Dr. TJ Holloway Leadership Talk, January 2025 Sales Meeting

Dr. TJ Holloway, guest speaker at our January Sales Meeting, shared a motivational talk in which he emphasizes how effective leadership starts with self-leadership and self-awareness.

Dr. Holloway advocates for intentional living, honest feedback, and continuous self-improvement. His message centers on the importance of understanding how others experience you, living your values consistently, and being willing to acknowledge and work on your areas of improvement. He particularly emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence and authentic communication in leadership roles.

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

Key Takeaways:

1. Self-Leadership

• Self-leadership is fundamental to leading others effectively
• You cannot lead others well if you cannot lead yourself
• Modern leaders often struggle with: being nice to people, telling the truth, lateral teamwork, being assertive, and emotional intelligence

2. Self-Awareness

• There’s a significant gap between how we see ourselves and how others see us
• He describes three aspects of self: public self (what we show the world), private self (what we share with close ones), and secret self (our internal thoughts/struggles)
• Only about 10-15% of people are truly self-aware, though most think they are

3. Truth and Feedback

• Leaders must be able to give and receive honest feedback
• Truth should always be delivered with dignity and respect
• It’s impossible to know the complete truth about yourself without feedback from others

4. Values-Based Living

• Make daily plans to live your values and reflect on them each evening
• If you don’t live your own values, you’ll end up living someone else’s
• Identify your core values and be intentional about living them

5. Personal Growth

• Everyone has areas needing improvement – don’t be embarrassed by struggles
• “Struggling is not failure” – it means you’re trying and working hard
• Be willing to stop harmful habits and develop beneficial ones

Book Recommendations:

1. “Mindset” by Carol Dweck [Download eBook]
2. “Atomic Habits” by James Clear [Download eBook]
3. “Mind Hacking Happiness” (specifically mentioned to get Volume 1, not the blue one)
   Mind Hacking Happiness on TikTok
4. “Performance Conversations” by Dr. Chris Lee
5. “Winning the War in Your Mind” by Craig Groeschel [Download eBook]
6. “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown [Download eBook]

Full Video