In this introductory monologue, keynote speaker and author Sally Zimney launches the new "This Moved Me" series, framing leadership as the ability to move people emotionally, intellectually, and behaviorally. Drawing on three decades of experience, she argues that the most effective leaders first understand what moves them personally, using self‑reflection as a gateway to authentic influence. Zimney traces the evolution of the series—from an early, audio‑only podcast born out of a fear of video, through a speaking‑strategy phase, to its current focus on exploring the human experience that drives courage, self‑trust, and action. She critiques a purely strategic, KPI‑driven view of leadership, emphasizing that empathy and a deep study of humanity are essential for lasting impact. The talk concludes with a concrete nudge: viewers should pause whenever they feel stirred, ask why, and share those moments, thereby beginning a practice of becoming students of their own emotional triggers to better move others.
Chapters
Guess what? You are in the business of moving others. That is what leadership is. And to do that, to move others effectively, you need to understand what moves you first. Welcome to This Move Me, a moment to help you be brave so that you can be moved. I'm Sally Zimney, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and your go-to professional nudger. And today I wanna share why I created the series and what it's all about, 'cause it's brand new. Let's go. Here's why I'm doing this. For nearly 3 decades now, I have been obsessed with one fundamental question: how do we move people? I mean, I'm not talking physically move them, but how do we move people emotionally, intellectually, behaviorally? How do we get people to think and act differently in support of an idea or a mission? As a speaker and a coach, I've been doing this forever. And you, you have an idea because you're a leader and you care about it and you want other people to care about it too. Well, guess what? You have to learn how to move others. How do we get people to act differently in support of an idea or a mission. That is basically leadership in a nutshell. And you have an idea and you want other people to care about it. Well, if that's the case, then you have to learn how to move others. And I've realized something really powerful and important over the last 30 years, and that is the best way to figure out how to move others is to study the moving itself in you. What moves you? Why? So This Moved Me has, uh, evolved over the years to this. It started out 7 or 8 or so years ago. This moved me as a deep and reflective podcast, mostly because I was afraid of video. Look at me now. Uh, story for another time. Then it evolved into a speaking strategy podcast. As a speaker and a coach, I was helping people become speakers. Still am. But now it is getting back to its roots. This Moved Me is an exploration of what makes us human and what moves us from fear to courage, from self-doubt to self-trust, from waiting to action. And it's so important. Here's the thing, all of us leadership experts, right? We talk a lot about what it means to be a leader, decision-making processes, systems, KPIs, And truly all of that is super valuable and important, right? Your great strategic brain, part of why you are where you are, awesome. But your leadership has limits if you aren't also a study of humans. Great leaders study humans. They seek to understand them. And not just, you know, some humans, all humans, right? We seek to get them. In other words, Your humanness, your empathy is how you're gonna be a better leader. It's how you're gonna understand other humans better. It's kind of a no duh, and it's the foundation of how we move others. So the leaders who make the biggest impact, they aren't just brilliant strategists. They aren't just smarty smarts. They're people who understand the human experience. They know or are really curious about what makes people tick, what inspires us, what moves us to action. And this series is a study of what it is to be human so we can be more human, so we can lead more human, so we can create more human things that make the world a better place. Because when we understand what moves us, what truly touches our hearts and changes our mind and inspires our actions, we become better equipped to move others, not through manipulation or force or lies or faking it or whatever, but through genuine connection and shared humanity. So here is my nudge for you from this, your professional nudger. I want you to just pay attention to what moves you. When you find yourself stirred by a speech, a conversation, a book, a podcast, an experience, pause and ask yourself, what happened there? What just moved me and why? Become a student of your own emotional responses because understanding what moves you is the first step to understanding how you can move others. And that is what this series is all about, exploring moments that move us so we can become not just better leaders, but better humans. And whoo, we need that right now. This moved me this week. What's moving you? I'd love to know. Tell me in the comments. Share it with somebody who needs to be moved too. Episode 1, take 2. What moves you? Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh. 30-second dance party. Oh, how's that work? All right.
