Adam Galinsky: Inspire

Adam Galinsky is the Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Paul Calello Professor of Leadership and Ethics at the Columbia Business School. He co-authored the book Friend & Foe and his TED talk, How to Speak Up for Yourself, is one of the most popular of all time with over 7 million views. He’s the author of Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others.

Leaders can delegate many things, but vision is not one of them. Most every leader needs to be able to articulate the future. In this conversation, Adam and I explore the building blocks to get better at inspiring others.

Key Points

• Every leader has the potential to be inspiring. We can choose to get better.


• Whatever a leader says, either positive or negative, will be amplified.


• When values are brought front and center, they inspire behavior that creates a better future.


• Inspiring leaders offer a big picture, optimistic view of the future.


• Make visions simple and vivid. Simplicity is the key to inception. Use strong imagery that brings details to life.


• Repetition is essential for a vision to take hold. The more often we hear something, to more likely it becomes our own truth.

Resources Mentioned

• Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others* by Adam Galinsky

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

• How to Sell Your Vision, with Michael Hyatt (episode 482)


• The Beliefs of Inspirational Leaders, with Stephen M. R. Covey (episode 707)


• How to Create Your Personal Vision (Audio course)

Discover More

Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.