#70 Pull as you climb. Great leaders know their purpose in life and help others find theirs. A conversation w/ Ron Clark.

What is your purpose in life? When you know what it is, your life and profession can go to new levels of fulfillment. If you have not found it yet, imagine if you did know, and how good your life could be.

Today’s episode is with General Ron Clark. He is currently the commander of United States Army Pacific, but forever a proud son, husband, dad, grandfather, longtime friend, and mentor to many of us. 

We hope you enjoy today’s conversation with Ron Clark. 

Key takeaways from the conversation include:

•Pillars of Leader Development: General Clark outlines three pillars: education, training, and experience, all built on a bedrock of character (0:20-0:38). Training prepares for known problems, education for unknown or unknowable ones, and experience is gained along the way.
•Priorities in Leadership: He emphasizes people, partnerships, and prevailing (0:55-0:57). The Army is a people-centric service, valuing human interaction and building trust through relationships with partners and allies, especially in the Indo-Pacific region (1:03-2:05).
•Finding Your Purpose: The discussion highlights the significance of knowing your purpose in life and how it can lead to fulfillment (3:49-4:17). General Clark shares that his purpose has always been to be of service to others, which led him to join and stay in the army (4:35-4:43).
•Leading with Gratitude and Empathy: General Clark shares an impactful anecdote about always starting communications with "thanks" (5:26), which fosters a calm environment and encourages subordinates to report openly (6:55-7:27). He emphasizes that a leader's challenges are also his own, and his primary goal is to help solve problems rather than judge (7:55-8:37).
•Paying it Forward: The video showcases how good leadership and investment in people create a ripple effect, with mentored officers continuing to invest in others and collaborate to solve problems (11:10-12:50).
•Importance of Character: Character is defined as the decisions made when no one is watching, choosing the "harder right over the easier wrong" (29:17-29:29). It involves caring, empathy, and being true to your values, even in challenging situations (28:56-29:10, 31:19-31:24).
•Learning from Failures: General Clark discusses how he learned from a boss who seemed uninvested, realizing he should have been a better subordinate by communicating directly and understanding the boss's intent (34:14-36:18). He stresses the importance of two-way communication and active listening for effective leadership (38:11-40:01)

Why Teach Me to Fish?

Catch someone a fish, feed them for a day.
Teach them to fish, feed their family for life.

Our purpose is to help Leaders better understand what drives People to serve. In any organization, the core of recruiting and retaining talent revolves around leadership. And not just average leadership, but motivated, values-based, inspirational leadership.

Our Pursuit here is to get a little bit better every day.

Progress = Small Victories and stacking habits.

Habits like Getting up early, working your butt off, learning something new, Being positive and Surrounding yourself with phenomenal People.

Thanks for investing some time for yourself and thinking about the kind of People and experiences in your life that inspire you to be the best version of yourself.

I hope these conversations spark some ideas on what you can do to inspire People too.

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