Lead From the Heart

Lead From the Heart


Esther Wojcicki: How To Raise Successful People

June 14, 2019

Esther Wojcicki knows what it takes to raise successful children.


Her daughter, Susan, is the CEO of YouTube. Janet is professor of Pediatrics at the UC San Francisco Medical School (& a Fulbright scholar). And Anne is co-founder & CEO of DNA testing company 23andMe.


But in parenting her children into super-stardom, Esther wasn't the classic "Tiger Mom" you might imagine. Instead of motivating her daughter's performance through pressure & fear, she intentionally chose to inspire their high achievement by emphasizing five key values:


"Trust,” “Respect,” “Independence,” “Collaboration” and “Kindness.


At first glance, these values might seem soft ("Could Esther just have been lucky in raising three exceptionally successful people?"). But over a 36-year high school teaching career (California’s Teacher-Of-The-Year), Esther proved a reliance on these very same virtues consistently made her students high-achieving as well.


The big question for this podcast: Could an emphasis on these five values have an equally profound effect on workplace leadership as well? You might easily guess the answer, but at 78 years old, Esther Wojcicki is still teaching.  And she has quite a lesson plan in store for you whether you're a parent wanting to raise your own successful kids -- or a manager seeking a more enlightened way of leading people.