60 Ideas in 60 Minutes: Kurt Theobald, CEO, Classy Llama

Life Is Not a Game of Self-Image Management
Many people get caught in the ugly pursuit of crafting the image they want others to see. This is the foundational root of lying: manipulation of appearance and perception. The fruit of this investment is pain, broken relationships, and empty gain.

The Beginning of Great Leadership Is the Leadership of Self
If you want to lead others well, you must first learn to lead yourself. Once you are proficient at that, leading others is merely training, equipping, and supporting them in their journey to lead themselves. At no point should leadership ever be about obtaining or preserving control or power.

Your Self Is Plural and Needs to Be Led by You
Your self is composed of many entities (e.g., mind, body, heart) that want and need different things. Your job is to build healthy relationships with each of them and lead them as a team, as one. We are less effective when we let one of our internal entities lead us instead of us leading them.

Origin Begets Identity. Identity Begets Purpose. Purpose Begets Action. Action Begets Results.
Simon Sinek starts with why and moves to how and then what, which is great. But how can you know why you are? By knowing who you are. And how can you know who you are? By discovering where you come from. Why you are is predicted by who you are; who you are can only be objectively derived from your source, for better or worse. These are the irrefutable fundamentals of human existence.

True Success Is Being You to the Max
That means you can’t compare yourself to others to decide how you’re doing. You have to learn who you are and measure against that instead. Who am I and how is it like me to act in this situation? That’s the measure of true success.

Authority Belongs to Those Who Are Best at Not Exercising It
This world needs more leaders who lead through empowerment and support, driven by a relationship with those they lead. They have the authority to protect and support those they lead, not control them.

Submission Starts with Leaders in the Strongest Organizations
Leadership and submission are not contrary qualities. To submit is not to do whatever another person dictates but rather to prioritize and create safe harbor for another's perspective and desires. Great leaders are constantly doing this for others and setting the example of how to do it well.

If Your Capacity-to-Mission Ratio Is Less Than 1, You Need a Team
Here's an easy way to know whether you need a team: Is your personal capacity smaller than the size of your mission? If so, you need a team because your mission is larger than you. And if you need a team, you need to prioritize your team performance over your personal performance because your mission depends on it.

Great Leaders and Teams Thrive Through Crisis and Conflict
Crisis and conflict are essential ingredients to progress. While most people try to avoid crisis and conflict because they are difficult and painful and uncertain, they are accidentally fighting progress by doing so. Great leaders and teams learn to effectively respond to crisis and conflict so they don't block progress.

Great Leaders Move at the Speed of Relationships
Relationships are like organizational fabric. The stronger the relationships are, the more potential the organization has to bear weight. It's a common tendency of leaders to get things done as fast as possible, but great leaders curb this tendency by moving only as fast as their relationships will allow, putting priority on strengthening connection with people. This prioritizes long-term success over short-term results.