Latest news with #SimonSinek
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dirk Nowitzki breaks down the secrets behind his leadership style: "Always set the tone through actions within the team"
Dirk Nowitzki breaks down the secrets behind his leadership style: "Always set the tone through actions within the team" originally appeared on Basketball Network. True leadership often speaks softly but commands respect. As leadership expert Simon Sinek puts it, "Leadership is not about being in charge. It's about taking care of those in your charge." Few NBA figures embodied this better than Dirk Nowitzki, who led the Dallas Mavericks to their only NBA championship title with his quiet yet powerful leadership. In a recent interview on the German podcast "OMR," the 47-year-old reflected on what shaped his unique approach to leading a team. Dirk defied the usual leader type When you think of NBA leaders, loud, fiery personalities usually come to mind — players like Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace or Metta Sandiford-Artest, who commanded the spotlight with raw intensity. For quieter players, stepping into that role can seem out of reach. Nowitzki, a former ninth overall pick, began his career wrestling with that very challenge. When the seven-footer arrived on American soil in the late 1990s, he kept a low profile, rarely speaking up in the locker room and careful not to ruffle feathers. Leadership wasn't on his radar. Neither was the relentless glare of the spotlight. Nowitzki, who retired in 2019, described himself as "naturally shy" and "modest." Adjusting to that early fame, media scrutiny, and cultural differences — especially language barriers — was a steep learning curve. Small comments could easily be misunderstood, leading to occasional public missteps. But over time, Dirk grew into his role, staying true to himself and focusing on what mattered most: the game and his but decisive By 2002, Dirty had earned his first All-Star nod. His rise was undeniable, but with it came new expectations. The European basketball icon has often said how tough it was to handle that pressure on the court. But what about in the locker room? In Dallas, teammates started looking to him for direction. Leadership wasn't optional anymore. Almost overnight, the iconic No. 41 had to embrace that role. The problem? As Dirk admitted, he wasn't wired like a traditional locker-room alpha. "My style wasn't giving half-hour speeches. That was never my thing," the one-time champion with the Mavericks said. That insight — paired with another — became crucial. Nowitzki knew forcing a leadership style that didn't fit would come off as "fake," and his fellow Mavs players would see right through it. So he led the only way that felt real to him. "Lead by example — talk less, do more, take on more. Show up early for practice, put in extra work afterward. Play every game — sick, injured, didn't matter. Always set the tone through actions within the team. That was more my style," explained the 2007 MVP. The 2011 NBA Finals gave fans a raw look at what type of leader the Mavs' superstar was made of. Fighting a fever and clearly under the weather, Nowitzki still dropped 29 in Game 5 — including the game-winner. No yelling, no speeches. Just action. Still, there's a key takeaway. As Dirk put it in the interview, leadership isn't one-size-fits-all. "Everyone has to figure out their own way," he advised. For the former 14-time NBA All-Star, that meant showing up, pushing through pain, and letting his play do the story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fast Company
6 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Why you need to ask the right questions to get the right results
Many leaders believe in the value of asking questions, but asking the right questions is still an underused and underappreciated leadership tool. The wrong questions can lead to misleading answers and wasted effort. 'The bottom line is: If you're asking the wrong question, the right answer doesn't help,' says Patrick Esposito, president and cofounder of ACME General Corp. 'A lot of people look to the power of analytics or AI, thinking that if they can get a bunch of data, they can make sense of it. But the reality is that asking more questions and gathering more data doesn't necessarily provide you with better results. It doesn't help you make the right decisions for your business, for your team, or for your customers.' Bombarding customers with questions to collect meaningful feedback can also be counterproductive. Surveys range from too generic ('How was your service today on a scale from one to 10?') to excessively detailed ('Please answer these 50 questions to let us know how we're doing'). Neither extreme leads to data with real business value. Working to bridge the gap between public-sector organizations and emerging tech companies, Esposito and his team have developed four strategies to help clients understand how to ask the right questions to advance their goals. Subscribe to the Daily newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters 1. START WITH WHY Simon Sinek's classic leadership book Start With Why applies to lessons that go beyond organizational mission. It helps uncover the true reasons behind your questions. Ask yourself: Why am I asking this question? What is it I want to achieve? Am I just asking a question because I want to validate that what I'm doing is right? Or do I really want to get an answer that tells me what I could do better? 'One of the pillars in our team's work is assessment,' says Esposito. 'The first step of making any change in an organization to improve is assessing what's working, what's not, and what to change. This requires structured, thoughtful questioning. I always tell our clients: If you start by asking customers to tell you about the problem and get their ideas on how to solve that problem, you're going to end up with better outcomes for you, your customers, and your employees. If you're not solving your customers' problems, you're not going to have customers for very long.' 2. ASK CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Companies frequently rely on customer surveys to shape their decision-making process. This feedback is valuable, but so is input from employees. 'I'm a firm believer that you have to get that ground truth from customers,' says Esposito. 'However, I will also say that surveying your team around what they are seeing, what they are hearing, and what they are feeling is just as important. A customer may or may not take the time to fill out a survey, but your team is more invested in the outcome. Follow Clayton Christensen's advice to focus on the outcome.' Learn to solicit the opinions of both internal and external stakeholders. Simple questions can lead to big process improvements. For customers, avoid feature-based questions, such as 'What do you want?' A better question would be 'What could we do better?' or 'What were you trying to do when this didn't work?' Frontline employees know where the problems are—but they will only speak up if they trust you. Build psychological safety first, then think about incentives to gain insights. A powerful prompt is 'What's one small thing that gets in the way of you doing your job?' advertisement 3. UNDERSTAND THE DANGERS OF POORLY ASKED QUESTIONS Common mistakes around gathering feedback include asking vague or leading questions, only paying attention during a crisis, and ignoring feedback. The stakes are high; when people stop telling the truth, trust erodes. 'Ask questions that align with what you are attempting to do,' says Esposito. 'Tailor questions to the input you're seeking for improving either your internal functioning as a business or your external delivery of products or services. Focus on where you think you need the input, and be specific. That doesn't mean the questions that you ask this quarter have to be the same questions you ask next quarter. They can evolve with your objectives.' 4. BUILD FEEDBACK INTO YOUR STRUCTURE Great companies make feedback routine, not occasional. Employee one-on-ones, customer interviews, project postmortems, and 'stop/start/continue' frameworks should be integrated into organizational systems. Give customers a place where they can provide feedback any time they choose—and collect that data in a way that it can be used across the organization. Let go of the idea that team feedback is only collected in annual employee reviews. Schedule regular conversations with every team member to normalize and optimize continuous improvement and systemic change. 'As Peter Drucker said, 'The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong questions,'' says Esposito. 'The right questions lead to better decisions, more trust, and faster evolution. Asking strategically—and acting on responses—is core to building a structure for success.'
Forbes
21-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why It's Important To Tailor Your Personal Branding Strategy To AI
Jason Barnard is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, keynote speaker and award-winning innovator. He's the CEO & founder of Kalicube. You're already building a personal brand—intentionally or not. Maybe you're following a framework like Donald Miller's StoryBrand or Simon Sinek's The Golden Circle. Or maybe you're doing it in a more ad hoc way through thought leadership, keynote speaking, media features or consistent LinkedIn publishing. Regardless of the approach, one thing is now unavoidably true: In the age of AI, your digital footprint is either a risk factor or a revenue driver. While you've been focused on positioning for people, AI and search engines have been forming their own version of your story. And if you're not deliberately structuring that version, it will never match your strategy. That disconnect is a hidden risk—and a missed opportunity that compounds every day. AI is already the world's most powerful influencer. I believe AI platforms like Google's AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and Perplexity are already the most influential discovery engines on the planet. They decide what people see, who gets mentioned and which experts, founders and professionals get surfaced in high-stakes moments. These systems aren't just looking at your content, they're making sense of it, summarizing it and choosing whether to trust it. And they're doing this on an unimaginable scale: trillions of niche conversations with billions of people who trust their recommendations every single day. When these systems understand who you are and how you fit, they can amplify your authority and visibility a thousand-fold. But if your identity isn't clear, credible and aligned for them, they'll either misrepresent you or ignore you entirely. Most branding efforts are optimized for people, not platforms. This is where even seasoned professionals get blindsided. You might have a strong message, polished content and real traction with your audience, but if AI can't understand it, verify it and deliver it to the right people, you're not just being overlooked. You're being replaced. Right now, AI systems are deciding who to surface, recommend and trust in every niche. If your digital presence isn't structured in a way they can process, they'll likely default to fragmented bios, outdated content or third-party narratives that no longer reflect your true value. And they won't pause to ask if they got it wrong. The risk isn't just invisibility. The risk is displacement. Your competitors, even those with less experience or weaker credentials, can secure your place at the top simply because they've structured their digital identity for AI. They've taken what they've built and made it understandable, credible and deliverable to the machines running the show. Meanwhile, your brand still looks great to humans but the platforms that now drive discovery, trust and opportunity don't see you. Adapting your brand strategy now could lead to a competitive edge. The opportunity is massive. When AI understands who you are, believes in your authority and knows exactly who needs to find you, it can amplify your visibility a thousand-fold. It can put your name in boardrooms before you arrive, shape investor research before your pitch and introduce you as the expert before you even speak. This is your moment to lock in the positioning you've worked so hard to earn before the AI defines it for you. If you want AI to get your story right and become your biggest advocate, you need structure. That means aligning your website, bios and digital footprint around where you're going (not where you've been!). Clean up legacy content, unify your message across platforms and make sure the most powerful algorithms in the world can understand, believe and recommend you to the right audience. This is the multiplier for everything you're already doing: PR, speaking, content, positioning. You've earned the credibility, you've created the momentum. Now give AI the structure it needs to amplify you. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Leading Without Fear: The Case For Trust-Driven Healthcare Leadership
Paula Ferrada is the Chair, Department of Surgery – IFMC and System Chief for Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at Inova Healthcare System. As a trauma surgeon, I have witnessed injuries that are, sadly, unsurvivable. I've stood over patients whose lives hung by a thread—some saved, others lost. And I've come to understand, more deeply with each experience, that what stands between life and death in those moments is not just the skill of the surgeon. It is the power of a team. From the moment a critically injured patient rolls through the emergency department doors, a choreography of urgency unfolds. Nurses, emergency physicians, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists, radiology techs and operating room (OR) staff are each poised, responsive and trusted to do their part. There is no time to waste, no room for ego. In those high-stress, high-stakes moments, the team matters more than any individual's technical brilliance. This is why compassionate leadership and psychological safety are not abstract ideals in healthcare—they are life-saving imperatives. Leading Through Trust, Not Fear Simon Sinek once shared that the Navy SEALs, when choosing their most elite team members, value trust over performance. In healthcare, the stakes may not be combat, but they are just as real. We make decisions every day that determine whether someone will live or die. And like elite military units, the strongest healthcare teams are built not just on capability but on relationships. This is especially true in trauma care, where every second matters. Trust accelerates action. It removes doubt, energizes communication and reduces cognitive load. In environments where people feel safe to speak up, ask questions and admit uncertainty, the entire system becomes more adaptive and, ultimately, more effective. Safety Drives Performance Kostas Dervitsiotis writes that trust is essential for performance and adaptation in high-reliability environments. This applies directly to trauma care, where adaptation is not a luxury—it's survival. Psychologically safe teams are faster, smarter and more agile. They debrief after cases without fear of blame, improve continuously and support one another through the emotional toll of the work. In 2014, Weller, Boyd and Cumin found how tribalism in healthcare—rigid silos between doctors, nurses and staff—creates dangerous communication breakdowns. When we dismantle those barriers through compassionate leadership, we allow for collective excellence. Nurses speak up, techs are heard and surgeons lead by example. The result is a cohesive unit that performs under pressure because it is built on mutual respect. I've seen firsthand how a shift in culture—grounded in trust and psychological safety—can transform a healthcare system. At our institution, we made a deliberate investment in fostering open communication, mutual respect and team accountability across disciplines. The results were unmistakable: We improved efficiency without sacrificing safety. Our teams became faster, more agile and more responsive—yet never at the expense of our patients' well-being. We saw fewer complications, stronger coordination and greater consistency in surgical outcomes. Errors were caught before they reached the patient. And most importantly, team members felt safe to speak up about processes, concerns and how we could be better. These gains didn't come from control or compliance—they came from creating a space where people felt empowered to do their best work and trusted to act in service of the patient. It's a model of leadership that is not only sustainable but essential. Compassion Is Not Soft, It's Strategic We must reframe compassion not as a "soft skill" but as a strategic imperative. When leaders model vulnerability, curiosity and emotional intelligence, they foster environments where people feel safe to contribute fully. Husebø and Olsen (2016) found that clinical leadership development improves responsiveness, quality and trust—especially in emergency settings. These are not secondary gains. They are central to operational success. At our hospital, surgical efficiency increased alongside safety. First-case on-time starts improved from 52% to 74%. We created additional access points for patients and surgeons by developing flexible scheduling systems. And we built leadership development meetings into our workflows to promote continuous learning and shared accountability. Brené Brown says, "You can't get to courage without walking through vulnerability." When we allow ourselves and our teams to lead with curiosity instead of judgment—to replace shame and blame with questions and learning—we create the conditions for excellence. Shame and blame are inversely proportional to accountability. When team members feel shame, they shut down. When they feel safe, they lean in. What Structural Safety Looks Like Compassionate leadership also shows up in system design. It's in how we staff our teams, schedule our shifts and support mental wellness. It's in the way we conduct debriefs—not to assign blame but to learn. It's in policies that prioritize recovery, rest and resilience. These values travel. I've seen them take root across continents in my global trauma work. From Latin America to the U.S., the most successful trauma teams share a common thread: They are led by people who understand that excellence requires empathy. Building Teams That Save Lives When we invest in compassionate leadership and psychological safety, we're not just creating better workplaces but better outcomes. Fewer medical errors. Greater staff retention. Higher patient satisfaction. Stronger innovation. Healthcare is not just a science—it is a human endeavor. And at its best, it is led by those who understand that leading with trust, humility and compassion is not only good leadership—it is lifesaving leadership. As Brené Brown reminds us: 'Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.' In medicine, it is also the birthplace of trust—and trust saves lives. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Making Your Business A Catalyst For Good
Natalie Ruiz, CEO of AnswerConnect, leads with a human-centered approach, blending tech with real connections to help businesses grow 24/7. Early in my career, I thought that running a successful company meant maximizing revenue and minimizing costs. Today, I know that the true competitive edge lies in using business as a catalyst for positive change. This belief echoes Simon Sinek's idea of playing an "infinite game," where the goal isn't to beat a rival once but to build something that matters. The New Era Of Business: More Than Profit Ask yourself: Why do customers really choose one brand over another? Yes, they care about price and quality—but increasingly, they choose companies that share their values. In fact, a recent survey by the Edelman Trust Barometer showed that 84% of people need to share values with a brand to consider buying from it. Likewise, top talent isn't just looking for a paycheck; they're searching for meaning. Because today's stakeholders demand more from businesses, companies that make purpose part of their everyday operations aren't just doing good—they're building resilient, future-ready organizations. Turning Intent Into Impact Consumers are savvy and can easily see past a company paying lip service to a cause they feel strongly about. You can't just bolt on a charity program as an afterthought and expect to reap the benefits. Instead, try to weave social responsibility into everything you do. Here are some examples from my own company's experiences: At my company, every employee can receive paid hours to volunteer for causes they love—whether it's mentoring at-risk youth, packing meals at a food bank or planting native flowers at a community park. Because we trust our people to choose their own impact areas, the results feel authentic and deeply personal. When your colleagues share stories of late-night beach cleanups or multigenerational reading sessions at local schools, you see a culture that breathes generosity. These narratives fuel pride, spark referrals and make your business a magnet for people who want their work to count. Beyond role-specific training, we pay each team member to explore subjects that ignite their curiosity—mindfulness, data science, creative writing, you name it. We dedicate time and money specifically to learning, sending a clear message that growth is a company priority. Encouraging people to share what they have learned is crucial, too. These discussions turn individual discoveries into shared knowledge and help people build relationships across departments. In partnership with reforestation experts, we've funded the planting of over 1.7 million trees worldwide. Because climate action can't wait, we're proud to back projects from rural Costa Rica to woodlands in Scotland—each sapling is a promise to future generations. This shouldn't be just a side initiative but fully integrated into your brand narrative. When customers and prospects know you care about the planet, it makes them feel part of something bigger. Why Doing Good Drives Better Business Integrating purpose isn't philanthropy for philanthropy's sake—it's a strategic investment. Here's how it pays off: Attract And Retain Talent: According to iSolved Talent Acquisition, "75% of Gen Zs and Millennials say that an organization's community engagement and societal impact are important factors when considering a potential employer." They seek flexibility, inclusivity and employers who back causes they believe in. Boost Engagement: According to another study, employees who volunteer or learn new skills report higher job satisfaction and stay longer. Therefore, turnover drops and productivity rises. Win Customer Loyalty: Today's consumers favor brands that share their values. Showing that you care about the community and the planet builds trust and repeat business. Because purpose initiatives become part of your brand story, they differentiate you in crowded markets. You're not just another vendor; you're a partner in positive change. Future-Proofing And Aligning With Tomorrow's Generations For Gen Z, meaning matters more than money. They seek employers who live their values, not just preach them. By embedding social impact today, you'll win—and retain—this influential talent pool. Born into a digital and climate-aware world, Gen Alpha will demand that brands and employers demonstrate real social and environmental commitments. Preparing now means you'll be their go-to choice when they enter the job market and decide where to spend. Purpose Is Your Long-Term Advantage When you make social good part of your business model, you aren't just ticking a box. You build a stronger, more engaged team, deepen customer loyalty and carve out a unique market position. Purpose fuels performance. Purpose attracts talent. Purpose wins hearts. So here's my challenge to fellow leaders: Don't treat purpose as an afterthought. Make it your catalyst for growth, your differentiator, your "infinite game" strategy. When business becomes a force for good, we all rise—and that's the greatest legacy any company can leave. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
