Ted Audio Collective

I vividly remember when I realized it was time for me to leave consulting.

I was in my late 20s, a few years out of business school, and I was working with an incredible career coach, Arlene Miller.

She had me do what's called a career values card sort.

She put a bunch of index cards on the table, like 30 to 50 of them, that had different values written on them, like advancement, achievement, intellectual stimulation, helping others.

I had to pick out 10 cards that captured what was important to me in a job.

And like the good student I am, I diligently went at it.

Then she asked me to whittle those 10 cards down to five.

And you know what happened?

After reading over those final five cards, I burst out crying.

I realized that the values I selected didn't fully capture what I was doing in my job.

And I knew at that moment something needed to change.

To this day, almost 20 years later, this exercise is seared in my memory, as is the impact Arlene had on me.

This experience makes me wonder, what types of questions should leaders ask when shepherding others along their own journeys?

How can we help people discover what matters to them and lead them to careers where they're operating in their purpose?

I'mma do back in Ola. This is Ted Business.

Our speaker today is artist and Ted fellow Constance Hocka Day.

In this talk, Constance challenges us to think about our desires and consider what we truly want to accomplish in life.

Then after the talk, I'll discuss how to apply this framework to your own organizations.

But first, a quick break.

Most of what we know about performing leadership is made up of these practiced postures, passed down in the west through a white male embodiment of power.

These have become so intertwined with actually having power that imitating these behaviors kind of feels like the only way to show up with authority.

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