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Tom Rath is an author and researcher who has spent the past two decades studying how work can improve human health and well-being. His 10 books have sold more than 10 million copies and have made hundreds of appearances on global bestseller lists.\n\nTom was the Program Leader for the development of Clifton StrengthsFinder, which has helped millions uncover their talents. His book StrengthsFinder 2.0 is Amazon\u2019s top selling non-fiction book of all time.\n\nToday\u2019s interview focuses on Tom\u2019s newest book, Life\u2019s Great Question, which focuses on how you can use your individual style to contribute to teams and the lives of others, and how you can find the energy to be your best.\n\nLEADERSHIP INSIGHTS\n\n- Sharing your story\u2014and being vulnerable/transparent in general\u2014a will likely become more and more important when getting your message across as a leader.\n- You not only need to understand yourself\u2014you also need to know how you can serve others and contribute to the world.\n- If you don\u2019t focus your efforts on other people, you become more stressed and less fulfilled.\n- As a leader, one key goal can be to help people enjoy what they do at their work.\n- The Contribify inventory helps people understand the best place on a team for them based on their abilities, the rest of the team, and the need/goal.\n- The three primary contribution \u201cbuckets\u201d are: create, relate, and operate. It is difficult to come up with a scenario when these three are not important.\n- When leaders assemble their teams, the teams aren\u2019t always organized in complementary ways (e.g. the three contribution types weren\u2019t maximized).\n- Most leaders tend to be under-resourced on the relator side. Cognitive diversity is important to consider.\n- When people are in the right jobs, they will be energized in their work more and feel more connected to their community and their environment.\n- Most people do meaningful work every day. Surround yourself with reminders (photos, testimonials, etc.) and help other people see how their work is meaningful as well.\n- The twelve contributions:\n\n \t* CREATE\n\n \t* Initiating: How do we get started?\n \t* Challenging: Are we doing the right things?\n \t* Teaching: What do people need to know?\n \t* Visioning: What should we do next?\n\n\n \t* RELATE\n\n \t* Connecting: How do we connect people to our mission?\n \t* Energizing: How do we get and stay charged?\n \t* Perceiving: What does each person need?\n \t* In\ufb02uencing: How can we grow our client base?\n\n\n \t* OPERATE\n\n \t* Organizing: How do we make things run smoothly?\n \t* Achieving: How can we get more done?\n \t* Adapting: How can we adapt quickly to changes?\n \t* Scaling: How can we reach more people?\n\n\n\nQUESTIONS TO INSPIRE US TO ACTION\n\n\u2013 What is some lesson, saying, or experience that continues to influence your leadership to this day? \u201cLife\u2019s most persistent and urgent question is, \u2018what are you doing for others?\u2019\u201d\u2014Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.\n- Use three descriptors to finish this sentence: \u201cA leader is\u2026\u201d A teacher, a listener, and an observer.\n- What is a question that leaders should be asking either themselves or others? How can I wake up each day and ensure I have the energy I need to be my best for other people?\n- What book would you recommend to leaders? No Time for Spectators by Gen. Martin Dempsey (to be released in May 2020)\n- If you could get every listener to start doing something THIS week to help them be a better leader, what would it be? Direct as much time in a given day on focusing your energy on the development of another person.\n- As a general life principle, is it better to ask \u201cwhy?\u201d or \u201cwhy not?\u201d \u201cWhy?\u201d because it encourages curiosity.\n\nWebsite: