What a 15-year-old meth addict taught me about leadership | Brian Fretwell | TEDxBoise

The first person in my family to leave this life!" (Breathe) (Inhale) And I remember when he told me that, at that moment, he wasn't looking at a drug

addict

. I didn't see a drug. Dealer or gang member in front What I saw was that the child that Nathan was had been trying to hide it his whole life. When I talk about

leadership

with people, we talk about confidence, we talk about courage, we talk about vulnerability, in that moment, Nathan

taught

me

what

. which really is

leadership

. The answers he gave me before represented

what

he honestly believed.

At some point during that time, he found the confidence to set a new vision. He had the courage to believe in so

meth

ing different even if it just happened at that time. moment, and he was vulnerable enough to say it publicly. This is the leader I want to be. Sal opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at leadership, and the interesting thing is that he didn't try. convince me. He simply asked me questions, regardless of the leadership position you are in, whether it is the CEO of a company or the leader of a team.

Or just a friend trying to convince his friend to make better decisions (Laughs). You have to step back and remember: leadership isn't just about "me," it's about "we," right? Most of the time people don't need our answers, they need our participation. They need us to believe that there is so

meth

ing we can help grow. I have no idea where Nathan is today. But what I do know is that the boy I set out to lead was one of the most influential leaders of my entire life. When we look at it this way, we see leadership opportunities all around us.

We simply have to have the courage to extract it. Thank you all. (applause)