It’s time to decide how you want to lead your organization in 2020. How did your leadership team impact organizational culture, and, ultimately, performance, in 2019? Were they too busy focusing on daily demands to read case studies and dig through reports about the latest leadership topics? Since 2006, TED Talks have provided accessible content on topics that stimulate new ideas about unexplored topics.

Here are six TED Talks from 2019 worth sharing and discussing with your leadership team this year.

 

1. How to break bad management habits before they reach the next generation of leaders by Elizabeth Lyle (Posted January 2019)

What it’s about and why watch it: Companies are counting on their future leaders to manage with more speed, flexibility and trust than ever before. But how can middle managers lead the organizations of tomorrow while also challenging the way things have always been done? Leadership expert Elizabeth Lyle offers a new approach to breaking the rules while you’re on your way up, sharing creative ways organizations can give middle managers the space and coaching they need to start leading differently.

 

 

 

 

2. What are you willing to give up to change the way we work? by Martin Danoesastro (Posted January 2019)

What it’s about and why watch it: What does it take to build the fast, flexible, creative teams needed to challenge entrenched work culture? For transformation expert Martin Danoesastro, it all starts with one question: “What are you willing to give up?” He shares lessons learned from companies on both sides of the innovation wave on how to structure your organization so that people at all levels are empowered to make decisions fast and respond to change.

 

 

 

3. The anti-CEO playbook by Hamdi Ulukaya (Posted May 2019)

What it’s about and why watch it: Profit, money, shareholders: these are the priorities of most companies today. But at what cost? In an appeal to corporate leaders worldwide, Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya calls for an end to the business playbook of the past — and shares his vision for a new, “anti-CEO playbook” that prioritizes people over profits. “This is the difference between profit and true wealth,” he says.

 

 

 

4. The human skills we need in an unpredictable world by Margaret Heffernan (Posted August 2019)

What it’s about and why watch it: The more we rely on technology to make us efficient, the fewer skills we have to confront the unexpected, says writer and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan. She shares why we need less tech and more messy human skills — imagination, humility, bravery — to solve problems in business, government and life in an unpredictable age. “We are brave enough to invent things we’ve never seen before,” she says. “We can make any future we choose.”

 

 

 

 

5. What productive conflict can offer a workplace by Jess Kutch (Posted October 2019)

 

What it’s about and why watch it: Got an idea to make your workplace better? Labor organizer and TED Fellow Jess Kutch can show you how to put it into action. In this quick talk, she explains how “productive conflict” — when people organize to challenge and change their work lives for the better — can be beneficial for employees and employers alike.

 

 

 

6. The business case for working with your toughest critics by Bob Langert (Posted November 2019)

What it’s about and why watch it: As a “corporate suit” (his words) and former VP of sustainability at McDonald’s, Bob Langert works with companies and their strongest critics to find solutions that are good for both business and society. In this actionable talk, he shares stories from the decades-long transition into corporate sustainability at McDonald’s — including his work with unlikely partners like the Environmental Defense Fund and Temple Grandin — and shows why your adversaries can sometimes be your best allies.

 

 

 

Bottom line. To lead effectively today, you need to constantly test your assumptions and recalibrate outdated thinking. Help your leadership team challenge its perception by building a library of resources that challenge perceptions and build new leadership models for the 21st century.

Question: What resources do you use to stimulate new ideas with your leadership team? 

 

Driven by the premise that excellence is the result of aligning people, purpose and performance, Center for Executive Excellence facilitates training in leading self, leading teams and leading organizations. To learn more, subscribe to receive CEE News!