Build an A-Team in Your Calling | An Interview with Whitney Johnson

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Whitney Johnson is an expert on disruptive innovation and personal disruption, recognized as one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world. She is a writer, speaker, consultant and coach on innovation initiatives for leaders. Her book, “Build an ‘A’ Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve” is the leadership handbook to accompany her previous book, “Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work”. Whitney served a mission in Uruguay and currently serves as a Laurel adviser. She and her husband live in Massachusetts and have two children.

Highlights

06:20 Background of the book, Build an ‘A’ Team

07:30 It’s people who disrupt, not organizations, and when people are learning something new they are innovative and drive disruption innovation within their organization

08:20 Protesters who demand change vs. people who drive change

11:00 Being a leader means having humility and allowing others to have their own revelation

12:50 Applying the S curve to learning in church callings

18:00 The importance of engagement

22:50 Personal engagement fatigue and church callings 24:30 Comparing where we are today to our past

26:00 Is the life of someone we serve better because of what we have done?

28:15 Repetition and change

29:00 Changing the job description to what is needed now

31:30 Choosing leaders by who they are on the inside, choosing people for potential and what really needs to be done

35:30 The learning curves of people in a calling