Friday through Sunday, I will be participating in the Extreme Leadership Summit in Chicago, facilitated by one of my favorite authors, Steve Farber.  One of Steve’s books, Greater Than Yourself (GTY), happens to be my favorite leadership fable.

I’m really looking forward to our jam-packed three days, learning from the diverse group of leaders who will share their experiences with us. A sampling includes Simon Billsberry (co-founder and former CEO of Kineticom), Darren Hardy (publisher of Success magazine), Frank DeAngelis (principal of Columbine High School), Jay Jay French (founder, manager and guitarist for Twisted Sister), and Tasha Eurich (author of Bankable Leadership). I’m sure there will also be great exchanges with the 79 other attendees.

I’ve been re-reading GTY to prepare for the experience.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

“Real leadership is not about calling yourself a “leader”; rather, it’s about taking up a cause to change some piece of the world for the better. Real leadership, in other words, is an extreme act rooted in love and motivated by a desire to create a better world – whether it’s the world of your company, team, neighborhood or family.”

“GTY is really just a form of very personal, one-on-one philanthropy… It’s about growing your sensibility to the needs of others and cultivating your desire to promote their welfare, their good or greater fortune, their success, their capacity for achievement.”

“The basic and seemingly paradoxical truth of GTY is that truly great leaders in life become so becasue they cause others to be greater than themselves.”

What can you do today to help someone be greater than you are?

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

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