is certainly
a much better state to be in than feeling
482
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:07,680
upset or feeling angry
or feeling frustrated.
483
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,560
It's just a question of focus
where you put your focus
484
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:12,320
that's going to impact your state.
485
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:15,400
Can I ask you, Adam,
486
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:20,800
how has your career evolved
to become so involved in different aspects
487
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,480
of the students growth
outside the classroom?
488
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,600
I can really empathize
with international students.
489
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,960
I I've never I've never myself
traveled overseas
490
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,360
for for study or for work
or anything like that.
491
00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,600
But when I graduated
from the University of Sydney
492
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,200
and I had my low qualification,
I started out as a solicitor.
493
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:46,680
The the government made sweeping changes
to the legal profession.
494
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:52,240
Personal injury was basically
area of practice that just got demolished.
495
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,440
And there are a lot of lawyers
practicing personal injury.
496
00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:57,640
So there were a lot of lawyers
who are now out of work.
497
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:01,320
And I'm and I'm entering this profession
trying to seek employment.
498
00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:06,360
So I had a really hard time
securing a good job.
499
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:08,720
And I had an ineffective strategy
500
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:12,520
and I had limiting beliefs
and I had a lot of self-doubt.
501
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:16,400
And I kind of bounced from one boring,
502
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,720
menial, low paid job to the next boring,
menial, low paid job.
503
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,520
And it took me quite some time,
a number of years
504
00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,080
to figure out that
if I was going to get this thing,
505
00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:29,760
then I was calling a career
on the right track
506
00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:34,680
that I needed to give some serious
thought to the strategies that I was using
507
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:39,080
and also to the psychology
that I was applying to to my endeavors.
508
00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:42,920
And when I hear stories
from international students
509
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:48,520
about how they've come to Australia
and the the challenge
510
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:53,840
of finding a meaningful job
is more challenging than they anticipated.
511
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:56,200
Well, there's something in that
that I can relate to.
512
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,160
And there's some things
that I've worked out.
513
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:00,000
There's some things
514
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,240
that I've researched this and things
that other people have taught me
515
00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,040
that I can bring together
to help make that process
516
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,760
so much easier and save so much time.
517
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:14,640
That's where I seek to contribute
to our students beyond the classroom,
518
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:18,680
because I know how heartbreaking
and how difficult that can be.
519
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,920
How soul destroying
to try and find a great job
520
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:27,080
and feel that there's
something inadequate or
521
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,440
lacking in yourself when there's not.
522
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,920
It's just perhaps the way that you're
thinking about things is an optimal
523
00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,960
or perhaps the way that you're approaching
them is it isn't the right way.
524
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,520
Adam, I really like your analogy
from Stephen Kobe about remembering
525
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,880
your contributions as though
you were going to write in your eulogy.
526
00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,520
So as a leader, what would be
written in your eulogy?
527
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,840
I think I'd like my eulogy
to be about the contribution
528
00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:56,880
that I made to the lives of
of other people.
529
00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:01,040
One of my role models,
one of my heroes is a person
530
00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,720
that not many people even heard of.
531
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:05,960
His name is Jonas Salk.
532
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,280
And have you heard of him, Richard?
533
00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:09,720
I believe I have that name.
534
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,000
I'm not sure. But that name rings a bell.
535
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,920
He was a man who in the 1950s
and I'm currently
536
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:21,120
speaking to two Americans,
so correct me if I don't get this right.
537
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:25,880
But I think the time was the 1960s
and the two biggest fears
538
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:28,240
in American society at that time.
539
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:34,400
The first one was the potential
for a nuclear exchange with the USSR.
540
00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:36,760
That was something
that had everyone paralyzed. And.
541
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,280
The second biggest fear was polio.
542
00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,720
This disease that had this
this sort of cyclical, cyclical
543
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,000
appearance in society.
544
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,960
And it was an insidious disease
because it would target children
545
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:52,880
and it would debilitate them.
546
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,080
And in some cases, it would kill them.
547
00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:58,640
So there were these huge drives
called Penny Drive
548
00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:02,480
to raise money to try and find
a try and find a cure.
549
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:07,280
And there was one, this man, Jonas Salk,
he was a it was a scientist.
550
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,800
He applied his best to finding this cure.
551
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,000
And he did. He found a cure.
552
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,400
And there's a video on YouTube of him
being interviewed.
553
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:22,120
And they asked him who owns the patent on
on the cure? Nobody.
554
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,280
Nobody owns the packs.
555
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,080
Could you patent the sun?
556
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,520
He saw that what he'd done
was of such benefit,
557
00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:36,840
such value to society that he couldn't
ask for money for in today's dollars term.
558
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,520
This guy just created
a billion dollars worth of value
559
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,840
and then gave it away for free
because he knew that
560
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:44,840
that was the right thing to do.
561
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,040
That it impacts more lives
with contribution that way.
562
00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:52,960
And in other parts, the developing parts
of the world, we have new heroes
563
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:56,840
like Bill Gates seeking to eradicate
polio from parts of Africa.
564
00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,800
That's that's the
kind of eulogy that I think
565
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:04,440
would be appropriate
for for a life that was well.
566
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:08,640
Adam, we've reached the point of tyranny.
567
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,120
Time has gone by,
and Karen and I have to say goodbye now.
568
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:13,680
It's been a pleasure.
569
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:15,960
We've talked about
the truths of leadership.
570
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,000
We've talked about leadership,
strengths and capabilities
571
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,080
and how we excel
from our current position to the future.
572
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:26,600
And then to a story about building
confidence with the ring in your pocket.
573
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:28,760
Thank you again, Adam.
574
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,200
Thanks, Adam. Great.
It's been it's been wonderful.
575
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,520
Thank you both so much. This is
this has been a real joy.
576
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,680
If you're feeling unwell
or in need of help, reach out
577
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:40,360
to anyone in Australia
can get immediate mental health support
578
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:46,000
by calling the national lifeline
on 13, 11, 14 and beyond.
579
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:50,240
Blue has great 24/7 support staff
and one three hundred
580
00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:56,000
twenty two forty six thirty
six Chaplet employees can contact H.R..
581
00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:00,760
Our Access Free Counseling
CBIA students have access to free
582
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:05,400
confidential campus counselors, safety
and support services such as Sonder.
583
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,600
Reach out to your campus student
experience team for friendly guidance
584
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,360
on accessing these services.