Episode 179 The Dirty Side of Leadership with Ron Ward (Part 1)

John talks with Ron Ward — the author of The Dirty Side of Leadership: Lessons about Management, Coaching, and Team Development, speaker, leadership coach, founder of 4Ward Operations, and co-host of the "The Dirty Side of Leadership" Podcast. Ron also served as Safety and Training Division Chief and Academy Director of the Federal Probation and Pretrial Services Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Charleston, South Carolina. Listen to this episode to learn more: [00:00] - Intro [02:51] - Ron's background in martial arts [06:50] - Ron's journey from martial arts champion to leadership coach [10:53] - Leaders that Ron studied [12:10] - Being open to learning from everyone [13:48] - Ron's insights on mentorship [17:18] - Being asked to fit into a specific box [19:53] - Misingredients in leadership [20:04] - Importance of practical application in leadership [20:42] - Empathy and trust in leadership [23:03] - Communication and psychological safety in onboarding [25:43] - Scenario-based leadership training [28:29] - Story of a hospital administrator's feedback skill improvement [28:40] - Using "noticed" and "wondering" for effective communication [30:50] - Doing informal check-ins within 48 hours of feedback  [32:57] - Easy win to do for entrepreneurs [34:53] - What social media is for entrepreneurs [40:29] - Supportive community in the podcast industry NOTABLE QUOTES:  "One of the most important facets of leadership is the investment in people." "We need leaders to step up now more than ever." "If there's an opening, you've got to seal the cracks, and that's hard to accept, but it's very hard work."  "You can learn something from every single person you meet. Even if you don't respect them, you can still learn what not to do."  "People want to know you care about them, and trust is what employees want from their managers." "It takes scenarios to build the skill set that you need, and you have to have active, willing participants." "The people who are very kind by nature really struggle with giving corrective feedback. They don't want to hurt anyone." "The problem I see is managers break trust all the time, and they don't understand that it takes a long time to build up and a short time to break down." "Your network really is your net worth and vice versa." USEFUL RESOURCES: https://4wardoperations.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-ward/ https://www.instagram.com/ron_ward_/ https://www.facebook.com/4WardOperations https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTpbt05behDaUwgUAPCNaYA https://a.co/d/91JiCDw https://a.co/d/1FhX2WY CONNECT WITH JOHN Website - https://thejohnhulen.com     Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen     Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen     Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/johnhulen    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen     YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA     EPISODE CREDITS Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/