TED Talks Daily - The "hot shot rule" to help you become a better leader | Kat Cole (re-release)

Episode Date: April 29, 2026

Confidence doesn’t come before action — it comes from taking action, says business leader Kat Cole, who worked her way up from waitress to CEO of a global health company. She presents a simple yet powerful practice called the “hot shot rule” to help you step into a leadership mindset, break free from inertia and take decisive action when it matters most.This episode originally aired in 2025.Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. Confidence doesn't come before action. It comes from it, according to business leader Kat Cole. It's action, just getting comfortable with it over time, doing more and better regularly. It's reps of action that drive confidence. In this talk, we're resharing from 2024, Kat, who worked her way up from waitress to CEO of AG1, a global health company. introduces something she calls the hotshot rule,

a deceptively simple practice she's been using for more than 15 years to help you step into a leadership mindset. It also helps you break free from inertia and take decisive action when it matters most. So often there are people around us just waiting on us to take the action, to do the thing, to do the right thing. It all starts with one question, one person you admire, and 24 hours. It's coming up right after a short break. And now our TED Talk of the day.

So when I think about confidence, I first ground myself in the definition. Confidence is just the reliance or 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, 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-o-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-end 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 hot shot rule. The hot shot 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, 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 envision some.

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 hot shot 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 hot shot rule is. And you can use it as a technique in a time of need any time. 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 1 p.m., 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. That was Kat Cole at TEDnext, 2024. This talk was originally published in March of 2025. If you're curious about Ted's curation, find out more at TED.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective.

This talk was fact-checked by the TED Research Team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Lucy Little, and Tonicaa Sung Marnivong. This episode was made. mixed by Christopher Faisie Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Balezzo. I'm Elise Hugh. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.