Todd Henry’s passion is helping teams and leaders “build their best body of work”—work that ignites their productive passion, work that really matters. An incredibly prolific thought leader, Todd has written four books over the past eight years, produces multiple podcasts each week, writes a daily blog, all while maintaining a robust speaking and consulting schedule. In this episode, Jason Jaggard sits down with Todd to discuss his strategies for building high productivity both for himself and for teams. Stay tuned for some pure gold leadership ideas and practices to help you produce your best work!
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SUMMARY:
Todd Henry’s passion is helping teams and leaders “build their best body of work”—work that ignites their productive passion, work that really matters. An incredibly prolific thought leader, Todd has written four books over the past eight years, produces multiple podcasts each week, writes a daily blog, all while maintaining a robust speaking and consulting schedule. In this episode, Jason Jaggard sits down with Todd to discuss his strategies for building high productivity both for himself and for teams. Stay tuned for some pure gold leadership ideas and practices to help you produce your best work!
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Todd Henry became consumed with the question of whether people were actually making time to do the work that really mattered most to them.
- In the graveyard are buried all the dreams and risks that people carried with them their whole lives but never acted upon.
- You can spend your life building someone else’s body of work, or you can take steps every day to build work that really matters to you.
- Your body of work is much bigger than your job, and I define it broadly. Your job is just a subset. We need to build a body of work that reflects our whole selves—not just our work.
- Your productive passion is a vision for which you are willing to suffer.
- Spend time reflecting on your dreams and take a step toward them every day.
- “What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.” – Gretchen Rubin
- There are three kinds of work:
- Mapping—planning and strategy
- Making—execution
- Meshing—asking questions; filling our minds with the right stimuli
- If you map and make, but don’t mesh, you will get things done, but will ultimately become less effective.
- We avoid meshing because it doesn’t feel productive. Make time in your calendar for meshing.
- For the past 18 years, I have spent the first hour of my day in study.
- The most important principle for having a productive life is this: produce something every day.
- People underestimate what can be done through little acts of every day progress.
- Leaders make small acts of every day progress in key conversations with their teams.
- Teams need two things from their leaders: 1) a definition of success and 2) a focus on team health.
- Key questions leaders need to ask the people on their teams:
- How can I serve you?
- What do you need from me right now?
- How can I clear a path for you to get where you need to be?
- Is there anything standing in your way?
- What kind of resources do you need?
- Is there anything I can provide for you?
- Do you need my expertise in any capacity?
- Is there anything I can do right now that would make your life easier?
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- Todd Henry made the observation that many people never get around to doing their most important work. What are some things that you would like to be sure that you do, in work or relationships, before the end of your life?
- One of the secrets to Todd Henry’s productivity is “meshing time”—setting aside one hour every day for study. In what ways are you creating “meshing time” right now? What would need to change for you to build more “meshing time” in your life?
- At the end of the podcast, Todd Henry listed out eight key questions (listed above) that leaders should be asking the people on their teams to enable them to do their best work. Select one of his questions to ask of your team this week.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day
The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice
The Accidental Creative Podcast
Herding Tigers: Be the Leader Creative People Need
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