FULL TRANSCRIPT

00:00 – Show Opening

If everybody on your team was simply motivated to make your next meeting better because they received a paycheck, wouldn’t life just be great? But, as meeting leaders we know this is often not the case, and today on the podcast we’re going to figure out how to go beyond a paycheck, and help you as a leader get into really knowing how to motivate your people.

Are you a professional who wants to become a more effective leader? Then get ready for daily tips from the coach with the experience and inspiration to help you succeed in any leadership situation. You’re listening to the Meeting Leadership Podcast with Gordon Sheppard.

00:48 – Podcast content starts here!

Welcome to another episode of the Meeting Leadership Podcast. My name is Gordon Sheppard. It’s great to have you here. It’s great that you’re here using this podcast as a place to pick up another leadership skill, a tip, a strategy, an inspiration to go forward, make your meetings better, grow your organization, and ultimately, serve your customers, your clients at the highest possible level. Thank you so much for listening. Today on the show we’re getting into one of my favorite topics, because today we’re going to talk about why leadership and motivation is not about a paycheck.

01:24 – More than a paycheck: The inspiring story of Terry Fox 

Let me start this off by giving you an example of what inspires me. Now, for me, one of my biggest inspirations is Terry Fox. Now, it’s 1980, this young man he had lost a leg to cancer, and he went out, and he set out to run a marathon a day across Canada to raise sort of funds, and raise awareness for cancer research. That young man, he did it 143 times, and he got halfway across the country until cancer ultimately took his life.

When I think about Terry Fox, when I think about visiting the Terry Fox Memorial, which is on the north shore of Lake Superior in Canada, and I stand there by that statue, and I imagine what he did, a marathon a day, day in, day out, 143 times, it really just does take my breath away, and I’m so thrilled to be able to share that story whenever I can, because that is a big one that inspires me, and then, when I work with senior leaders like yourselves I ask that question, and I kick it off by talking about Terry Fox.

Now, since he did that run in 1980 there’s more than $700 million that has been raised for cancer research around the world. I mean, this guy, he is a larger than life inspiration for me. Now, the second story that I always share in this moment as well is sort of on a smaller scale, because many, many years ago I worked in a corporate setting. 

02:43 – The Quiet Woman

Now, there was a quiet woman who would show up in many of these meetings that I was involved with, and I didn’t know much about her, and thankfully, there was one time at a Christmas party when I actually got a chance to speak with her, and I learned this, on her administrator salary she sent more than half of it back to another country.

She built a home for her parents, and she sent many of her relatives through post secondary education. When I think about this woman, and the fact that she was actually in my meetings, and I didn’t know about it, but I really know that she was inspired, and actually doing these actions that truly inspires me even when I tell the story again today. I hope that you can find something in those stories to really think about what inspires you, and then, once you’ve answered that, maybe you can share that story with your meeting team, and then, you can ask each one of them in your meeting the same question, what inspires you?

03:31 – Share your inspiring story with your meeting team

I can tell you this is why we go to work. People do it for their kids, they do it for their country, they do it for a big idea, but instead of spending time saying, “Well, someone didn’t prepare the agenda.” Or, “Someone’s frustrated about the talker in the meeting.” 

03:54 – Why are we in this meeting?

These typical meeting complaints, what we’re getting into now is the why. Why are we there individually? And then, it leads to a conversation of why are we there collectively? I have to say that inspiration eats paychecks for lunch, and if you’ve enjoyed what you’ve been listening to in this episode, then I think you’re really going to want to check out some of the inspiring leadership stories that so many wonderful guests on the meeting leadership podcast have shared themselves.

04:16 – MLP 116: Inspiring Leadership Stories with Derek Pando from Zoom – https://meetingleaderhshipinc.com/116

In episode 116 Derek Pando, who’s one of the top leaders for Zoom Communications, I mean, a global company, he shared some great stories about how the young people that are coming into his organization are actually inspiring him to be better, and you can get that episode by going to meetingleadershipinc.com/116, 

04:48 – MLP 99: Inspiring Leadership Stories with David Papp – https://meetingleaderhshipinc.com/99

and then, on episode 99 David Papp was a guest on the show, and he talked about Gary Vaynerchuk. Now, Gary Vaynerchuk’s sort of in the motivational, and sort of get it done space, speaks on the stage sort of all over the world, really, and inspires so many people.

05:28 – MLP 103: Inspiring Leadership Stories with Eleanor Beaton – https://meetingleaderhshipinc.com/103 

What David Papp has done within his own work group is he’s turned this Gary Vaynerchuk, he calls it Gary V into a verb. How can we Gary V this situation? That’s how inspired he is from Gary V for him and his team, and that’s making things significantly better, and if you want to hear that story you can go to meetingleadershipinc.com/99 and then, on episode 103 Eleanor Beaton shares her inspiration for explicit ambition.

She really helps female leaders go to the next level, and she’ll say things like, “Bill Gates got where he got to because of explicit ambition.” And, she teaches this to the female leaders that she’s helping to motivate, and really wanting to double the population of successful female entrepreneurs across Canada, and I know after that she’s going to go after the world again. If you can hear the excitement in my voice when I think about the interview that I did there with her, and you can get that episode by going to meetingleadershipinc.com/103.

06:06 – Meeting Leadership Academy – https://meetingleaderhshipinc.com/academy 

If you are looking for a great way to put this inspiration into action, then check out the Meeting Leadership Academy, which is a sponsor of this podcast. Now, if you want great live training for you and your team, ways to get, again, practical things, inspiring things, ways to tie your meetings to your strategy, then visit meetingleadershipinc.com/academy. I really appreciate everyone who’s taken a moment to actually subscribe on their favorite podcast app for the show, but if you haven’t done it yet please take a moment, hit the subscribe button, and also if you could leave a rating and review, it will help us bring you even more great content moving forward. As always, thank you so much for listening, and we’ll see you tomorrow on the Meeting Leadership Podcast.

06:52 – Podcast Outro

Thanks for listening to the Meeting Leadership Podcast. Be sure to subscribe for more strategies to help you become an outstanding leader, and don’t forget to rate, and review so we can bring you fresh content every day. We’ll see you tomorrow, right here on the Meeting Leadership Podcast.