The “hot shot rule” to help you become a better leader | Kat Cole

Summary

Summary of "The “Hotshot Rule” to Help You Become a Better Leader" by Kat Cole | TED Talks Daily

Release Date: March 25, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of TED Talks Daily, host Elise Hu introduces Kat Cole, the CEO of AG1, who shares her insightful strategies on building confidence and enhancing leadership skills. Drawing from personal experiences and professional challenges, Kat presents the “Hotshot Rule”, a practical framework designed to foster continuous growth and effective leadership.

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Defining Confidence

Kat Cole begins by unpacking the concept of confidence:

“Confidence is just the reliance assurance that we believe in someone's abilities or qualities, but how do we know someone's abilities or qualities? How does anyone believe in mine?” (02:55)

She emphasizes that confidence stems from consistent actions rather than inherent self-assurance. By demonstrating capabilities through action, individuals can cultivate both self-confidence and the trust of others.

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Building Confidence Through Action

Contrary to popular belief, Kat asserts that action precedes confidence:

“Many people think you need a lot of confidence to take bold action. I think the opposite is true.” (04:10)

She explains that engaging in regular, purposeful actions helps individuals become comfortable and confident over time. This iterative process of acting and reflecting leads to personal and professional growth.

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The Hotshot Rule

The core of Kat's talk revolves around the Hotshot Rule, a systematic approach to enhancing leadership effectiveness:

1. Envision Your Role and Challenges:

   “It is the act regularly of thinking about my role. Everything I have, the challenges, the opportunities...” (06:20)

2. Identify an Admirable Role Model: Kat encourages envisioning someone you admire in your position.

   “I envision someone I admire in my seat. Tomorrow I'm gone and I'm just watching you in my role.” (07:05)

3. Determine an Actionable Change:

   “What's one thing that person I admire would do differently to make that situation better?” (07:30)

4. Implement the Action Within 24 Hours: She stresses the importance of timely execution to ensure momentum.

   “Acting on it within 24 hours.” (07:45)

5. Communicate the Action to Stakeholders:

   “Telling those involved. Once things get put in motion...” (08:15)

Kat illustrates that consistently applying the Hotshot Rule leads to meaningful changes and reinforces a culture of proactive leadership.

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Personal Anecdotes and Examples

Kat shares personal stories to underline the effectiveness of her approach:

• Early Life Challenges: Reflecting on her childhood, Kat recounts how her mother's decisive actions instilled in her the value of proactive behavior.

  “My mom fed us on a meager food budget, worked multiple jobs... She had no coach, she had no one to mentor her.” (05:30)

• Professional Milestones: From working various jobs in her youth to ascending to an executive role by 26, Kat highlights how self-driven actions propelled her career.

  “I started developing some self-coaching practices... It helped.” (06:50)

• Implementing the Hotshot Rule: Examples include flying to meet a business partner to hold them accountable and personally acknowledging situations that required better handling.

  “It's led to me thinking about someone who has recently lost a parent... calling my mom and saying, I love you.” (09:20)

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Implementing the Hotshot Rule

Kat outlines practical steps to integrate the Hotshot Rule into daily routines:

• Regular Practice: Initially quarterly, then monthly, Kat shifted to a weekly practice every Sunday.

  “Now I practice it weekly, every Sunday at 1pm when my kids... I take just a minute for myself.” (09:50)

• Envision and Act: She emphasizes the cyclical nature of envisioning, deciding, acting, and communicating.

  “I envision my role. I envision someone I admire. I ask myself, what's one thing they would do differently... I send the email. I schedule the flight. I put it in motion.” (10:00)

• Reaping Benefits: Over a year, this practice resulted in 52 actionable changes, fostering a reputation of vulnerability and a bias for action within her team.

  “Practicing the Hotshot Rule over time has led to things like flying to meet a business partner... sending a thank you to my husband.” (10:25)

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Impact and Conclusion

Kat concludes by highlighting the transformative power of the Hotshot Rule:

“The idea of having a practice of reflection, intention and action to drive growth, to show up and do something we otherwise wouldn't have to break through complacency or past patterns, is a superpower.” (10:30)

She encourages listeners to adopt this practice to overcome complacency, embrace continuous improvement, and build unwavering confidence. Kat underscores the importance of not letting past patterns hinder future actions, advocating for a proactive mindset to achieve personal and professional excellence.

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Key Takeaways

• Action Builds Confidence: Engaging in consistent, purposeful actions enhances self-assurance and leadership credibility.

• Hotshot Rule Framework: Envision your role, identify a role model, determine actionable changes, implement swiftly, and communicate effectively.

• Overcoming Complacency: Regular reflection and action prevent stagnation and promote continuous growth.

• Personal Accountability: Taking responsibility for actions fosters a culture of trust and proactive problem-solving within teams.

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Notable Quotes

• “Confidence is just the reliance assurance that we believe in someone's abilities or qualities, but how do we know someone's abilities or qualities?” – Kat Cole (02:55)

• “Many people think you need a lot of confidence to take bold action. I think the opposite is true.” – Kat Cole (04:10)

• “It's the act regularly of thinking about my role. Everything I have, the challenges, the opportunities...” – Kat Cole (06:20)

• “The idea of having a practice of reflection, intention and action to drive growth... is a superpower.” – Kat Cole (10:30)

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Conclusion

Kat Cole's Hotshot Rule offers a structured yet flexible approach to enhancing leadership qualities and building confidence through deliberate action. By integrating reflection, envisioning role models, and committing to timely execution, leaders can navigate challenges effectively and inspire growth within themselves and their teams. This practice not only combats complacency but also cultivates a proactive and resilient leadership style essential for sustained success.

Transcript

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[Elise Hu]

You'Re listening to Ted Talks daily where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Along with hosting this podcast, I'm also or mainly a journalist. And these are two jobs where you need to be confident in front of the mic, during an interview or at a live event. I'm always looking for ways to hype myself up, but I'm confident you get it that a lot of people can relate. Kat Cole, the CEO of AG1, has some tips. In her 2024 talk, Kat shares techniques we can use to cut through the fears that hold us back to become the most confident and greatest version of ourselves.

[Kat Cole]

So when I think about confidence, I first ground myself in the definition. Confidence is just the reliance assurance that we believe in someone's abilities or qualities, but how do we know someone's abilities or qualities? How does anyone believe in mine? It's simply through actions. So the best way to drive and build confidence, whether we're looking to hone it or build a reputation for it, or encourage people to have it in us, is to drive action. Interestingly, many people think you need a lot of confidence to take bold action. I think the opposite is true. It's action just getting comfortable with it over time, doing more and better regularly. It's reps of action that drive confidence. And that action and that confidence is what allows us to learn and grow. I'm someone who wants to continue to learn and grow no matter how old I get, how many successes or challenges, how long I've been in a role or company, I want to get better. And you're here, so I know you do too. So the question is, what techniques or practices can help us cut through the challenges that are in our way to acting, our way to confidence and growth? Many people believe some of the best actions are when we show up in tough times. And that's true. But it's almost easier to take bold action when things are hard. There aren't a lot of options. The more special muscle is the ability to coach ourselves to be greater, to do more, to be better, to even when times are pretty good, and to recognize that complacency is a very real thing and we are all blinded by our own progress. So one of the tools in my toolbox to drive action and confidence and growth is the ability to cut through that complacency. And I first learned this lesson from my mom when I was nine years old. My mom came to me and said, that's it. I'm done. We're leaving. And what she meant was, we were leaving. My father. My father was and is a very good man. But at the time, he was an alcoholic and a terrible husband and father. So when my mom came to me at the age of nine, I didn't cry and I didn't get upset. I remember thinking, what took you so long? Finally, it's about time. So often there are people around us just waiting on us to take the action, to do the thing, to do the right thing. And since then, I've been inspired to have practices that drive action over and over. Little ones every day or bigger ones, like what my mom did that day. We did leave my dad. My mom fed us on a meager food budget, worked multiple jobs for many years, and over the course of my young life. I got to see her day to day example. Someone without resources, without a playbook. She had no coach, she had no one to mentor her. Through this experience, she just acted her way to growth and improvement over time. As a result of this childhood, I started working at a very young age. At 15, I worked in malls. At 17, I was a restaurant hostess. At 18, a waitress. At 19 I began my leadership journey opening franchises around the world. By the age of 26, I was an executive in a very large company. And while I had fantastic supervisors and managers who helped me through my career, I lacked some of that outside in perspective. The mentoring, the things that could help stretch me beyond my day to day job. So I started developing some self coaching practices. And one day I heard from a restaurant consultant that you should sometimes imagine someone else in your role to help motivate you to take action. So I started doing that and it helped. So I started thinking about people I admired, someone specific. And there was something about thinking of someone I admired that brought this element of additional capabilities and excellence. It also made me feel a little accountable to act on whatever came to mind. And these practices evolved into today. What is the hotshot rule? The hotshot rule is simply this. It is the act regularly of thinking about my role. Everything I have, the challenges, the opportunities, envisioning someone I admire in my role, asking myself, what's one thing that person I admire would do differently to make that situation better? Acting on it within 24 hours. And then that's not the last step. Telling those involved. Once things get put in motion, I say something like, hey, I could have or should have done this thing, but I didn't. And now we are. And so let's practice it. So I think first of my role as a mother. I think of how can I be a better mom? I think of my role as daughter. I think of how can I be a better daughter? And I envision someone I admire. But often, and we're here to talk about work, I think about my professional role. So I think about my role as CEO of AG1. I have this incredible opportunity to be the leader of a phenomenal foundational nutrition company with millions of customers who rely on us to empower their health journeys. And so many team members who rely on me to be my best. Our customers and my team deserve for me to be the best over time. Not comfortable because we've had multiple years of success, but always starting with that day one energy. Then I envisioned someone I admire. So I just met all of you. I Think of you now. I envision you in my seat. Tomorrow I'm gone and I'm just watching you in my role. And I ask what's one thing and the first thing you would do differently to make the business better? And something comes to mind, something actionable. I take action on it within 24 hours. And then once it's in motion, I tell my team. Practicing the Hotshot Rule over time has led to things like flying to meet a business partner to hold them accountable when I had made excuses for them, or calling someone to apologize or acknowledge a situation I could have handled better or differently. It's led to me thinking about someone who has recently lost a parent or a loved one and envisioning them in my role. And it's led to me just picking up the phone and calling my mom and saying, I love you and how are you? It's led to me saying thank you to my husband for being a great partner. It's also led to me stopping initiatives in the company that I was allowing to perpetuate because things were just comfortable, but they were no longer serving the business. So that's what the Hotshot Rule is. And you can use it as a technique in a time of need, anytime. But its power lies in it being a regular proactive practice. It used to be quarterly and then monthly, but now I practice it weekly, every Sunday at 1pm when my kids, now 5 and 7, used to have naps, rip naps. I take just a minute for myself. I envision my role. I envision someone I admire. I ask myself, what's one thing they would do differently in my role? The answer comes to mind. I send the email. I schedule the flight. I put it in motion. And then once it's in motion, I tell my team. And over a year of practicing this weekly, a few things will happen. One, there are 52 things you've done that you otherwise might not have done or done as quickly. It builds a reputation of vulnerability and bias for action. My team brings things to me now because they know I'm constantly calling myself out. This practice has changed my life, and I believe it will change yours if you apply it. The idea of having a practice of reflection, intention and action to drive growth, to show up and do something we otherwise wouldn't have to break through complacency or past patterns, is a superpower. So be like my mom. Don't let patterns of the past get in the way of doing something different tomorrow. Ask questions that help motivate action and act your way into growth. And confidence. Thank you.

[Elise Hu]

That was Kat Cole speaking at TED Next 2020. Curious about TED's curation? Find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tonsika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballarezo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.

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