#35: Ryan Hawk (The Learning Leader Show) — Leadership Lessons from 350+ Interviews
Today, I’m really excited to bring you an interview with Ryan Hawk! Ryan Hawk is a keynote speaker, author, advisor, and the host of The Learning Leader Show, which Forbes called "the most dynamic leadership podcast out there" and Inc. Magazine recognized on its list of "5 Podcasts to Make You a Smarter Leader." Featuring interviews with hundreds of best-selling authors and world-renowned corporate, athletic, and military leaders, the show has millions of listeners in more than 150 countries. He is the author of Welcome To Management: How To Grow From Top Performer to Excellent Leader.
Welcome to Management has received a lot of praise, and for good reason. #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Pink called Welcome to Management “the ultimate all-in-one guide to becoming a great leader.” New York Times bestselling author General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal said, “Ryan’s work provides nuanced and articulate insights into the best way to begin developing a plan to bring to light how we should lead—and it starts with reexamining ourselves.” Additionally, New York Times bestselling author Liz Wiseman said, “Ryan has uncovered the secrets of what the best leaders do and how they think. If you are a new manager transitioning from player to coach, do yourself and your team a favor and read this book.”
As head of Brixey & Meyer's leadership advisory practice, Ryan speaks regularly at Fortune 500 companies, works with teams and players in the NFL, NBA, and NCAA, and facilitates "Leadership Circles" that offer structured guidance and collaborative feedback to new and experienced leaders.
A lifelong student of leadership, Ryan was a high school, college, and professional quarterback and captain who advanced professionally from award-winning individual contributor to VP of Sales for a multibillion-dollar company.
Ryan draws upon his experiences, empirical evidence, and expert insights to strive for continuous improvement in his own life and to inspire other leaders to achieve and sustain excellence. He is passionate about helping others to become humble servant leaders who build committed organizations, as intentionally and painlessly as possible.
On this episode, we discuss:
His “why” for teaching [4:30]
“When you’ve been given a lot, I feel this responsibility to give a lot.”
“I chose to create my own form of a leadership PhD program by going directly to the professors I wanted to speak with, and those are the guests of my show, The Learning Leader Show.”
How it feels to have his book published [8:30]
For whom Welcome to Management was written [11:00]
The story behind the title of his book [13:00]
After over 350 interviews, what he says are the commonalities between those who sustain excellence over time [15:00]
“It is important to define excellence. I think excellence is the gradual pursuit . . . the gradual actions of getting just a bit better everyday. . . that the trajectory is going up . . . as James Clear would say, “the aggregation of marginal gains.”
“If there are two behaviors of people that I’ve found . . . when it comes to excellence is first they are very thoughtful individuals. They take time to reflect, to gain a true understanding of what’s real, what’s not, what is happening. . . . The second, and it stems from them being very thoughtful, is that they are intentional. . . . Once they’ve reflected, they go.”
His 4-part learning framework — learn, test, reflect, and teach [18:00]
The difference between a mentor and a coach [22:00]
Seeking and receiving feedback from a coach [24:30]
If you get feedback, do you have to take it? [28:00]
Leaders creating compliance vs. commitment [34:00]
Your “Say-Do Gap” [36:45]
Creating a positive culture [37:30]
“It’s what you do more so than what you say.”
“People are looking to you. . . . They are watching you more than you even realize. They are watching everything.”
Tips from an interview with GEN (ret.) McChrystal on leading in uncertain times and crisis [42:00]
Communicate relentlessly
Match your internal operating pace with that of your external environment.
Continue to reiterate what winning looks like for your organization.
What Ryan has learned about asking good questions from over 350 interviews on The Learning Leader Show. [45:30]
“I’ve learned that the best questions, the ones that really get us somewhere, are the follow up questions.”
Taking risks and getting started [48:00]
“We’re all going to be pretty average or below average the first time we do something. You just can’t worry about that. Keep striving to get better.”
Find out more about Ryan and his work at LearningLeader.com and connect with him on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
Check out Ryan’s new book, which is receiving rave reviews:
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