372: Living Your "Super Objective": Unlocking the Potential for Authentic Leadership

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Guest

“Brave Leadership” founder Kimberly Davis champions emerging leaders and senior managers navigating today’s workplace and partners with HR professionals looking to develop talent. She shares her inspirational message of personal power, responsibility, and impact with organizations nationwide and teaches leadership programs worldwide. Kimberly is a TEDx speaker whose 2018 book, Brave Leadership, was named one of Inc. Magazine’s most impactful books, became an Amazon bestseller in the Business Leadership and Motivation category, and received the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award. She lives in San Diego, CA, with her husband, Tim, and cat, Sulley Magee, while their son, Jeremy, is living his brave in college.

Summary

Kimberly asserts that effective business leadership is inextricably linked to strong personal leadership, emphasizing that individuals must first believe they are leaders. She emphasizes the crucial importance of understanding one's impact on others and being intentional in interactions. A key tool she introduces is the "super objective," which, in part, emerged from her training in the theater. The super objective helps leaders clarify the desired outcome—what they want others to do, think, feel, say, or believe. By applying these techniques, individuals can develop self-belief, cultivate the potential for authentic leadership, and consciously shape their influence, ultimately transforming their impact on both their professional and personal worlds.

Three Important Takeaways

Personal Leadership is Foundational: True leadership begins with self-awareness and self-belief; without personal leadership, effective business leadership is unattainable.

Intentional Impact: Leaders must be acutely aware of the impact they have on others through their energy and actions, and should define a "super objective" to intentionally guide their desired influence.

Unconventional Development: Leveraging techniques from outside the traditional business environment, such as theater's "super objective," provides powerful, unique tools for cultivating self-belief and the potential for authentic leadership.

Social Media/Referenced

https://brave-leadership.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlydavisonstage/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgCBVGBHGx4


About Jeff

Jeff Ikler is the Director of Quetico Leadership and Career Coaching. “Quetico” (KWEH-teh-co). He works with leaders in all aspects of life to identify and overcome obstacles in their desired future. He came to the field of coaching after a 35-year career in educational publishing. Prior to his career in educational publishing, Jeff taught high school U.S. history and government.

Jeff has hosted the “Getting Unstuck—Cultivating Curiosity” podcast for 5 years. The guests and topics he explores are designed to help listeners think differently about the familiar and welcome the new as something to consider. He is also the co-host of the Cultivating Resilience – A Whole Community Approach to Alleviating Trauma in Schools, which promotes mental health and overall wellness.

Jeff co-authored Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change. Shifting integrates leadership development and change mechanics in a three-part change framework to help guide school leaders and their teams toward productive change.


Show Credits

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"Getting Unstuck" theme music: Original composition of "Allegro ben ritmato e deciso" by George Gershwin. Arrangement and recording courtesy of Bruno Lecoeur.

Jeff Ikler