Before the pandemic, I was speaking at local colleges about career preparation. One of the topics I lectured about was leadership, a subject in which I had a lot of practical experience. I also had many great mentors who got me in the habit of continuous personal development and improvement. Because of this, I always was on the hunt for books, podcasts, and websites about leadership. One such podcast I stumbled upon was the Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk. His format, thoughtful questions, and quality of guests exemplified the kind of resource I was searching for regarding learning more about leadership.

In addition to his podcast, Ryan also had written a book. I bought it only based on the handful of podcasts I had heard, nothing else. His book is entitled “Welcome to Management.” It was a worthwhile purchase. Even if you do not want to become a manager, this book is valuable to everyone. I gained helpful information by listening to his podcast and absorbing his book. For an experienced professional like me, finding a younger mentor is a great way to keep my personal development fresh and up to date. 

When I decided to start this podcast, I had written a list of guests I would want to have on the show, and Ryan was one of them. I had not considered inviting Ryan to join me before having at least a few dozen shows under my belt. But then I took the same advice I give to many of the college students I coach, which is, “just ask.” And so, I contacted Ryan and just asked him. He answered with a very positive, “I’d be happy to participate.” 

You can learn all you need to know about Ryan and all his accomplishments on his website, LearningLeader.com. I know you will find him extremely knowledgeable about leadership and an excellent resource for personal development. I have already learned a lot from him listening to his podcast, reading his book, and subscribing to his weekly email, “Mindful Monday.” I am honored to have him as a guest on my show and look forward to continuing the conversation with him long past this interview. 

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Action Items

Ryan imparts a lot of value and knowledge. If you do nothing else, sign up for his email, it is a great read each week, and you can do so here. Besides what I have personally learned from Ryan just by interacting with him, I have extracted a few teachable moments from the interview:

• Start Building Relationships, Today. Look at the people around you who you work with every day. Find individuals you can learn something from and people you can teach. Offer your help to someone. By offering your assistance, others may teach you something new so you can help them. Building a network is a slow process. Start today, work at it a little each day, be consistent, and be genuine.
• Reflect on the what and why daily. If you want to improve yourself, make time to pause and reflect. Doing so provides you with a roadmap to improve and a purpose to do the next thing. Pick a time to set a daily alarm. When it goes off, crack out a notebook and review what went well and not so well today. Write down why you have the results you do and why. Pick one thing to improve upon and repeat the process tomorrow.
• Be Consistent. Nothing builds trust better than consistency. And, any relationship worth having begins with trust. Strive to become the peer who is the “reliable one.” Doing so will attract meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships. Start with something simple like being 5 minutes early for everything. Over time, it will become “the thing” people identify with you. 

Conclusion

The easiest thing about doing a weekly podcast is the idea to do a podcast. Producing a podcast in a professional and focused manner that provides value takes practice, as does anything worth while in life. I have learned a lot from interviewing a veteran like Ryan. I cannot express my gratitude enough to him for taking the time to provide a thoughtful conversation from which everyone can benefit. I will continue to practice this podcasting craft weekly and look forward to delivering value to all of you.

I appreciate feedback of all kinds, so please email me any questions or feedback to scott@getagoodstart.com. Have a great week, and remember, it doesn’t take a lot to get a good start; you just have to start. Thank you.