Lights, Camera, Authentic Leadership: Creating Oscar-Worthy Careers

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Hello beautiful people!

The Oscars were quite the show this week! My favorite part was during Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue, when he invited the production crew onto stage for a standing ovation. It was a pure moment of hard-earned recognition and respect.

That brings us to this week’s topic… how to create Oscar-worthy roles for your teammates.

As a leader, how do you create a work environment that gets people to say, “That was the best role of my career?”

Let’s talk about it!

🎬 Lights, Camera, Authentic Leadership: Creating Oscar-Worthy Careers

Imagine your team members feeling like they are living out their dream roles, working on a blockbuster project that gives them purpose and fulfillment...

Sounds like a Hollywood fantasy, right? But most of us have felt that magic at some point or another… that role that you compare all others to.

At Disney Stores, our job was to give families, “The best 30 minutes of their day.”

As authentic leaders, we strive to create a workplace where our people say, “That was the best job of my career.”

Not because it was easy or laid back, but because it had purpose, meaning, and connection. Every person felt valued and could bring their true, authentic selves to the role.

When leaders create a culture of authenticity, they give their teams permission to bring their whole selves to work. They create a safe space for people to share their unique stories, talents, and aspirations.

And that is when the magic happens...

So, how can you direct your team to career success? Here are a few things I’ve learned from my experience:

1. Write the script together: Collaborate with your team to define your shared purpose and values. Make sure everyone has a voice in the process.

2. Cast for authenticity: Hire people who align with your culture and values, not just their resume. Encourage them to bring their whole, authentic selves to work.

3. Provide star-worthy support: Offer coaching, mentoring, and development opportunities to help your team grow and shine in their roles.

4. Celebrate the wins: Recognize and reward your team's successes, both big and small. Make them feel like the stars they are.

5. Embrace the blooper reel: When mistakes happen (and they will), use them as learning opportunities. Foster a culture of psychological safety where it is okay to fail forward.

By leading with authenticity, you create a purpose-driven culture where everyone feels like they are part of something bigger than themselves... like they are starring in their own career blockbuster.

And that is how you create a team of engaged, motivated, and loyal high-performers who will stick with you through the sequel.

So, grab your director's chair and megaphone. It is time to lead your team to their best role and story yet. 🎥

What is one way you can bring more authenticity to your leadership style today?

🌟 Authentic Leader Spotlight: Matt Kaye, Co-Founder of Bindery Books

"May we leave our corner of the world better than we found it."

Matt is the co-founder and CEO of Bindery Books, a platform that empowers book tastemakers to lead their own publishing imprints.

Matt started his career as a book marketing at publishing houses like Avalon, Wiley, and FSG. After getting his MBA from Columbia Business School, he joined the Amazon books team, then held several roles in tech, including VP of Growth at seed-stage startup Inkshares, Head of Growth and Engagement at Trulia, and most recently Head of Product, Design, and Research at Patreon.

Matt took the time to answer a few questions about living and leading authentically:

What is your mission, either personal or professional?

At its simplest - I want to help people get their stories into the world.

I've experienced firsthand the power of stories, for me in the form of books. They changed the direction of my life. As a closeted kid in the 90s they were my lifeline. They helped me imagine futures I couldn't have imagined otherwise. They helped me articulate something I didn't yet have words for.

I'm happiest when I'm around books and supporting authors. And every time I've strayed from that mission I've felt the absence of it and found my way back. 

We founded Bindery because things have only gotten harder for authors, despite their work remaining as critical as ever. They earn less, are supported less by publishers, and are expected to reach readers themselves.

We believe that a publishing partnership between writers, who want to focus on their craft, and tastemakers, who have large devoted audiences of readers, opens up opportunities for a broader range of important new voices.

What does authentic leadership mean to you?

To be an authentic leader you have to understand yourself and communicate it, which in my experience is much harder than it sounds.

It's easy to adopt external definitions of success, structures, and language to lead, but it inevitably feels hollow. It's much more difficult to take the time to understand what truly drives you, what you're feeling, why you're feeling it, and summon the courage to make yourself vulnerable by sharing it.

Only then can you communicate a vision, lead through conflict, and motivate people in a way that earns trust in your sincerity, motivations, and desired outcomes.

What’s something fun you like to do outside of work?

Outside of reading, obviously, I love food and travel. I know it's basic but I'm an incessantly curious person. Trying new things, going to new places, feeling different, learning something, and feeling humbled wherever I go... it never fails to light me up.

Follow Matt Kaye on LinkedIn

🌈 What I'm LOVING ❤️❤️❤️

• For Women’s History Month, browse this list of 152 Non-Fiction books to enjoy and learn!

• In other book news, this new LGBTQ+ book club at the University of Maryland provides space for queer representation in literature.

✊ What's Worth Fighting For

• Family Equality joins Equality Florida and NCLR on a Historic Settlement to Roll Back Key Discriminatory Provisions in “Don’t Say Gay” Law

• David Mixner, a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, died this week at age 77. He helped paved the way for the right we have today, but as we know, those rights are far from safe. Read this touching eulogy from one of David’s friends and mentees, Brian Sims, on the impact this man had on the world.

🏳️‍🌈 Read All Pride, No Ego. A USA Today Best Seller!

• ​Barnes and Noble​

• ​Amazon​

• ​ShopQueer.co​

• ​Bookshop.org​

Love the book?? It would mean so much if you would leave a review.

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Until next time...

Jim