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Leading with Purpose: An inspired and empowered team is a high-performing team.
What are you doing as a leader to create that culture for your employees?
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a powerful enlightened executive, Tim Lupinacci, CEO of Baker Donelson, on The Enlightened Executive podcast.
Tim shares his fascinating leadership journey, which was sparked by a difficult boss who saw his potential early on. That experience taught him the importance of being open to feedback and continually learning from others.
Tim also discusses how curiosity and reserving judgment are key leadership skills, especially when handling challenging colleagues or situations.
Leadership Lessons from Unexpected Places
Tim shared a surprising source of leadership inspiration: the Disney movie “Frozen 2.”
The film’s message about taking the next right step resonated deeply with him, influencing his approach as a leader. If you have seen the movie, you might remember the song “The Next Right Thing.”
It’s a reminder that even in the face of uncertainty, remaining focused on the present and making the best decision in the moment can lead to great outcomes.
- Action Item: Reflect on your own leadership journey. What unexpected sources of inspiration have you encountered? How can you incorporate those lessons into your daily practices and share the lesson with your team?
Connecting Purpose and Growth
As Baker Donelson expands and opens more offices, Tim’s biggest leadership challenge has been maintaining the company culture and connectivity across geographic regions.
To address this, he has focused on connecting individual job experiences to a greater purpose, providing training, and offering skill-building opportunities.
Tim’s passion for leadership extends beyond the corporate world.
He started a nonprofit called “Everybody Leads” to provide leadership skills to individuals facing challenges such as homelessness, reentry from prison, and youth needing education.
Through this work, Tim has found fulfillment in helping others build confidence, resolve conflict, and communicate effectively. And it gave him important leadership lessons he could bring back and share with his team.
He explained how his firm is also very involved in community, which helps them connect to a purpose. Baker Donelson is deeply committed to providing pro bono legal services to underserved and marginalized communities.
Within the past five years, their attorneys have contributed nearly 85,000 hours of pro bono legal services, which represents a value of more than $33 million in legal fees.
- Action Items: Consider your team members’ roles. How can you help them see the bigger picture and understand their contributions to the company’s mission?
- How might your organization get more involved in your community? Reach out to employees to tap their ideas and help bring that greater sense of purpose to your company.
Embracing Feedback and Authenticity
Tim emphasized the importance of being open to learning from others and seeking feedback.
He shared how a difficult boss, whose criticism wasn’t always constructive, sparked his leadership journey by recognizing his potential, and how he actively seeks feedback to improve as a leader.
- Action Item: Focus on authenticity and approachability. Create an environment where your team feels comfortable sharing their feedback with you and with each other. Actively seek out feedback and praise when it is given, even if you don’t agree with it.
Tim’s insights serve as a powerful reminder that leadership is a journey of continuous learning and growth. We need more examples of enlightened leadership like this, especially from the CEO position.
By embracing purpose, courage, and authenticity, we can inspire and empower our teams to achieve great things. Let’s all lead the way!
Tim also shares…
- His experience writing a book based on the concept of “everybody leads” and his own leadership journey.
- The importance of spending time thinking and dreaming big for personal and leadership development.
- How to prioritize employee mental health and wellbeing.