Everyone is a leader — just ask this leadership speaker and author of “This is Day One”
Drew Dudley is an internationally acclaimed leadership speaker, Wall Street Journal bestselling author and the creator of the renowned TED talk “Everyday Leadership (The Lollipop Moment). It’s taken two attempts to hold this conversation after a power outage, but it’s well worth the wait to learn more about his inclusive definition of leadership, and how he works with people to surface their core leadership values.
About the Guest
Somewhere around the middle of his undergraduate education, Drew realized engaging with the world was a lot more fun than writing papers about it. While still a student he became heavily involved in Canada’s largest post-secondary charitable initiative in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada, eventually serving as the National Chair of the organization. As he moved into his career, he took on the challenge of creating and building the Leadership Development Program at the University of Toronto, which became the largest and most dynamic in the country.
It was those leadership students who changed the course of Drew’s professional life: they secretly organized a campaign to put him onstage at TEDxToronto 2010, where he delivered a talk that would go on to generate more than 5 million views around the web. A high-achieving lifestyle took its toll however: undiagnosed bipolar disorder set the foundation for binge eating and drinking, and Drew grew to over 300 pounds while struggling with the emotional challenges of a career that kept him on the road 250 days a year.
Drew credits the Day One process with saving his life—he began applying the process to improving his mental and physical health. Recognizing how many people were struggling silently with similar battles, Drew began infusing these experiences into his keynotes, hoping to remind people that their scars in no way stand in the way of their leadership.
In 2018, Drew shared both his story and the Day One process in his first book This is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters. Today, Drew continues to travel the world sharing the Day One process with organizations of all kinds—aiming to redefine leadership for as many people as possible.
