full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Lorna Davis: A guide to collaborative leadership

Unscramble the Blue Letters


I got this huge round of applause and I was really, really pleased with myself. I wanted so much to be a good ledaer. I wanted to be followed by a devoted team, I wanted to be right. In short, I wanted to be a hero. A hero selling chips and biscuits in a pink suit.

(lthgeaur)

What happened after that speech? Nothing.

All of that aplspuae did not lead to action. Nothing ceahngd. Not because they didn't like me or the message. The problem was that no one knew what they were expected to do. And most iomrlnttpay, they didn't know that I nedeed them.

Now, you may think that this is a classic hero speech, where I'm going to tell you that I overcame that obstacle and triumphed. Actually, I'm going to tell you that in a world as complex and itcnceneetnord as the one we live in, the idea that one person has the answer is ludicrous. It's not only ineffective, it's dangerous, because it leads us to believe that it's been solved by that hero, and we have no role.

Open Cloze


I got this huge round of applause and I was really, really pleased with myself. I wanted so much to be a good ______. I wanted to be followed by a devoted team, I wanted to be right. In short, I wanted to be a hero. A hero selling chips and biscuits in a pink suit.

(________)

What happened after that speech? Nothing.

All of that ________ did not lead to action. Nothing _______. Not because they didn't like me or the message. The problem was that no one knew what they were expected to do. And most ___________, they didn't know that I ______ them.

Now, you may think that this is a classic hero speech, where I'm going to tell you that I overcame that obstacle and triumphed. Actually, I'm going to tell you that in a world as complex and ______________ as the one we live in, the idea that one person has the answer is ludicrous. It's not only ineffective, it's dangerous, because it leads us to believe that it's been solved by that hero, and we have no role.

Solution


  1. changed
  2. importantly
  3. laughter
  4. needed
  5. leader
  6. interconnected
  7. applause

Original Text


I got this huge round of applause and I was really, really pleased with myself. I wanted so much to be a good leader. I wanted to be followed by a devoted team, I wanted to be right. In short, I wanted to be a hero. A hero selling chips and biscuits in a pink suit.

(Laughter)

What happened after that speech? Nothing.

All of that applause did not lead to action. Nothing changed. Not because they didn't like me or the message. The problem was that no one knew what they were expected to do. And most importantly, they didn't know that I needed them.

Now, you may think that this is a classic hero speech, where I'm going to tell you that I overcame that obstacle and triumphed. Actually, I'm going to tell you that in a world as complex and interconnected as the one we live in, the idea that one person has the answer is ludicrous. It's not only ineffective, it's dangerous, because it leads us to believe that it's been solved by that hero, and we have no role.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
hero culture 4
pink suit 2
good leader 2
eileen fisher 2
people lean 2


Important Words


  1. action
  2. answer
  3. applause
  4. biscuits
  5. changed
  6. chips
  7. classic
  8. complex
  9. dangerous
  10. devoted
  11. expected
  12. good
  13. happened
  14. hero
  15. huge
  16. idea
  17. importantly
  18. ineffective
  19. interconnected
  20. knew
  21. laughter
  22. lead
  23. leader
  24. leads
  25. live
  26. ludicrous
  27. message
  28. needed
  29. obstacle
  30. overcame
  31. person
  32. pink
  33. pleased
  34. problem
  35. role
  36. selling
  37. short
  38. solved
  39. speech
  40. suit
  41. team
  42. triumphed
  43. wanted
  44. world