The Truth About Leadership With Ronald Reich

Wendy & Rich 0:01
Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Hartford County Living presents, Conversations with Rich Bennett. 

'Leadership'

Rich Bennett 0:28
sounds great on paper, titles, teams, responsibility. But the real work of leadership happens in the moments most people struggle with. Given on his feedback, having uncomfortable conversations, listening when you're busy, motivating people you've checked out, and earning trust when the pressure's on. My guest today has spent nearly three decades living in that space. Ronald Reich is a leadership management development expert with over 28 years of experience helping leaders, managers, and teams actually work better together. Not just at work, but in life. He's coached across diverse industries, facilitated thousands of conversations, and believes deeply that leadership isn't about authority. It's about emotional intelligence, clarity, respect, and connection. Ronald doesn't just teach leadership, he involves people in it. He challenges assumptions, brings research to life, and gives practical tools for things leaders face every single day. Like disengaged teams, personality clashes, time pressure, and the feeling that no one's really telling the truth in the room. So if you've ever wondered why your team isn't motivated, why people stop listening, or how to build real working relationships at last, this conversations for you, how's it going Ron? 

Ronald Reich 2:01
Oh, Richard. I mean, I'm smiling because everything you were talking about right there is a yes, yes, yes. Oh yeah, it's good to be here. It really is. 

Rich Bennett 2:15
Yeah. I want to get right into this because I think leadership is. 

I think, and I want to, God, I hate to say it, but with the, especially with the younger generation, what's the biggest gap you see between how leadership is supposed to work and how it actually shows up day to day? 

Ronald Reich 2:44
No, it's interesting because you're in the opening statements that you made, or you know, the aspects of leadership. One of the things that I'm noticing is that the younger the younger leaders now seem to be seem to have real, real difficulty giving, giving difficult feedback and having difficult conversation. 

Rich Bennett 3:12
Yes. 

Ronald Reich 3:13
And I think that's a big big part of it. I mean, I'm thinking specifically, I do a lot of work. For the American Management Association. I did a class for them three weeks ago, whatever, not long. And one of the one of the participants was younger. It's probably, let's say for arguments, like right around 35, 

Rich Bennett 3:36
Okay, 

Ronald Reich 3:36
okay. She's a manager and throughout the entire two-day session. This one person on my team doesn't do her work properly. I have to check everything just going on and on. I was like, you need to talk to her. You've got to give her, you've got to give her feedback. You need to have a tough conversation with her. And she kept pushing back. She'll cry. It's it's so hard. She'll cry. And I was like, I'm sorry. That's your 

Rich Bennett 4:05
life. 

Ronald Reich 4:06
job. 

Rich Bennett 4:07
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 4:07
That's your job to have those conversations. Not to make her cry. And that's not my point at all here. Is that I can help you. I'll help you with the feedback piece. I'll help you to learn how to have a tough conversation. She was afraid to have it because of how the person was going to react. And I was like, you've got to learn these skills because otherwise you don't belong in this role. 

Rich Bennett 4:31
Well, she was assuming that the person was going to react that way. And that may not have been the case. 

Ronald Reich 4:37
Yeah, yeah. I tend to think she would have. I do. I think the, you know, the employee herself I think would have probably reacted that way. And again, rich, it's just part of so much of leadership is it's not just one aspect. 

If you can't get done well or I'll be checking in with you, I'm going to give you feedback. And if that upsets you, and, and again, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a smart allocator. Please, I don't. You know, if you, if you're going to go crying to mommy when I do that, that's on you. Sorry, that's on you. Grow up. 

Rich Bennett 5:26
See, it's funny you mentioned that I had a business owner on and I, I don't know, I don't know where things changed. Uh, but he was talking we were talking about interviewing people looking for a job. 

Ronald Reich 5:44
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 5:44
and he was, you know, we were talking about the younger generation. I mean, he said he had some guy brought his mother in for the interview. People showing up in their pajamas. For an interview. Yeah, showing up late. I mean, I was raised. If you're not 15 minutes early, you're late. Actually, I want you to chime in on this because I've seen this with businesses, even some of your big corporate companies. Um, and I know this because my daughter worked there. They didn't want you there early. They, they, a lot of them want you there. When it's your time to start your shift. And that's when you clock in, but not coming in early at all, I, which I don't understand. I mean, do you think that could be. I guess in a way, poor leadership, because I mean, 

Ronald Reich 6:38
yeah, I think, I think a lot of it too though rich ties into the culture. These organizations and again, going, going back to the word that I used earlier for me, this is such a huge part of leadership. And this is whether it is for a department for an individual, whatever it might be is setting clear expectations. Expectations need to be crystal crystal clear just for, you know, just as an example, rich, listen, as you know, if you're a new hire, as we can, as, as you get started with us here, our work hours are eight o'clock to five o'clock. So you know, I expect you to be here at eight o'clock by eight o'clock every day. And when I say here at eight o'clock, I need ready to work, not coming in the door, going to get coffee and checking in with all your friends. I need you, I need you to be ready and just those types of things because one of the biggest one and this is research driven, because I'm also a voracious reader. One of the biggest reasons companies, departments and individuals fail is because expectations are not clear 

Rich Bennett 7:58
right? 

Ronald Reich 7:59
You never told me that you didn't tell me I had to check with you first, you never told me I couldn't make a $10, 000 decision, you know, whatever it might be and it's like everything has to be clear. And then that way, when feedback comes, it's not a surprise. 

Rich Bennett 8:16
Yeah. When did all this grow, Dan Hill? 

Ronald Reich 8:21
I think I think it started. I really, really do with it with it with the younger generations. And that's not, I please, it's not a shot at them either. I don't mean, 

Rich Bennett 8:32
right. 

Ronald Reich 8:32
Apply that, when did it start? I'm not sure. I'm really not because I think, you know, and it's it's it's such a trickle down 

Rich Bennett 8:41
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 8:41
effect. I mean, we have a neighbor who's just a dear, dear friend. And her son is struggling with some things right now. And this has happened with other people with whom I've spoken and coached or whatever. And it's like, Heather, you really need to talk to your son about this. And I mean, you need to let him know this behavior is totally unacceptable. I can't do that. I can't do that. He's my son. And I was like, Heather. Yeah. And I mean, otherwise, the problem is going to continue. And it's going to get worse. And I mean, that's a personal thing. And I believe that with all my heart, that it's going to get worse. And the same thing is applicable with, excuse me, the same thing is applicable with organizations. And I mean, I love this. I, again, it's one of the reasons I love to read so much is I pick, I mean, I get these little snippets or whatever. I read something recently about culture. And the author said the culture in an organization or the culture in a department is the lowest level of acceptable behavior. It's not what you said. It's not what you want it to be. It's the lowest level of acceptable behavior. 

Rich Bennett 10:02
Hmm. 

Ronald Reich 10:02
I want you here at 8 o'clock, Rich. That's the expectation. You're coming in at 8, 10, 8, 12, whatever every day. And if I let that go, that's the culture. 

Rich Bennett 10:15
I don't get it. I know, honestly, I really don't understand it. And I don't know if it started when it definitely started way before COVID. 

Ronald Reich 10:29
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 10:30
I'm 

trying to think, because I've been out of the corporate world for a while. And I mean, I started my own business worker for myself in 2012. But even since that time, other companies I've talked to, business owners, I'm seeing it. And one of the things I have noticed, though, and I'm sure you've been to them. You know, when I was, I'm going to go back to like, when I was doing car sales, we would go to the, they weren't webinars then because the internet wasn't. We would get to the seminars, you know, to see like Zig Ziggler and all that, all these perfect, you know, great leaders and we would come back and you pass it on to our sales staff and just get everybody motivated. And I think that has helped a lot. Now, I think you see more people focused on networking going to these networks. And not a lot of these seminars anymore, where you're learning leadership, I'm glad you mentioned the reading part. I think that's very important. How many, well, it's just how many leaders have even read anything by, well, even Dale Carnegie. 

Ronald Reich 11:54
Let's 

Rich Bennett 11:55
even go with the lost success. I mean, to me, if you're going to be a leader, I think that should be a mandatory thing, be honest with you. 

Ronald Reich 12:07
Here, Joe Paterno, 

Rich Bennett 12:10
made 

Ronald Reich 12:10
a comment one time that I, that I always remembered. He said, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. 

Rich Bennett 12:18
Yes. 

Ronald Reich 12:20
And again, at first, I was like, well, I'm not sure I believe that. And now with the more I think about it, that's true for me. And he followed up with as well. Because if you're not getting better, your competition is. So therefore, you're getting worse. And I like that. And it just makes sense to me. I mean, I think one of the things that concerns me too, in the classes that I facilitate with multiple people, and even just people that I coach one-on-one, very often my observation has been, they're learning too much. And that scares me. And again, I'm going over some of the, what I consider to be the basics. 

Rich Bennett 13:05
Right. 

Ronald Reich 13:05
And they're like, oh, my goodness, that's great. Oh, my goodness, wow, unbelievable. And I was like, oh, my goodness, you've been managing for 11 years. And you don't know this? 

Rich Bennett 13:14
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 13:15
It's like, oh, yeah, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 13:18
It's scary. All right. So, I mean, you've been doing this for, well, like we said almost three decades. You mentioned the one girl, the one lady that was afraid to talk to her one employee. 

Ronald Reich 13:34
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 13:38
And you spoke with her. What was the, do you know what the outcome of that was? 

Ronald Reich 13:43
I do not. Rich, in fact, I don't have her contact 

Rich Bennett 13:49
Okay 

Ronald Reich 13:49
information. simply because, you know, because it's a third vendor and everything else, we're not allowed to exchange contact information. 

Rich Bennett 13:57
Oh wow. 

Ronald Reich 13:58
I, I suspect I don't know. I don't know. I suspect she wouldn't have that conversation. Or if she did have it, it would have been a very watered down version of what needed to happen. 

Rich Bennett 14:14
What? Why do you think some people and I'm sure she's not the only one? 

Ronald Reich 14:17
She's not. I guarantee 

Rich Bennett 14:19
the 

Ronald Reich 14:19
you she's 

Rich Bennett 14:19
people. It's so hard. Why are they struggling to have those conversations? It's needed. I mean, I didn't like doing them, but I had to. 

Ronald Reich 14:28
Right. Right. Well, and I mean, I'll tell you what. First of all, I have, I have been aware of these feedback models and these difficult conversation models for many, many, many years. And let's be crystal clear about something. I don't like having difficult conversations. It's not fun for me, except I will do it because otherwise we all pay a price and that's not okay. 

Rich Bennett 14:58
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 14:58
You know, and I mean, I think I just, I think, you know, it's, it's so, so much of it is that everybody gets a trophy. 

You know, everybody gets a trophy. It's okay. You tried real hard and all this other stuff. And you know, I'll tell you, and I'm, I'm old school with this because I'm not a kid by any 

Rich Bennett 15:23
Right. 

Ronald Reich 15:23
stretch of the imagination anymore. And one of the greatest leadership experiences I had was so many years ago when I coached little league. And we asked my, my friends, Scott and I were coaching 13, 14 and 15 year olds. And we told them flat out first day. Guys, tell you what we are here to win. We are here to win. I want to win every single game we play. Here's how we're going to do it. We're going to play hard. We're going to play clean. And we're going to do everything in our power to win. And if we get beat, that's okay. Except I'm not okay with, I mean, I am okay with losing. If we 

Rich Bennett 16:09
Right. 

Ronald Reich 16:10
get beat by a better team. And you know, my point simply is, you tried hard. It's okay. Don't worry. It's like, no, get your head out of your. You know what? 

Rich Bennett 16:20
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 16:21
And pay attention to what you're doing. 

Rich Bennett 16:25
I do not miss coaching little league. 

Ronald Reich 16:27
I'm not sure I would go back now. 

Rich Bennett 16:30
Oh, well, and I want to I'm glad you mentioned that because here's the other thing too. And I'm thinking about that, that young lady that had that, that should have had that difficult conversation. And maybe this is a problem you're seeing with managers, business owners and leaders, because nowadays our society has changed so much. And I think a lot of people may be afraid to where if they are I'm just going to give me for an example, let's say I have to talk to an employee reprimandable, I don't want to see reprimand, but have that difficult conversation with them. And it's a young woman. That young woman can easily turn around and say that I said something offensive did something offensive. Do you think that may be why a lot of people are having those problems? 

Ronald Reich 17:20
I do, I do, I think there are so many sub factors 

Rich Bennett 17:25
in 

Ronald Reich 17:26
my here, it's incredible. And you know, for for whatever reason, I remember this. This was quite a few years ago. Still, you know, not long ago, where it was other generation. 

Rich Bennett 17:39
Right. 

Ronald Reich 17:39
We were, I was doing an AMA class and we had done an assessment. It was day three of a three day class. And I, you know, I had given the assessment out, everybody had completed it. And I was just kind of walking around the room. Looking at the results before we started to debrief it. 

Rich Bennett 17:58
Right. 

Ronald Reich 17:59
And I said, I said to one of the young ladies, Melissa, whatever her name was, I, you know, Melissa, can I just see your results for a second? I just, I'm curious to see what they are before we start the debrief. And she was like, no, you're making me uncomfortable. 

Rich Bennett 18:14
Huh? 

Ronald Reich 18:14
And I was just like, what? What? And, you know, and again, it's just like, where is this coming from? 

Rich Bennett 18:24
Right. 

Ronald Reich 18:25
And I think you know, a lot of times though, rich, yes, is that being a, everybody is also overly cautious because, oh, I, you know, I don't want to, I don't want to spur a lawsuit. I don't want to. And again, it's just, and I guess you know, sometimes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, 

Rich Bennett 18:43
no, you're fine. Go ahead. 

Ronald Reich 18:44
stop you there. One one thing that that is kind of occurring to me in the moment too, kind of we can go back to expectations from day one, Rich, or even just the whole team. Hey folks, at any point in time, if I'm doing something or if I'm saying anything that's making you uncomfortable, please tell me about it so we can talk about it real time because I don't know if anything is making you uncomfortable unless you tell me about it so we can also become an expectation except then they need to follow up on that because I can't force people to talk. 

Rich Bennett 19:23
Yeah, I was gonna say what's the fix to this but mean that right there said is one way to 

Ronald Reich 19:31
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 19:32
do it. 

Ronald Reich 19:34
yeah, and I mean it, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:37
It's my 

Ronald Reich 19:37
there needs to be that psychologically safe environment, so that people do feel safe in speaking up and it's not like, oh, you know, grow up Rich, you know, I didn't mean anything by that's okay, if that bothered you, it bothered you, let's talk about it. And then I think, you know, and this is where again, both sides need to understand it's a give and take. 

Rich Bennett 19:59
Right, 

Ronald Reich 20:00
because just because you come to me, you made me unhappy with that comment. Okay, that doesn't mean I'm not going to stop, I'm not going to just completely change my behavior either. 

Rich Bennett 20:10
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, with leaders, why do you think it's so hard for the leaders to actually really listen even when they think they are? 

Ronald Reich 20:24
You know, I think somebody made a comment one time about how someone asks, this is a video I saw whatever it was. How important is listening? Oh, it's critical. Absolutely. You gotta you need to learn how to listen effectively. No doubt about it. Who in the audience has ever had any formal training and listening and no hands go up. And again, my, my, I am so fortunate and I feel so very, very blessed because I'm certified to teach the seven habits of highly effective people. 

Rich Bennett 20:59
Really, 

Ronald Reich 21:00
Coby? Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 21:01
yeah. Oh wow. 

Ronald Reich 21:02
I've actually, I've actually been certified on three separate occasions for that. And habit five, from the seven habits, seek first to understand then to be understood. And, and essentially what the habits all about is good listening. 

Rich Bennett 21:20
Yeah, 

Ronald Reich 21:20
it's all about good listening. I want to understand you first, seek first to understand. So when I know what you're talking about, what your perspective is, then it allows me to respond to much more appropriately. 

Rich Bennett 21:34
Is that still a class? 

Ronald Reich 21:36
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm going down to, I'm going down to Orlando in a couple weeks to do it. 

Rich Bennett 21:43
I'm glad you mentioned that. How many people, I mean, because I, and again, I'm going back into the day, but those classes would sell out. 

Ronald Reich 21:53
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 21:53
Is it still the way, that way? 

Ronald Reich 21:54
It's, I, I am, I'm certified through AMA. So I teach 

Rich Bennett 22:00
Okay. 

Ronald Reich 22:00
it for AMA. And it is one of their biggest sellers. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 22:04
Should be. 

Ronald Reich 22:05
Yeah. Yeah. There's no doubt. Well, and Rich, you know, part, part of the, you know, part, part of the overview, when I, when I was looking at what your podcast is all about 

Rich Bennett 22:18
Mm-hmm. 

Ronald Reich 22:18
is the overlap. Of, of, of, of, of how, of how courses and just everything else impact both professional lives 

Rich Bennett 22:29
Yes. 

Ronald Reich 22:29
and personal lives. And that's what the seven habits is all about. There is complete overlap there. And I love that. I just love that. 

Rich Bennett 22:36
Hi. So, Ron, because I had no idea that you were certified in. What else are you certified that we do not know about? I thought, because I find that stuff amazing to be honest with you. I mean, 

Ronald Reich 22:49
it's, it's 

Rich Bennett 22:49
it's 

Ronald Reich 22:49
a, 

Rich Bennett 22:49
a, even covey's another one where it should be mandatory for people to read them. 

Ronald Reich 22:54
Yeah. Yeah. Well, and you know what? I, I, I, I, I got to give a little shout out to him, even though he's been gone now for many years. The first time I got certified out in Utah, the session itself Monday through Friday. And we were way, way up in the mountains of Utah, because it's a very intense week. And they, they didn't want any distractions and so forth. Steven stopped by on Friday morning of our training. 

Rich Bennett 23:24
Oh wow. 

Ronald Reich 23:24
We got a chance to talk to him. We had a Q&A with him and so forth. I talked to him one on one for about oh, Maybe five six minutes and in context. That's a long time. I mean, it really is and let me tell you something. He was the real deal 

Rich Bennett 23:39
Oh yeah. 

Ronald Reich 23:40
He was the real deal. He was listening to me. He was with me. He was paying attention. His eyes were not darting Who else is in the room that I can talk to 

Rich Bennett 23:51
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 23:51
and you know, and look at the impression it made on me All these heroes later 

Rich Bennett 23:57
Because he cares or he 

Ronald Reich 23:59
exactly exactly 

Rich Bennett 23:59
cared I mean the same thing happened with me. It was the Xigler Yeah, and and we went and saw him as a bunch of other speakers and Hey, the extra money to have breakfast and Usually you know those things you go to and they'll come around and say hi. How you doing now? He sat down with me He sat down at our table and actually chat it with us for a while, and there was only about 

four or five of us at that table you know, 

Ronald Reich 24:28
Well, 

Rich Bennett 24:28
it's that makes a 

Ronald Reich 24:29
difference 

Rich Bennett 24:29
big 

Ronald Reich 24:30
You know, I'll go back because I found this very interesting as well Probably about a decade now maybe something like that. I finished a class in Philadelphia is another AMA class, okay? We're finished. People have packed up most everybody has left 

Rich Bennett 24:49
the room Mm-hmm 

Ronald Reich 24:50
young lady comes up to me. This is a Friday Ron, can I can I ask you a question about work for just a second? Yeah, of course. What is it so we start chatting we chatted for maybe 10 15 minutes Whatever it was and all of a sudden she stopped and she looked at me and she was like wait a minute wait a minute We're finished Everybody has left you're not getting paid for this and you're talking to me and I was like yeah 

Rich Bennett 25:19
Hmm 

Ronald Reich 25:20
and she was like, I don't understand and I was like well number one, I I'd like to think that I'm a nice guy. So I'm glad to do it number two more importantly to your point because you use the The word the verb whatever I care Yeah 

Rich Bennett 25:36
Exactly, 

Ronald Reich 25:37
I care and I mean what is 15 minutes out of my life if I can help to make you better help to make your team better whatever That's what it's all about 

Rich Bennett 25:50
Yeah, and actually with with teams Because you see this a lot. I guess you I guess you do. I don't know when I work for myself. It's kind of hard 

Ronald Reich 26:02
to 

Rich Bennett 26:04
But with with team building and I'm thinking morale especially 

Ronald Reich 26:08
Mm-hmm 

Rich Bennett 26:10
and motivation which is very important, but you and I've seen I actually have heard some Business owners complain about this about morale being so low You know I cannot motivate my team. I don't know what I'm doing wrong What's the why don't there is no secret but any tips on that how these leaders can Motivate their team and keep morale up because let's face it low morale can kill a business 

Ronald Reich 26:37
Sure, oh absolutely one of the one of the biggest things number number one Actually, let me let me ask you rich 

Rich Bennett 26:44
mind sure 

Ronald Reich 26:44
if you don't What do you think are the major reasons employees become unhappy at work? Oh 

Rich Bennett 26:52
God there 

There could be several I want to say number one is I Want to say that like the owner is and I this happened at a place. I did work He didn't care. It's like you had to make an appointment to talk to him yep Yeah, and that brought down morale 

Ronald Reich 27:13
That's the number one reason absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 27:15
Okay, 

Ronald Reich 27:16
that's it I 

Rich Bennett 27:17
think another another thing is and you see this a lot where favoritism 

Ronald Reich 27:22
Okay, that ties in as well Yeah 

Rich Bennett 27:24
education 

If 

Ronald Reich 27:28
All these 

Rich Bennett 27:29
at education your employees educating your employees that's 

Ronald Reich 27:32
things right 

Rich Bennett 27:33
gonna kill it 

Ronald Reich 27:34
Right the number one reason people become unhappy at work. Is there relationship with their boss? 

Rich Bennett 27:41
The 

Ronald Reich 27:42
number two reason people become unhappy is their relationship with their peers and their colleagues their coworkers The number three reason is a lack of recognition and a lack of respect the point is that there is no there's no separation between those three things Meaning people become unhappy with their boss because The boss is not providing enough recognition or respect to his or her direct reports if people get frustrated People 

Rich Bennett 28:15
Yeah, 

Ronald Reich 28:16
become unhappy favoritism. I'm not getting trained. How about a thank you. How about it? You know, whatever it might be Sure And then, along with that, you know, I said it, uh, I'll ask you another question. Do we all come to work for the same reasons? 

Rich Bennett 28:34
No. 

Ronald Reich 28:35
Absolutely not. Point being, what I always recommend to my clients, 'How can I motivate people? Ask them'. Thank you. I know you're simply, 

Rich Bennett 28:45
mmm, 

Ronald Reich 28:45
ask them. I like to recommend three different questions. What do you love about your job? Number one, so then, you're starting to get into, OK, those are the kind of assignments I need to give Rich. That's what he's 

Rich Bennett 29:01
Right. 

Ronald Reich 29:01
passionate about. What frustrates you about the team? OK, fine. Now I'm getting into, you know, some of, you know, maybe some of the disconnects. You know, whatever it might be, last and not least, how do you like to be recognized? 

Rich Bennett 29:17
Mm, 

Ronald Reich 29:19
And 

Rich Bennett 29:19
OK. 

Ronald Reich 29:19
I mean, again, it's just because everybody's so individual, it's like, let's have a picnic. I hate picnics. You know, again, I'm just taking that out of the air. It's just like, 

Rich Bennett 29:30
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 29:30
'We'll give you more money.' Well, you know, oh, what we have bagel Friday, or you know, whatever. And it's like, it doesn't matter to everybody. You've got to find out each individual. And I mean, it's not, it's not, it's not exactly applicable, except to me. It's still, it, it, I'll try to tie it in if I can. 

Rich Bennett 29:51
sure, 

Ronald Reich 29:52
An old mentor of mine made a comment to me one day that I never forgot. He's like, 'Run, anytime you are doing a session, whether you're, whether you're talking, whether you are talking about a topic or whether people are doing an activity, whatever it might be, I expect you to be on 24/7.' And he said, 'The reason I'm saying that, run, whatever you're covering is important to somebody in that room. It won't be important to everybody. It's important to somebody, and they deserve your best at every moment.' And I never forgot that. And that, to me, ties into the motivational piece where it's like, it's, you know, the bagels will be important to a couple of people. Great. Not 

Rich Bennett 30:44
Right. 

Ronald Reich 30:44
everybody. I want to thank you. Can you please include me in more meetings? Could you please, you know, whatever it might be if you've learned these things? 

Rich Bennett 30:55
You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. If you're looking to grow your business in Hartford County, look no further than the Hartford County Chamber of Commerce. With over 700 members, they're dedicated to helping local businesses succeed. From networking events to business resources, they provide the support you need to thrive. Join today and start making valuable connections in your community. I did it. It's the best move I ever made. And definitely the best chamber I've ever been a member of. Visit HartfordChamber. org to learn more. The Hartford County Chamber of Commerce is your partner in business success. One of the biggest problems I had it because it's one company I worked for I was a manager. And I wanted to. Things I wanted to implement and to what with the employees to keep them around up and keep the motivation up, but the owner absolutely would not allow me to do stuff like that. How can leaders get around something like that? I mean, I know how I got around it, but how can leaders get around something like that? 

Ronald Reich 32:12
Sometimes and again, it depends on truly the culture and just everything else. There are times I'll do it anyway. 

Rich Bennett 32:19
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 32:20
There are as long as it's not anything that's going to be dangerous or completely opposite to what my boss is thinking about. Sometimes what I will do is just say, "Hey, you know what? This is the problems that's causing." By having low morale, these are the issues we have. 

Rich Bennett 32:41
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 32:41
This is what it's ultimately costing us. And what I'm trying to do is just for argument's sake. It's assumed we lose one person a year because of this. 

Rich Bennett 32:52
Okay, 

Ronald Reich 32:53
that's going to cost us probably at least $50, 000. You know, with salary and just, you know, turnover costs, recruiting, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, all that other stuff. And what I want to implement is $10, 000. We just gained $40, 000, $40, 000 boss. 

And again, my point, one of the other things you can always do too is, "Okay, if you're my boss. Ron, no, I don't want you doing that. Absolutely not." Okay, Rich, you're in charge, and I get that. One thing here, can we revisit this in a few months? Could we revisit this? Another.. one of the other things you can do to and again, this can be a little... the riskier, you know, whatever you want to call it here is again. Run! No, I'm not doing that. Absolutely not. 

Rich Bennett 33:48
Right. 

Ronald Reich 34:02
I'm concerned I'm going to lose people off of my team and I don't want you blaming me for that. 

Rich Bennett 34:09
I like that. Yeah, the leader's got to speak up, you got to speak up to the head cheese, I guess you could say. 

Ronald Reich 34:18
Well, and you know, very often when you have the guts to speak up, you can also get surprised in a good way. 

Rich Bennett 34:28
Oh yeah. 

Ronald Reich 34:29
I mean, I was thinking about this the other day for some reason many, many years ago, working for Toshiba, okay? 

Rich Bennett 34:40
I used to work there. Ah, 

Ronald Reich 34:43
many years ago, we were out in California. The training team was in California for a meeting. Our boss, Barbara, you know, we were talking about, you know, whatever it was. And it was a little odd, because in two weeks out, we were coming back to California again, which was unusual. I don't remember the whole situation here, my point though, in that initial meeting, Barbara made the comment. Okay, guys, here's the deal. Let's table this right now. We'll talk about it. First thing in two weeks on that Monday morning when we come back. And we had not yet agreed when that second meeting was going to start. And when she said, oh, we'll see. On that Monday morning, we all just kind of looked at each other and like there goes another weekend. Because it means we've got to fly to California on Sunday. My friend Rob, and we were not getting along with Barbara at the time, our boss. 

Rich Bennett 35:42
Right. 

Ronald Reich 35:42
My friend Rob, oh, Barbara, excuse me. Excuse me. I'm sorry. I'm not going to be here that Monday. I know exactly where I will be on that particular Monday morning at 9 o'clock. She's looking at it. Where are you going to be? I will be on an aircraft on my way out here because I'm not giving up another Sunday. I will not do it. My son has a swim meet. I'm not missing it. I've done too much of this. It's not happening. I'm sitting there, Rich, and I was very close friends with Rob in addition to being colleagues. I said, Rob, what did you just do? What did you just do? She is going to rip you up, Rob. He'll all self talk. Oh, you know what, Rob? That makes sense. That's not fair to you guys. Let's start Tuesday. And I was like, man, you had the guts to speak up, Rob. Thank you because I didn't. I didn't. And you did. Thank you. Wow. 

Rich Bennett 36:43
I don't understand why people are. Well, no, I do understand why some people are. I mean, that's. I would have never. The businesses I worked at, but I was taught that in the Marine Corps. 

Ronald Reich 36:58
Right. 

Rich Bennett 36:58
You have to speak up. 

Ronald Reich 36:59
That's right. That's right. 

Rich Bennett 37:02
Just so many different. I think a lot of people are scared too. They're afraid that they. Well, what if I get fired? Well, 

Ronald Reich 37:10
okay. 

Rich Bennett 37:12
As the businesses lost. That's not your loss. 

Ronald Reich 37:16
Rich, I've got to take you back to Stephen Covey against. He made a comment during that during that Friday, Q and A session that I will never forget. I was sitting next to this guy who was a vice president of a manufacturing company in Wisconsin. Stephen, he raises and Stephen. I've got a problem. He said to senior leaders of this or that my organization, they talk the talk. They don't walk the walk. And he said, I'm calling them out on their behavior and a lot of other things. And he said, I am deeply, deeply concerned that I'm about to lose my job. What do you think I should do? Steven asks him, are you a man of integrity? Are you a man of principle? Yes. Okay, I will work on that assumption. If you lose your job because of this and you were indeed a man of principle and a man of integrity, I guarantee you something. And when I heard the word guarantee my ears open. He said, I guarantee you you won't be out of work 

Rich Bennett 38:26
long. Uh huh. 

Ronald Reich 38:28
And I was like, whoa, that was really good. And I believe that I really do. It's like, Ron, you know, you know, you were fired from this lash up. Yeah, I wasn't. You know, what? I'm proud of that. I'm proud because I spoke my mind. It wasn't an environment where I could thrive. And so it's better, it's better that I'm, that I'm not there. And I hope I can thrive here. Let's talk about what the environment is like here. So it's a win-win. 

Rich Bennett 38:58
I, uh, are you sure we're not twins? It's, I think it's just the way we, both you and I were brought up. 

Ronald Reich 39:07
Yes, very much 

Rich Bennett 39:08
We 

Ronald Reich 39:08
so. 

Rich Bennett 39:08
learned along the way and are still learning. 

Ronald Reich 39:12
Right. 

Rich Bennett 39:12
And I'm sure, and you mentioned the reading, how often do you even go back read those old books that you've read before? 

Ronald Reich 39:20
I will. I'll go, I will go, I will go, I will go back into review. Absolutely. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 39:27
And again, I think that's something that a lot of people are missing. Now you're, and I encourage everyone, but you actually go to different businesses and people can hire you to come speak and train them. Right? 

Ronald Reich 39:40
Oh, sure. Absolutely. All 

Rich Bennett 39:42
right. So this is something I, I love the ass grind, because we, and I keep going back to that one woman that was afraid to talk to me, but I'm not going back to that. Can you share one or two feel good stories about somebody that you've talked to that you've helped, where when you first met them, you were like, wow, this is going to be a hard one. 

And they just turned around completely or surprised, 

Ronald Reich 40:15
really surprised you. Not, not so much a turnaround story, Rich, what I will share with you. One of the, one of the greatest times of my career was when I worked for a pharmaceutical company. And my colleague, Dave and I, were completely responsible for the future leaders program there. 

Rich Bennett 40:37
Oh, yeah. 

Ronald Reich 40:37
Okay. And it was so much fun. And we, you know, we, it just was. We put so many different people through that. And this was 20, 23, 24 years ago, whatever it was, I still talked to people now who have told me, run, I still use everything you taught on a, not everything. I am still using things, you taught us in that class all those years ago. That's what it's 

Rich Bennett 41:06
Wow. 

Ronald Reich 41:06
all about. That's what it's all about. And, and, and, and again, Rich, one of the, one of the biggest things here too is the, the stuff that you and I are talking about here is not the flavor of the month. 

Rich Bennett 41:19
Right. 

Ronald Reich 41:20
Principles that are timeless. Like Stephen Covey says, feedback, you've got to deliver it needs to be behavioral feedback. How do you listen well by being a translator? Listen carefully. That's not going to change. One year, four months and 87 days from now. Oh, no, no, no. Now you need to listen differently. Here's how you listen. No. And I think that, that, that, that's one of the things that people are missing. It's just like, these are the basics and people need the basics right up front and everybody needs it. It's not just the leaders. 

Rich Bennett 41:56
Yeah. All right. So you mentioned Stephen Covey, and we mentioned Dale Carnegie. And I think I mentioned Napoleon Hill, if not God. Why didn't I? But I mean, to me, three of the greatest ones that you can learn from, 

can you tell us three other ones that I would say leaders really should read their books or even go back and watch those lectures. I know with, I think Napoleon Hill, you can even still find his old lectures on video. 

Ronald Reich 42:33
I, I am a big fan of Patrick Lincione's work. Do you know Patrick at all? 

Rich Bennett 42:40
Huh, 

Ronald Reich 42:41
Patrick, Patrick Lincione L. E. S. Lincione, L. E. N. C. I. O. N. C. H. I. Something like that. 

Rich Bennett 42:51
Okay. 

Ronald Reich 42:52
He's, he's, he's written a bunch of different books. Most of them are fables. They're easy, fun reads. He has a great book on time management. He has a great book on team dysfunction. He's got stuff on, he, he wrote a book called The Advantage, which is all about essentially team culture. And what team cultures are all about admission statements. I love his work. I, I mean, he's, he's wonderful. The one of the other, one of the other gurus that I like. 

Rich Bennett 43:28
Okay. 

Ronald Reich 43:29
He, he, it just, again, point being the book that I'm recommending is, leading at a higher level. -- 

Rich Bennett 43:36
Okay. 

Ronald Reich 43:37
and it talks all about situatio do you delegate, when ot you need to coach, when a need to direct people, it talks a lot about recognition in there, that, that's well, well worth it, leading at a higher level, and the name is still not coming to me, and that irritates me. 

Rich Bennett 43:57
You. they're 

Ronald Reich 43:58
-- 

Rich Bennett 43:58
delegated. 

Ronald Reich 43:58
Ken Blanchard. -- Ken Blanchard. 

Rich Bennett 43:59
-- Oh, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, how can leaders actually help people grow without feeling like they're micromanaging? 

Ronald Reich 44:15
-- I, for me, one of the big things is, when, when you're confident that they can do the job, 

Rich Bennett 44:24
give 

Ronald Reich 44:24
them, give them the freedom, give them the rope, give them the rope, and as they continue to grow, make sure you are praising them, make sure you are recognizing them, and that way, and- and essentially, really just leave them the heck alone, just leave them alone, and I mean, I remember Rich, again going back to my very early days when I worked at Toshiba, that was when I first got into training and development. I did a lot of sales going to be doing my first advanced sales training class. My Jack Boss, my Jack Landry was my boss. He and I went through the material meticulously, because I mean, I was really nervous about this. I was a kid. I 

Rich Bennett 45:12
training. I'm 

Ronald Reich 45:12
didn't have a whole lot of experience and all this other stuff. It's like, Jack, can you be in the room with me? Ron, I cannot give you three days. There is no way in the world I can do that. He said, "I'll try to be there most of day one." Okay, I'll take anything you'll give me. 

Rich Bennett 45:28
Right. 

Ronald Reich 45:29
He was there most of day one. We talked it through. You did a really good job, Ron. Great. Here are a couple things. You know, you want to revise and so forth. Okay, Jack, how about tomorrow? Ron, I am really, really busy. I'll pop in here and there. He did same thing. Ron, good job. I just noticed a couple of small things. Not tomorrow, Jack. Ron, I'll pop in here and there. We started at 8.30, about 10 after 9, whatever it was. I always remember the door opens to the training room. Jack walks in. He's in the back. I'm up front. He's looking at me. He just smiled. 

And he walked out. He just walked out. He's like, "Cut it out, Ron. You don't need me. I got better things to do." And ultimately, you know, what he was doing was delegating to me. 

Rich Bennett 46:20
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 46:20
Wonderful. Except, he also knew I was ready for that. Right. 

Rich Bennett 46:27
Right. I'm looking at the time and there's one question I've been dying to ask you. And we mentioned the reading and everything. But when it comes to leaders, managers, or managers are leaders. We know it's important to read. We know it's important to take these, to actually have somebody coach you like you, Ron. But also, because when I think of leaders, I also think of more than one employee that they're leading. 

Ronald Reich 46:58
Sure. 

Rich Bennett 46:59
Do you also feel that it's important for good leaders to possibly take some other types of classes, whether it be public speaking? Oh God, the other one just went right out of my mind, right out of my head, but you know, like public speaking and other things like that. 

Ronald Reich 47:20
There's no getting around it. And I'll go back to, again, the guy I mentioned earlier for just a minute, my friend and my mentor, Rich Michaels, okay? We did a class together in Boston and everything had wrapped up. We were in, we were in the cab heading to the airport. He was flying down, back down to Florida, and I'm coming back down to Newark. Ron, good job. As always, yeah, we're chatting and everything else. He goes, I want you to do something, okay, Rich. What? He said, I want you to take a presentation course. He said, you're really good, Ron. You're really good. I think you can get even better. I denied to nobody. I was a little offended. I really, 'cause he had my ego 

Rich Bennett 48:04
Right. 

Ronald Reich 48:04
and just everything else, like, what do you mean, Rich? It was one of the greatest things he ever did for me, ever. What I learned from that, and again, I learned how to make good eye 

Rich Bennett 48:16
And 

Ronald Reich 48:16
contact. I learned how to, you know, work with an audience. I learned how to use my notes properly and just all these other things. And the confidence it has given me and the credibility. It has enhanced my credibility. So absolutely, it's outside of just the soft skills. There's no two ways about that. 

Rich Bennett 48:42
Uh, you mentioned something earlier too, which I forgot that I don't even know if there's a lot of them around anymore. But the future leaders of the future leaders program. Are you still seeing a lot of them or have they, they dwindled down? 

Ronald Reich 48:57
They dwindled. 

it as a fact. I've been doing this for a long time. And I say very very proudly. And based on our conversation, I think I have the credibility with you to say it. I'm very good at what I do. 

Rich Bennett 49:22
Oh yeah. 

Ronald Reich 49:22
And I say that very very proudly. And charge what I'm worth. 

Rich Bennett 49:30
I 

Ronald Reich 49:30
I mean, I do. And again, I'm not trying so omniscats me out. And therefore, my point though, I had a couple of conversations with a company in New Jersey 

Rich Bennett 49:40
recently. 

Ronald Reich 49:41
She said, "Would you send me an outline of what you do? And so for us, sure, please include your fee structure, I did, and she's been putting me off and putting me off and putting me off. And I think her concern is the money." And I'm like, you know what? I'm sorry. If you're not willing to pay for it, then if you can find somebody with whom you're comfortable, go for it. And I'm not going to sit here and say, "Who's better than me?" Because that's not what I mean. My point though is you find somebody that knows what he or she is doing. And you're going to, my God, I mean, you can't go wrong. It's the best investment you'll ever 

Rich Bennett 50:21
Right. 

Ronald Reich 50:21
made. 

Rich Bennett 50:23
Yeah. I just, I think, maybe every chamber should have something like that. A future leaders program. 

Ronald Reich 50:30
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 50:32
I mean, it makes sense to me. And also with leaders, how important is it for, I know it's important for business owners, but for the leaders themselves to be part of a mastermind group. 

Ronald Reich 50:46
Oh, absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 50:47
Okay. 

Ronald Reich 50:50
Absolutely. You know, I mean, to me, that's where, I mean, I don't know it all. I will never know it all. And I mean, that's one of the, that's one of the fun things is just to be able to share information, to 

Rich Bennett 51:05
Yeah. 

Ronald Reich 51:05
get information from other people. And, and I think, you know, it's it's so interesting because one of the, one of the things I like to do, particularly when I'm doing an AMA class, 

Rich Bennett 51:18
Mm-hmm. 

Ronald Reich 51:18
these are people typically that don't know each other. They're from different companies. The opening activity simply is, I want you to take the next 20, 30 minutes, start introducing yourselves to each other, your name, your role, your company, a passion you have, a challenge you hope to address. Fine. So they'll do that. They'll talk. The debrief. How does this opening activity help us to work together over the next few days? And everybody without fail. Oh my goodness, I'm not alone. I thought my challenges were unique and they're not. Oh my goodness. I feel like I know the people in this room now, and we've only been together a half an hour. And you know, we can talk to each other. I feel like I can open up to people. And it's it's it's those kinds of things. And you know, it's it's about building those relationships. 

Rich Bennett 52:14
Yeah. 

it's another great 

Ronald Reich 52:19
Hey, 

Rich Bennett 52:19
way to learn. Another great I, a couple of the mastermind groups. I'm in I, oh my God. We could sit there and talk for hours. 

Ronald Reich 52:28
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 52:28
But of course we know we can't because we want to get anywhere. 

Ronald Reich 52:32
Right. 

Rich Bennett 52:32
But we we've learned so much from each other. And it's yeah, I think it's important for everybody to to be a part of one. If someone listening wants to become a better leader starting today, not tomorrow, not next week, not next year, today. What's one behavior they should start or stop right away? 

Ronald Reich 53:00
I've been asked this before. And I'm going to go. I'm going to go. I'm a huge New York giant football fan. I 

Rich Bennett 53:07
I'm sorry. No. 

Ronald Reich 53:10
had. Hey, we just. 

Rich Bennett 53:11
Hey, 

Ronald Reich 53:11
we just grabbed your coach. 

Rich Bennett 53:12
Yeah. Yeah. You know what? You 

Ronald Reich 53:15
said, man, and we are happy. 

Rich Bennett 53:18
Oh, well, I bet you are. 

Ronald Reich 53:20
We're not. I can 

Rich Bennett 53:21
Praise 

Ronald Reich 53:21
imagine. 

Rich Bennett 53:21
that. I'm not. But at least you're not Steelers fan. So you're okay. 

Ronald Reich 53:27
I've been a seasoned ticket holder for many, many years. We were tailgating quite a few years ago. One of the guys in our group, Peter came up to me, CFO for a technology company in the city. Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Leadership Development Man. Give me one tip. Throw me the one tip that can make me the best leader possible. All right, Peter. Go have another beer, and let me think about it for a minute or two. 

Rich Bennett 53:53
That was a good 

Ronald Reich 53:53
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 53:54
tip, 

Ronald Reich 53:54
and 

Rich Bennett 53:54
though. 

Ronald Reich 53:55
yeah, my point to him was, and my point here, truly, Peter, if you're going to limit me to one tip, it would be, get to know yourself, extraordinarily well, because the better you know yourself, the more effectively you will work with other people. 

Rich Bennett 54:15
Wow. 

Wow. That is a great answer. I was not expecting that. But you're right. A hundred and ten percent. You are right. All right, so Ron, something very important. How do people get in touch with you? Probably 

Ronald Reich 54:37
the best way 

Rich Bennett 54:38
LinkedIn. Okay, 

Ronald Reich 54:40
just go through LinkedIn. Reach out. And again, Rich, one of the things I always say here, and I mean it. Anybody who wants to reach out, I will gladly have a conversation with you. And it is not going to be a sales pitch. It's not going to be, oh, I can't share that with you unless we work together, or whatever. 

Rich Bennett 55:00
Right. 

Ronald Reich 55:00
Just reach out. Let's let's talk about anything that's going on with you for you. And if we decide to work together, wonderful. If not, I'll still help you anyway, I can. 

Rich Bennett 55:10
In other words, these people should not be afraid to speak up and ask. 

Ronald Reich 55:14
That's exactly right. That's a good way to put it. 

Rich Bennett 55:18
So Ron, before I get to my last question, is there anything you would like to 

Ronald Reich 55:24
add? No, this has been fun. 

Rich Bennett 55:26
All 

Ronald Reich 55:27
right, really, really has. I've enjoyed this. 

Rich Bennett 55:29
Be too. In a matter of fact, I'm going to, I'm going to get my Stephen Covey book and go back and read him. All right, so here I know I don't know what the question is going to be. So you're going to have to pick it. But first pick a number between one and five. 

Ronald Reich 55:43
Two. 

Rich Bennett 55:45
Two. All right. So let me go to that block. 

Now pick a number between 21 and 40. 

Ronald Reich 55:54
33. 

Rich Bennett 56:00
These, I don't, these questions, somehow and others seem to always line up with what we've been talking about. And actually, this is a good question. You said 33 

similar to what I just asked you, but in a way, it's not. What is a simple piece of wisdom you often return to? 

Ronald Reich 56:30
Something I use on a daily, daily, daily basis, and I'm not making this religious. That's not my intent here is the serenity prayer. 

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And I've learned over the years, I spend my time as best I possibly can on the things over which I have control, the things over which I have no control. I just let them go again as best as I know how do I do it all the time. No, of course not. I've gotten much, much better at it though. 

Rich Bennett 57:07
Right. 

Ronald Reich 57:07
And that's something I return to on a daily basis. 

Rich Bennett 57:12
That makes you feel good to doesn't 

Ronald Reich 57:14
it sure does. 

Rich Bennett 57:16
I love that. Run. I want to thank you so much. The door is always open anytime you want to come back. 

Ronald Reich 57:22
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 57:22
Awesome. 

Ronald Reich 57:22
thank you. 

Rich Bennett 57:23
When you make it down here, if you ever make it down to Maryland, look me up because I 

Ronald Reich 57:28
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 57:29
know I knew Jersey. You guys don't get good crabs. 

Ronald Reich 57:31
No. 

Rich Bennett 57:33
If you go out, we'll get some good crabs. If you like see if it will get some good crabs. 

Ronald Reich 57:37
Okay, 

Rich Bennett 57:37
or even pip beef because there's nothing better to Maryland pip beef. You know, I mean, I'm trying to think what's good in Jersey. Besides, you know, no, wait a minute. No, that wasn't even Jersey. I'm talking about that freehold exit. I don't know if there's a coffee plant there or not, but every time I took that exit, it smelled like coffee. 

Ronald Reich 58:03
Really? 

Rich Bennett 58:03
Yes, I don't know what it was. 

Ronald Reich 58:05
I don't know. 

Rich Bennett 58:06
I'm trying to think what food wise what is Jersey known for? 

Ronald Reich 58:09
Jersey tomatoes. We have a lot of farms. 

Rich Bennett 58:12
Oh, the Roma tomatoes. 

Ronald Reich 58:13
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 58:14
Oh, yeah. Never mind. I was instructed about that by an Italian friend of mine. Rod, thanks a lot. 

Ronald Reich 58:24
Oh, Richard's been my pleasure. Thank you. 

Rich Bennett 58:26
Thank you for listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and learned something from it as I did. If you'd like to hear more conversations like this, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, I'd love it if you could leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners and share more incredible stories. Don't forget to connect with us on social media or visit our website at conversations with richbendit.com for updates, giveaways, and more. Until next time, take care, be kind and keep the conversations going. You know, it takes a lot to put a podcast together, together, and my sponsors help add a lot, but I also have some supporters that actually help me when it comes to the editing software, the hosting, and so forth. There's a lot that goes into putting this together. So I want to thank them. And if you can please please visit their websites, visit their businesses, support them, however you can. So please visit the following Full full circle boards, nobody does charcuterie like full circle boards. Visit them at fullcircleboards.com. Sincerely, Sincerely Sincerely, so your photography, live in the moment, they'll capture it. Visit them at sincerely soyer.com, the Jopitan Lines Club, serving the community since 1965. Visit them at jopitanlinesclub. org, and don't forget the E at the end of Jopitan because they're extraordinary.