What it takes to lead as a communicator and communicate as a leader.

Leadership isn’t just about making decisions — it’s about how you communicate them. As Matt Abrahams puts it, “Communication is operationalized leadership.”

At a recent Me2We event, in connection with Stanford GSB's Executive Education LEAD program, Abrahams held a live discussion with four of the podcast’s most popular guests: Celine Teoh, facilitator of the GSB’s famous Interpersonal Dynamics course; Huggy Rao, organizational behavior professor and co-author of The Friction Project; legendary Stanford basketball coach Tara VanDerveer; and Dave Dodson, lecturer and author of The Manager's Handbook.

In this special live episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, the panel shares frameworks and lessons for leading and communicating more effectively. From Teoh’s five A’s for inviting dissent to Rao’s warning against “jargon monoxide,” from VanDerveer’s relationship-first approach to Dodson’s case for leading like a teacher, this conversation explores what it takes to communicate as a leader — and lead as a communicator.

Episode Reference Links:

• Celine Teoh
• Tara VanDerveer
• Huggy Rao
• Huggy’s Book: The Friction Project
• David Dodson
• David’s Book: The Manager’s Handbook
• Ep.194 Live Lessons in Levity and Leadership: Me2We 2025 Part 1

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