#07: Ajay Banga, Mastercard CEO—Be Guided by Decency
How Leaders Lead with David Novak
David Novak Leadership
4.8 • 596 Ratings
🗓️ 20 August 2020
⏱️ 61 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to How Leaders Lead where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world. |
| 0:09.9 | I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple that you can apply as you develop into a better leader. |
| 0:18.5 | That's what this podcast is all about. |
| 0:21.5 | Today's guest is Aja Banga, CEO of MasterCard. |
| 0:25.4 | Aja is one of the most respected leaders in the world. |
| 0:28.6 | And he's a classic example of that old saying. |
| 0:31.5 | When you do the right thing, the right things happen. |
| 0:34.7 | In fact, that idea of doing the right thing |
| 0:37.4 | is so core to his leadership |
| 0:38.9 | style that he coined the term for it. He calls it the decency quotient. As a leader, it's not enough |
| 0:46.0 | to have a high IQ or EQ. We've got to be decent too, to treat others with fairness and support |
| 0:52.7 | and respect. In Ajay's words, it's having your hand on |
| 0:57.4 | people's backs, not in their faces. Boy, do I love that phrase. And it's not just a fluffy, |
| 1:04.3 | feel-good thing. The idea of decency really drives growth. It's empowering as employees with trust and accountability. |
| 1:12.5 | It's ensuring there's diversity around the decision table in order to guard against blind |
| 1:17.2 | spots. And it's helping his team find ways to make the economy more inclusive while still |
| 1:23.0 | delivering on business goals. At every turn, Aje shows us that great leaders are guided by decency. |
| 1:31.2 | And there's a lot for us to learn here. So let's go. Here's my conversation with my good friend, |
| 1:37.0 | and soon to be yours, Ajay Bongo. |
| 1:49.0 | Ajay, thanks so much for having this conversation with me. Thank you, David. |
| 1:50.0 | It's a pleasure. |
| 1:51.0 | A lot of people talk about the importance of IQ and EQ, but you've added the importance of something |
... |
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