SUMMER SERIES!

Who* Not What: From Research to Application, Part 1 with Vanessa Kiley and John Ott, Co-founders of Exceptional Leaders

What kind of person makes for an effective leader?

Vanessa Kiley, Co-Founder of the coaching firm Exceptional Leaders, accidentally stumbled upon that answer when sorting through the data from thousands of leadership assessments.

In this episode, Vanessa shares the origin story of the “who, not what” principle. To help paint the picture, John Ott, the other Co-Founder of Exceptional Leaders, also joins the conversation to give his perspective as someone who’s been practicing the method for years with indisputable success. Listen to learn which two attributes are the most indicative of being a great leader. You might be surprised by what they are.


Show Notes

Transcript of the episode

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • Be curious, you never know what you’ll find next.

  • Which two attributes best predict the effectiveness of a leader.

  • Trust plays a key role in the ability to lead.

Things to listen for:

[02:00] The origin story of the “who, not what” principle
[08:40] Data behind the principle
[10:53] Eight aspects measured for leadership
[13:56] The two most predictive aspects for effective leadership
[23:23] When “who, not what” clicked for Tim
[27:31] The difficulty in analyzing yourself as a leader
[32:00] Connecting “who, not what” and trust