7 Takeaways from Brad Montague’s GLC Presentation on The Power of Belonging

By Anne-Wallis Droter, EO Staff Writer

EO’s 2025 Global Leadership Conference (GLC) brought together more than 1,600 EO leaders from 60+ countries in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, from 3-5 April. Attendees connected, shared experiences, and deepened their learning, and enjoyed visionary speakers with diverse life stories that inspired meaningful conversations and new ideas.

One popular speaker was Brad Montague, a New York Times bestselling author, illustrator, and the creator of the beloved web series, Kid President. His work bridges generations, inspiring both kids and adults through storytelling, creativity, and a commitment to kindness.

Montague’s engaging presentation, “What is the Community You Want to Build?” provided EO members with insights on how to be leaders who inspire growth in their communities. You can watch Brad Montague’s GLC presentation on the EO Learning Platform.

Here are 7 takeaways from Montague’s presentation:

1. Be A Better Grownup

Montague primarily works with children. In his web series, Kid President, he put his young brother-in-law in a suit, sat him behind a desk, and asked what the world would look like if a kid were in charge.

Basically, Kid President gave us ideas on what it looks like to be a better grownup. His guiding principles:

• Don’t hurt people’s feelings.
• Never underestimate the power of a dance party.
• Let people know that both their presence and their voice matter.
• Laughter is contagious.
• The stories you tell can create the world.

Ask yourself: How can you be a better grownup, and be the adult you needed when you were a kid?

2. Find Probertunities

Montague learned a new word from working with children who’ve been through hard things. They see “probertunities”— not just problems, but opportunities embedded within them.

One great example: When adults see a mud puddle, you say to yourself and your children, “Don’t step in that.” But kids see stepping in that same mud puddle as a way to make a big splash.

It’s important to view problems as opportunities. The shift in viewpoint might just illuminate the answer you’re trying to discover.

Ask yourself: How could you reframe your perspective on a current problem you’re facing and see it as an opportunity?

3. Fail Better, Together

We’re human, and we all make mistakes. So, why do we hold ourselves to unattainable levels of perfection?

When you experience failure in community, it becomes an opportunity to grow.

Montague created an event he dubbed “Fail-a-bration.” He gathered a group of successful friends who had written best-sellers and won awards. Nobody was allowed to share their successes — instead, they shared their biggest screwups.

“I realized in that event that not only was it funny, not only did people laugh — but it was profoundly moving, because in one minute, we're cringing at somebody's embarrassing story, but also thinking, ‘Oh, I've done that.’”

By the end of the Fail-a-bration, people were hugging. Adults were crying.

“By failing better, I don’t just mean ‘fail more effectively’,” Montague said. “I mean: Don’t fail alone.”

Ask yourself: Who would you invite to your Fail-a-bration, and what failure would you share?

4. Create Communities of Growth

As a grown-up kid, you maintain the ability to tap into the wonder of the world, reengage with curiosity, and imagine what could be.

“I want to invite you to not be childish, but to be childlike. Open your eyes and hearts wide, and say ‘I want to grow my circle wide’,” Montague said.

You create communities of growth when you build a culture where people know they belong, where it’s safe to fail, and where we grow together. After all, we’re all just human beings who want to be loved.

Montague wrote a children’s book to capture that feeling. One part of it reads like this:
“There’s a circle all around us, everywhere we go.
There’s a difference we can make, and a love we can show.
And maybe our work is to see those circles grow. Grow. Grow!”

Ask yourself: How can you playfully engage with life and fill people with wonder to encourage growth in your community?

5. Share Your Scars

Montague almost always wears a hat. While working with students who had experienced deep trauma, the kids asked why he wore that hat. He shared the truth:

“When I was little, I had a major surgery. They had to cut my head open from front to back. I have a scar. I wear the hat because I didn’t want people to see it. Because in stories, the bad guys have scars,” he said.

This led the kids and the teacher to share the stories behind their scars.

“That moment — telling the truth about something I was most ashamed of — brought us all closer. Because we all have scars. But more than that: We have the power to overcome them.”

And to remind each other that we are not alone.

Ask yourself: What physical or emotional scars could you share to enlighten others about a struggle they may be working through?

6. You Are Not Alone

Montague’s overarching message to EO members is that there is power in belonging, and you are not alone.

“If we want to create cultures of belonging, then we as leaders have to first know what it means to belong ourselves,” he shared.

There is power in belonging, and in helping others feel they belong. As an EO member, you enjoy support from the EO community when you face struggles within yourself or business. EO is a model for the supportive community you can build in your company and community.

By nature, entrepreneurs care about other human beings, and serve others by solving problems. Entrepreneurs see possibility where other people don't, which makes community all the more important.

“Leaders who know that they are safe, who feel valued, and who are joyful within inevitably create that same sort of feeling for the people around them,” Montague said. “The people in this room have the power to change their communities and the world at large together.”

Entrepreneurs deal with overwhelming challenges on a daily basis, and sometimes it feels overwhelming. But whatever problems you’re dealing with, remember that you are not alone.

Ask yourself: How can you help people in your company and community realize that they are not alone?

7. You Have the Power to Create Belonging

Montague, who often felt out of place as a kid and still experiences that as an adult, left EO members with an impactful thought:

You belong, and you have the power, wherever you are, to create feelings of belonging.

Ask yourself: How do you create belonging in your company and community?