meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
How Leaders Lead with David Novak

#77: James Gorman, Morgan Stanley Chairman & CEO—Know Who Keeps You Grounded

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8596 Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2022

⏱️ 53 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today’s guest is James Gorman, the Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley. In Australia, there’s something known as the Tall Poppy Syndrome. In a field of poppies, there are always one or two that stand out from the rest and it disrupts the beauty of the field. And so for that reason, they’ll snip off those poppies … they trim them down so they don’t stand out amongst the others. What’s interesting is that as a culture, Australians do this with one another. If someone starts to succeed and think too highly of themselves, they help to keep each other grounded. And it’s important for all of us, as leaders, to know who keeps us grounded. Humility is vital if we want our success to be sustainable. Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go  Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to How Leaders Lead, where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the

0:08.6

very best leaders in the world. I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode,

0:14.4

you'll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader. That's what

0:19.8

this podcast is all about. Today's guest is James

0:23.8

Gorman, the chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley. Now, James is an Aussie, and in Australia, there's

0:30.4

something known as the Tall Poppy Syndrome. Now, in a field of poppies, there's always one or two

0:35.8

that stand out from the rest, and it disrupts the beauty of the field.

0:39.5

And for that reason, they'll snip off those poppies.

0:43.0

They trim them down so that they don't stand out amongst the others.

0:46.2

Now, what's really interesting is that in the Australian culture,

0:51.5

Australians do this with one another.

0:56.7

If someone starts to succeed and begin to think too highly of themselves, they help to keep each other grounded. And it's important for all

1:02.1

of us as leaders to know who keeps us grounded. Humility is vital if we want our success to be

1:08.7

sustainable. I think you're going to get a lot out of this conversation today,

1:13.1

so let's get right at it.

1:14.7

Here's my conversation with my friend,

1:17.1

and soon to be yours, James Gorman.

1:24.7

James, thanks so much for taking the time to join us.

1:28.1

David, it's great to be here and I'm honored to be one of your guests.

1:31.7

I've watched and listened to the podcast over the years and you've done an amazing job.

1:35.2

Well, thank you very much.

1:36.5

And, you know, James, speaking of amazing jobs, you took over at Morgan Stanley in 2010.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from David Novak Leadership, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of David Novak Leadership and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.