Every year, there is no shortage of valuable wisdom shared by inspirational and influential leaders.
For all its ups and downs, 2022 is no different. Here are some of the best success tips top CEOs have shared this year.
Tim Cook, Apple CEO
For someone tasked with steadily providing business tips and leadership advice, some of Cook’s best 2022 advice ultimately comes from opening speech at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, where all students are deaf or hard of hearing.
In a speech translated into American Sign Language, Cook encouraged graduating students to pursue a unique decision-making tactic: Follow your own moral compass above all else.
Cook says it was this tactic that would lead to the most personal and professional success, adding that it was “a sense of meaning” that drew him back to Apple in 1988.
“I know in my heart: Staying true to who you are and what you believe in is one of the most important choices you can make. It will help you form better relationships. It will help you find more satisfaction in your work. And with a little luck and a lot of effort, it will help you build a more meaningful life.”
Cook also shares one of the easiest ways to define your own code of ethics, which will help you develop “a deep understanding of who you are and what you believe in.” Visualize an uncertain situation and visualize how you would react in a perfectly ideal world.
“When you imagine your future… the question you should be asking is not ‘What will happen?’ but ‘Who will I be when it happens?’ I hope you will be kind and compassionate… I hope you find it magical to be a part of something bigger than yourself. And magic is found in serving others.
Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America
Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, knows the importance of giving back. While leading the largest famine relief organization in America, Babineaux-Fontenot has relentlessly sought career advice focused on building a fulfilling life and career.
Back in March, Babineaux-Fontenot spoke to CNBC Make It about the best career advice she’s ever received – and it wasn’t even shared directly with her.
Instead, it comes from a 1970s essay: “The One Who Serves As a Leader” by Robert K. Greenleaf, a former AT&T executive. In it, Greenleaf outlined a leadership model that prioritizes serving others first.
Babineaux-Fontenot’s major epiphany?
“Always assume that your colleagues have good intentions, that people want to work together to do good.”
There is research to back up her takeaway. Assuming good intentions in others are likely to correspond to reality: Research from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania found that people often underestimate how much others like them — and that can have a significant impact on success in the workplace.
For her part, Babineaux-Fontenot says that assuming the best in others is no different than “transforming” her own life and career.
“Now, I try to understand to the extent that I can understand how people connect with each other, and then help create environments where, no matter what they define as winning, we can still win. can win together — and we should all strive to do it.”
Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines
Throughout the course of the pandemic, air travel has been at the forefront of the challenges of the Covid era – from flight cancellations to personnel shortage arrive increased customer aggression.
It makes sense, then, that Delta CEO Ed Bastian will have a unique advantage in terms of effective leadership during times of disruption, upheaval and general uncertainty.
At the beginning of 2022, Bastian sit down with Harvard Business Review editor-in-chief Adi Ignatius for a chat about leadership in times of crisis, where he emphasized the importance of standing with your team during challenging times.
It’s easy to get stuck when you don’t have the answers to the questions you need. Showing and letting people know what you know and what you don’t know has never been more important.
Beth Ford, CEO of Land O’Lakes
Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford is no stranger to success.
After leadership positions everywhere from PepsiCo to Scholastic, Ford’s climb up the corporate ladder at Land O’Lakes has been marked by significant milestones: Ford is Land O’Lakes’ first female CEO in her history of more than 100 years, as well as being the first openly gay woman to become the CEO of Fortune 500.
However, for all his accolades, Ford told CNBC Make It The best career advice she ever received came from a conversation with her mother when Ford was 11 years old.
Ford is having a tantrum over an issue she thinks her mother understands. However, as the middle child in a family of seven siblings, Ford’s interests were lost in the conflict.
“So my mother turned to me and said, ‘If you want something, you should ask for it; I’m not a mind reader’ … and I remember that moment very clearly.
For Ford, this moment underscored the importance of advocating for her own needs, which she still considers an important skill in building a career.
“We often think, ‘No one will see the good work we’ve done,’ or we are afraid to ask for help. However, if you ask someone for help or ask for what you want, people will reach out and give it to you.”
