Speaker Series: Deepak Chopra on the Soul of Leadership
Check out Deepak's entire presentation here. This series of posts features select interviews, speeches and presentations held as part of the LinkedIn Speaker Series. The presentation below was held at our Mountain View campus, during Deepak Chopra’s visit. - Ed.
Social injustice, poverty, ecological devastation. Can we repair these global problems?
According to world-renowned author teacher and thinker Deepak Chopra, technology-- and LinkedIn-- has the potential to heal the planet in many ways, by fostering relationships.
“I believe that technology is the manifestation of God through the human nervous system,” Deepak said. “The Internet is the new planetary mind. It’s not just connectivity. It’s nurturing relationships.”
Deepak shared these insights, along with other ideas from his new book, The Soul Of Leadership: Unlocking Your Potential For Greatness, at LinkedIn’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View.
According to Gallup, 20 percent of the U.S. workforce is actively disengaged-- costing the U.S. economy $380 billion a year. If you work in an environment where your colleague or your superior ignores you, your likelihood of getting disengaged goes up by 45 percent. But if colleague notices a single strength you have, your disengagement falls to less than 1 percent. The solution, Deepak says, is nurturing your colleagues. And that happens through connecting.
Deepak contends that the best way to empower employees is to focus on their strengths. He cited Gallup research that shows that the four most important things people expect of their leaders are hope, compassion, trust and stability.
He spoke about how good leaders take calculated risks that comes from a deeper understanding of context, meaning and relationship. The most important thing, Deepak said, is living up to your values, being responsible for feedback and maintaining good health.
“If you focus on success, you’ll have stress,” Deepak said. “But if you pursue excellence, success will be guaranteed.”