“What does it mean to be a leader and be authentic?”

So began a two and a half hour round-table discussion with 12 business leaders immersed at TEDActive in Palm Springs, Calif. last week. Simulcasting the Long Beach, Calif. TED production for over 500 learners from all over the world, TEDActive is designed for in-depth conversation and stimulating projects.

Slipping away from the official TEDActive events for an evening, the 12 of us engaged for a night more unique and interesting than I think any of us had expected. It was a Jeffersonian Dinner.

Jeffersonian Dinner @TEDActive

Sharing my thoughts at Le Vallauris restaurant for our Jeffersonian Dinner at TEDActive 2011. February 28 - March 4, 2011 Palm Springs, CA. Photo by Michael Brands / TED.

You get 12-15 of the most interesting people with which you would like to have a conversation seated around a table with the goal of thoughtful discussion around a few big questions. Mix in some great food and an express desire to hear one person speaking with 12 minds focused on one discussion, and you have just what Thomas Jefferson intended with his famous Monticello dinners of transformative connections.

When John Miles, the Chief of What’s Next at a great values-driven organization, Integritive, pitched me the idea to help curate the group, of course I was all in.

The question posed was quite appropriate as we had heard that day both Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, and Ingrid Nooyi, CEO of Pepsi, face the test of being authentic and leading a global public corporation begun in what seems like another age as their company’s products and the needs of the world struggle to align.

Whether it was MIT Media Lab cognitive scientist Deb Roy analyzing media and social network behavior to give us “a telescope into our own behavior,” or Al Jazeera’s Wadah Khanafar professing the power of social networks and universal values, or General Stanley McChrystal responding to the changing needs of leadership with more transparency with his troops, the TED conference illuminated the reality: the evolution toward authenticity is undeniable.

Our discussions didn’t end at dinner and were carried back to the TEDActive venue around the fire pits and bar. Over the next several days many attending that night commented on the elegance and engagement from the Jeffersonian Dinner format. TEDx organizers – the many amazing individuals that have contributed to put on local TED-style events all over the world – who were part of the dinner commented on including the format into their events or even doing it monthly salon style in their areas.

Posing for a Picture to Conclude the Inaugural Jeffersonian Dinner @TEDActive 2011

Posing for a picture to conclude the inaugural Jeffersonian Dinner @TEDActive 2011

So extremely thankful for a great week @TEDActive, especially for the thoughtful leaders who ventured to experiment with the Jeffersonian format, I showed up as a student with my pack full of what I know and added in the knowledge from each of you. Knowing that authenticity means you make mistakes and being proud to admit you’re wrong.

Still learning,

glen.

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