554: Step into Your Fear - Ron Macklin

Do you hesitate to raise your hand for leadership opportunities? The fear of failure holds many people back from stepping up. But leadership abilities will soon be required of us all. How can we move past self-doubt and embrace our inner leader?Join Denis Gianoutsos as he interviews Ron Macklin, president of Macklin Connection, about overcoming fear to unlock leadership potential. They dive into why people are reluctant to lead, how to intentionally shape organizational culture, how to retain engaged employees through constant coaching, and why developing leadership skills will be a responsibility for everyone in the future.Tune in for practical insights on building courage, creating self-directed teams, and preparing for a world where leadership is distributed across roles. It's time to step into our discomfort zones and lead.In This Episode:Ron elaborates on how he realized early in his engineering career that he had a passion for building and leading teams.The guest speaker explains that in sports and business, few people want to lead, and many are afraid. He stepped up to lead because he hated losing.Ron articulates that leaders must decide whether they want the organizational culture to be shaped intentionally or just let it drift.Denis underscores that leaders are often afraid to have difficult conversations and make decisions, and this can hurt the organization.The guest illustrates an organization that experienced high employee turnover before implementing training. Afterward, employee retention jumped from 65% to 95%.Ron highlights that employees today want to contribute and make a difference. If they can't, they may choose to leave or start their own companies.Ron predicts that in the future, everyone will need to have leadership skills. It will become a responsibility rather than a specialized role.Main Takeaways:Being comfortable with discomfort allows you to focus on care, passion, and creativity rather than avoiding risk.Listen to your inner voice and stories to build connections and create change.Learn the tactical skills required to run a business, not just do the work you love.Hire those with a growth mindset who are open to learning rather than resistant.Thank and release disengaged employees to allow them and you to thrive elsewhere.Build trust by having open and direct conversations about real issues.Develop both robust leadership and followership skills to fluidly transition between roles.Quotes:"Being afraid is normal, and we're all experiencing it. The only way to deal with it is to talk about your fears." - Ron Macklin"Everybody needs to have a bit of leadership skills because, at different times, everyone will be leading the group. A self-directed team means that whoever has the best idea or situation takes the lead at that moment." - Ron Macklin"Sometimes we have to have the conversation for the better of everybody." - Denis Gianoutsos"It needs to be an ongoing conversation so that people don't have to waste their lives in jobs they hate."  - Ron Macklin"When you have the skill to lead and the skill to follow, you can begin to notice other people’s skill to lead." - Ron MacklinConnect with Ron: Website: https://www.macklinconnection.com/ LinkedIn: