Ryan Hawk on Learning Leadership

Ryan Hawk is a keynote speaker, author, advisor, and the host of The Learning Leader Show, a podcast with 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 (McGraw-Hill, January 2020). A lifelong student of leadership, he rose to roles as a professional quarterback and VP of Sales at a multibillion-dollar company. Currently, 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 offers structured guidance and collaborative feedback to new and experienced leaders. In this episode, we discuss the transition from high performer to excellent leader and coach (5:33), what makes someone a great manager, what makes someone great at sales, and why are those considered “bad” words (8:14), where people struggle with helping people get to where they want to go (13:14), what helps people transition from focusing solely on their own success to focusing on the success of the team (18:57), his upbringing, what it was like in the Hawk household growing up, and the values that were instilled in him and his brothers (23:13), what it was like to be on campus with Ben Roethlisberger at Miami (OH) and to compete against him every day (30:15), how he defines competition (32:58), focusing on the process instead of the results (38:20), why some people prefer to stay in a sales role as opposed to a manager/leadership role (42:48), how he thinks about the process of getting some people to manage others (47:29), what people should do if they have a bad boss who doesn’t empower them (50:24), what it means to say “compliance can be commanded but commitment cannot” (52:24), what he thinks of the phrases “servant leadership” and “buy-in,” and if they suggest compliance as opposed to commitment  (56:13), what makes a good boss (57:47), what his days look like and what he does intentionally to make sure he’s at his best (1:00:05), and if there is a downside to his desire to be a learning machine that never stops (1:05:37). You can follow Ryan on Instagram and Twitter @RyanHawk12. Additionally, make sure to check out his podcast, the Learning Leader Show, and his website here. Thanks so much to Ryan for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian