Sir John Key Recap: Former Prime Minister

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Welcome back to Lead on Purpose, and I hope you had the opportunity to listen to our previous episode with the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir John Key. It was recorded at my live event, High Performance Leadership. And if you'd like to come and join us at this year's live event, 2023, please head over to jjlochlund.com and you can go and check out the leadership training section where you can add yourself to the wait list. We sold out very quickly last time and I'm confident we'll do the same this time. So if you'd like to find out before the general public, jump onto that wait list and you'll be the first to hear of it. So what I'm going to do is share some of the recaps. There's literally like 30 things I wanted to share, but I'll share like three that I really hope will serve you in your life and your leadership. And I just want to take a moment to say thank you to our platinum partners of hpl, which was VVV Real Estate. And Brannigan's a huge thank you. So let's look at a couple key takeaways from arguably one of New Zealand's greatest leaders. He said we overcomplicate things fundamentally. If you look at business or life, one of the first things is what? What is success? And can you write it down? Second thing is, it's all about people. Your strongest assets go up and down the lift every day. And for those who aren't from this part of the world, a lift is also known as an elevator. So your strongest assets go up and down the elevator every day. And lastly, it's all about predictability. Your team needs to know what they will be getting from you. So don't swing up and down. Look, that's a lot. I'm going to unpack some of that. But we do tend to overcomplicate things, overthink things, over strategize, over plan, you know, over doubt ourselves. The business plan is 500 pages long when it could have been one. So first things first. What is success? So for you right now, as a leader or in your field, whatever your field is, what is success? Write that one down and put a question mark. What is success for me, question mark. And explore that in your journal. Time. Great leaders and high performers, all the ones that I've ever sat down with, talk about creating space to think and to journal. So what is success? You must be Able to write it down. The second part of what I shared was, it's all about people. Your strongest assets go up and down the elevator every day. Isn't that the truth? Look, when we look at the financial summaries, the one thing that's missing is people. We see all the other things in those financial summaries and those profit and loss sheets, but we don't see people. Yet people are your strongest asset. It's so crucially important that you care for them, that you nurture them, that you empathize with them, that you give them opportunities. So crucial.

What do you do to do those things with the people that you lead? And if you report to a leader, are they doing those things? Do they make you feel valued? Do they make you feel like there's a pathway for you to grow and learn? None of us want to stay static. Leaders and high performers have DNA that makes them want to grow, expand, learn. And remember this, you cannot give what you do not have. As leaders and high performers, we want to give back to people, contribute to people, help people. You know, high performers are the people that write books, that make courses, that hold events, that are on stages. So what do you do in that regard? It's so crucially important that you get clear on that. Crucially important. And lastly, John said it's all about predictability. Your team needs to know who you are, how you're going to show up, so you're not going to explode one day and be everyone's best friend the next day. You've got to be consistent. Consistency is key. And when you're leading yourself, and that's where leadership begins, right? Are you consistent with your practices, your rituals, your routines? Great place to start.

John mentioned this. Wealth gives us choices in life. And isn't that so true? And he talked about the only pathway out of poverty being work. And he can say that John came from a family where it was a solo mum, and he lived in a low socioeconomic area. I had to work so hard. But he knew from a young age he wanted to make a million dollars, become a millionaire and become a prime minister, and he had to work for that. And so the only pathway out of poverty is work. And wealth gives us choices in life. So for those of you who are working hard and working towards financial freedom, or for those of you who are already there, then be proud of that and know that that is such an asset. You've worked for it. It wasn't given to you on a plate. And now you've got choices. You've got choices to grow your mindset. You've got choices to give back to others. Wealth is a really incredible tool when used through the lens of great values. And so it's important for you to really hone in on those values. John said when making decisions in tough times, and he made many in tough times, you have to trust your instincts and have conviction in your decisions. You need to know what your motivation is and what way you're going to execute things. You also need to know that you won't make everyone happy. Ain't that the truth? Right? Isn't it great hearing that from a phenomenal leader, that you've got to trust your instincts and it's not all about data? So how in tune with you are your instincts? I have been way off at times. I made decisions going, why did I do that? I knew that wasn't the right thing. But I'm learning and I think as we go through these things, it's about reflecting. Go. Okay. Ah, right. That was the instinct that I was feeling. I didn't act on it next time and actually acting on it next time. And also just that reiteration of, you don't need to make everyone happy and you won't make everyone happy, and that's okay. It's not about that.

John talked about, you know, belief, and he said, you want people to believe that they can. And my take from that is you want to empower your people to truly feel that they can do great things, that they can grow, that they can solve challenges, that they are good enough. That's so crucial. So they were just a few short takeaways, but please go and listen to the gold. Go and listen to the full episode, the previous episode here. And as always, I'm going to ask you, please leave me a rating and review. And if you truly want to give back to someone else, copy the link to this podcast and share it with somebody that might enjoy it. But for now, get out there and lead your life on purpose.

Sam.