RapidStart Leadership Podcast

Ken Downer
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The RapidStart Leadership Podcast brings you short, interesting stories, revealing research, and practical tools to help make you a more effective leader. Whether you are a new leader, a seasoned manager, or mentoring someone else who is learning to lead, these podcasts will arm you with actionable takeaways you can apply, whatever the leadership situation you find yourself in. Host Ken Downer is the founder of RapidStartLeadership.com where his blog posts, videos, podcasts, and online courses equip leaders and mangers of all experience levels to become more skilled at getting things done through people. Through his 26 years of active duty as a U.S. Army Infantryman, he has lead people in a wide variety of circumstances, from the jungles of Panama to the cubical jungles of the office environment. Using those and other life experiences, he regularly shares practical tips and techniques that help leaders master the art of leadership, whether it is self-improvement, setting a vision, team-building, problem-solving, planning and organizing, communicating, or simply figuring out the first steps to take as a new leader. Becoming a great leader is hard work. The goal of RapidStart Leadership is to make climbing the leadership learning curve a little easier for you. Lead On!

  1. Culture Course Correction: 11 Ways to Avoid Going Over the Cliff

    02/28/2023

    Culture Course Correction: 11 Ways to Avoid Going Over the Cliff

    When it comes to getting things done, culture can have a huge impact not only on how well the team performs, but how likely it is that our teammates will stick around to do it again.  So, what do we do when we sense that our team’s culture is heading straight for the edge of a cliff?  Here are eleven ideas for how we can make a culture course correction with our teams. Notes and Resources: Prefer to read?  Here’s the full post:  Culture Course Correction:  11 Ways to Avoid Going Over the CliffHere’s a link to Daniel Pink’s book  Drive:  The Surprising Truth About What Motivates UsTake a quick leadership “I” test for a sense of how you may be inadvertently sabotaging your team’s culture:  The Leadership Eye Test:  A Simple Checkup for Your Team’s HealthCulture is shaped very powerfully by what we do when things go wrong.  Here are two inspiring stories about leaders who got it right:  How to Build Culture One Test at a TimeFor more ideas about how to strengthen your team culture through ritual, consider:  Team Rituals:  35 Pretty Good Ideas to Strengthen Your Culture  Quotable: “Water the plans you want to grow.” - Stephen Covey “A sense of autonomy has a powerful effect on individual performance and attitude.” - Daniel Pink “It’s hard to build a team if you make teammates fight for the same resources.” - Ken Downer Related posts:  How to Build Team Culture One Test at a Time Micromanagement:  7 Signs You’re a Micromanager and What to Do About It How to Build Team Culture One Test at a Time Stay connected with Rapidstart Leadership Visit the site at https://www.rapidstartleadership.com/ Tweet us at @RapidStartLdr Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rapidstartleadership Subscribe to the Leadership Updates NewsletterEmail us at Ken@RapidStartLeadership.comThanks for listening, and Lead On!

    10 min
  2. Increasing Engagement - How to Get People to Open Up

    02/27/2023

    Increasing Engagement - How to Get People to Open Up

    If we hope to develop high-performing teams, increasing engagement is always at the top of our to-do list.  But sometimes in our efforts to lead, we can get in our own way, and hinder the very thing we are trying to encourage.  Two brief interactions that went very differently illustrate how this can happen, and what we can do if we are serious about increasing engagement on our teams. Notes and Resources: Prefer to read?  Here’s the full post: Increasing Engagement – How to Get People to Open UpFind out more about Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends & Influence People or get the book here:  Win FriendsHere’s a link to a free copy of Dr. Gordon’s study:  The Difference Between Feeling Defensive and Feeling Understood.  Quotable: “When people feel defensive, they want to strike out; when they feel understood, they want to reach out.  When people feel defensive, they want to do something to the other person; when they feel understood, they want to do something for the other person.” - Dr. Ronal Gordon “I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiment of others. - Benjamin Franklin  “Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so.” - Lord Chesterfield, to his son Related posts:  Culture Course Correction:  11 Ways to Avoid Going over the Cliff Courage to Lead:  Re-looking the Role of Courage in Leadership Bad vs. Good:  Why Does the Bad Seem to Outweigh the Good? Stay connected with Rapidstart Leadership Visit the site at https://www.rapidstartleadership.com/ Tweet us at @RapidStartLdr Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rapidstartleadership Subscribe to the Leadership Updates NewsletterEmail us at Ken@RapidStartLeadership.comThanks for listening, and Lead On!

    5 min
  3. The 18th Mile: It’s Not the Finish Line Leaders Should Focus On

    03/15/2022

    The 18th Mile: It’s Not the Finish Line Leaders Should Focus On

    Most people know that a marathon is 26.2 miles long.  Successful runners also know that it’s a mistake to focus solely on that distance.  Smart leaders can benefit from similar thinking.  Whatever marathon we are running with our teams, to get to that distant goal, it’s not the finish line we should focus on, it’s the 18th mile.  Here’s why.  Notes and Resources:  Prefer to read?  Here’s the full post:The 18th Mile: It’s Not the Finish Line Leaders Should Focus OnWhen it comes to clearly defining the problem we are trying to solve, this post can help, and demonstrates why it’s so important to invest the time to do this part right:  What’s the Problem:  Problem-Solving Lessons-Learned from Moneyball.  Team culture is critically important in helping us make it through the 18th mile.  Here’s more on how to build one that will go the distance:  How to Build Team Culture From the Ground UpThe study of fund raisers is described in this paper prepared by Ashley V. Whillans from the Department of Psychology at the University of British ColumbiaMy post Beat the Hamster Wheel – 5 Ways to Keep Going When You’d Rather Not has several ways to help you and your team persevere.  Quotable: “Expecting and preparing for things to become difficult is the first step to overcoming them.” - Ken Downer   “The presence of an obstacle doesn’t necessarily mean we’re on the wrong path, just that we need to be more creative and resourceful to continue forward.” - Ken Downer    “The true team players emerge at the 18th mile.  Pay attention to who they are, value them, encourage them, support them; they are not always who we thought they were.” - Ken Downer   Related posts: How Serving Can Make You a Better Leader Type 2 Fun: The Secret to Achieving Your Goals Spotlight the Support   Stay connected with Rapidstart Leadership Visit the site at https://www.rapidstartleadership.com/ Tweet us at @RapidStartLdr Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rapidstartleadership Subscribe to the Leadership Updates NewsletterEmail us at Ken@RapidStartLeadership.comThanks for listening, and Lead On!

    10 min
  4. Leading Winning Teams: 5 Leadership Lessons from Mushers

    02/16/2022

    Leading Winning Teams: 5 Leadership Lessons from Mushers

    On a recent sub-zero day on a frozen lake in central Minnesota, I got a chance to witness great team leadership in action.  It was a crash course in what leading winning teams is all about.  Here’s what the experience was like, and five key lessons from the leaders themselves that we can all use in leading our own teams. Notes and Resources: Prefer to read?  Here’s the full post:Leading Winning Teams: 5 Leadership Lessons from MushersA great article posted on LinkedIn by Aaron Phillips goes even farther into detail with his conversations with several of the mushers featured in this podcast.If you are interested in a deeper dive into the interface between mushing and leadership, an hour well-spent would be with the Always in Pursuit podcast interview with 5x Iditarod champion musher Dallas Seavey, hosted by Mike Burke, an exceptional leader in his own right.  Quotable: “I have to figure out how to make each dog reach its best potential.” - Libby Riddles, first woman to win the Iditarod “They’re a great team because I eat beans and rice and they eat steak and eggs.  - Iditarod musher Lance Mackay “Good leaders do not secure their position by making others less confident.   - Caroline Blair-Smith, Musher “It is not what the challenge is, it’s how the team handles the challenge.” - Dallas Seavey, 5-Time Iditarod Champion “My job is to make sure these dogs succeed.  The race portion will take care of itself.” - Dallas Seavey Related posts:  How to Respond to Crisis: Four Steps for Leaders Positive Feedback – Catch them Doing Something Right Rapid Deliberation: 7 Ways to Hit the Target While Under Stress Stay connected with Rapidstart Leadership Visit the site at https://www.rapidstartleadership.com/ Tweet us at @RapidStartLdr Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rapidstartleadership Subscribe to the Leadership Updates NewsletterEmail us at Ken@RapidStartLeadership.comThanks for listening, and Lead On!

    10 min
  5. The Blemishing Effect: Why Selling Perfection Can be Self-Defeating

    02/02/2022

    The Blemishing Effect: Why Selling Perfection Can be Self-Defeating

    When we’re trying to influence people to choose an option we favor, we can be tempted to only talk about the reasons why they should.  But according to something called the Blemishing Effect, it may actually be in our best interests to point out why they shouldn’t, too.  Here’s why. Notes and Resources: Prefer to read?  Here’s the full postThe Blemishing Effect: Why Selling Perfection Can be Self-DefeatingDan Pink’s To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others is full of great insights about the ways we influence each other.The blemishing effect works best when people don’t want to invest a lot of energy into making a decision, and only when the negative “blemish” comes after all the positive information.   Related posts:  Influencing the Decision: How to Transition from Doer to Decider Hyperbolic Discounting and 7 Ways to Prevent Self-Sabotage How to Build Influence: Go From Gofer to Go-To with These 3 Simple Steps Stay connected with Rapidstart Leadership Visit the site at https://www.rapidstartleadership.com/ Tweet us at @RapidStartLdr Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rapidstartleadership Subscribe to the Leadership Updates NewsletterEmail us at Ken@RapidStartLeadership.comThanks for listening, and Lead On!

    4 min
  6. Do You Have Leadership Double-Vision? Should You?

    01/27/2022

    Do You Have Leadership Double-Vision? Should You?

    One of the many challenges we face as leaders is where to spend our time and energy.  Recently I came across an insightful analogy that can help us approach this problem.  It has to do with having a kind of leadership double-vision.  Notes and Resources: Prefer to read?  Here’s the full pos tDo You Have Leadership Double-Vision? Should You?The Essential Wooden by John Wooden and Steve Jamison is a great read full of insightful, practical leadership wisdom.Another great leadership read is Wooden on Leadership – more practical leadership wisdom woven into longer form stories about Wooden’s challenges and successes as a coach and leader.For more about the hazards of micromanaging, check out 7 Signs You’re a Micromanager and What to Do About It  Quotable:  “If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster.”  - Stephen Covey “If we are to devote time to any task, no matter how mundane, we should make sure that time is well-invested.”  - Ken Downer “Wooden’s focus on the details of every practice brought his team to the point that when the big games came around, he did not worry about the outcome.  He allowed the score to take care of itself.   - Ken Downer Related posts:  Book Notes – Wooden on Leadership: Think Small The Leadership Eye Test: A Simple Checkup for Your Team’s Health Visionary Leadership: When Social Proof Fails Stay connected with Rapidstart Leadership Visit the site at https://www.rapidstartleadership.com/ Tweet us at @RapidStartLdr Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rapidstartleadership Subscribe to the Leadership Updates NewsletterEmail us at Ken@RapidStartLeadership.comThanks for listening, and Lead On!

    5 min
  7. Running in the Rain: What to Think About When You Think About Quitting

    01/20/2022

    Running in the Rain: What to Think About When You Think About Quitting

    How do we convince ourselves to do something we’d rather not? It’s cold and raining outside, but I’m supposed to go for a training run today.  I really don’t want to.  To get myself out the door, here are the kinds of things that go through my head, and ways we can all think about approaching any difficult task that we’d really rather not do. Notes and Resources: Prefer to read?  Here’s the full pos tRunning in the Rain: What to Think About When You Think About QuittingType 1 fun is an activity that is fun in the moment, like a rollercoaster ride; Type 2 fun is more fun when looking back on it, like a tough workout.  It’s “fun when it’s done.”For more ideas on how to set and achieve your goals, check out my Goal Mastery Course; the first several lessons are free.Quotable:  “Our will is a kind of muscle, and it’s times like these when we can either train it to grow stronger, or allow it to atrophy.”  - Ken Downer “When it comes to willpower, winning today’s battle will make it easier to win the one tomorrow.”  - Ken Downer “There is no such thing as bad weather, only poor clothing choices.”  - Outdoorsman’s adage “The first step to growth is accepting discomfort.”  - Ken Downer “The impediment to action advances action.  What stands in the way becomes the way.”  - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Related posts:  Beat the Hamster Wheel: 5 Ways to Keep Going When You’d Rather Not Type 2 Fun: The Secret to Achieving Your Goals Where Did Everybody Go? 23 Ways to Stick With Your Goals Stay connected with Rapidstart Leadership Visit the site at https://www.rapidstartleadership.com/ Tweet us at @RapidStartLdr Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rapidstartleadership Subscribe to the Leadership Updates NewsletterEmail us at Ken@RapidStartLeadership.comThanks for listening, and Lead On!

    7 min
  8. Reflecting Back on the Year Ahead – 11 Ways to Make Your Reflection Session Pay Off

    01/20/2022

    Reflecting Back on the Year Ahead – 11 Ways to Make Your Reflection Session Pay Off

    As ever, with the approach of the New Year, there is talk of reflection.  Extracting the lessons-learned from the past year and using them as we look forward is a great path to continued growth.  But few are the people who will actually sit down and do it.  One reason may be that there is no owner’s manual to guide the process.  With that in mind, here are some ideas for how to go about reflecting on the year gone by so that the year ahead is as good as we can make it. Notes and Resources: Prefer to read?  Here’s the full postReflecting Back on the Year Ahead – 11 Ways to Make Your Reflection Session Pay OffWhy use pen and paper?  It gets us away from the screen, it triggers a different way of thinking, and it results in a tangible, concrete artifact we are more likely to remember. Here are the domains for reflecting that Donald Latumahina suggests, along with some questions in each we can ask ourselves:Material  Have we been able to reduce debt, add to savings, and spend wisely?What is the next career step, and how are we progressing towards it?  Are we in control of our possessions, or are they in control of us?Spiritual  Do we feel fulfilled? Why or why not? Whatever our belief set, how well are we practicing its precepts?  What about meditation or reflective reading?  What would our obituary say if it only covered the past year – what reasons have we given others to say we were a good person?Physical  What do we do to stay healthy? How often do we exercise, and is that adequate?  How could we be more active even without a formal program?  Is the food we eat helping or hurting our efforts to reach fitness goals, or to lead a healthy life?  Do we get enough sleep?Social  How would we rate the quality of our key relationships with spouse, family, and friends? What could we do to improve them?  Have we made new friends in the past year?  How well did we stay connected to old ones?  Do all our friends look just like us, or could we stand to have a little more variety in interests, background, and culture?Quotable:  “Explore thyself.  Herin are demanded the eye and the nerve.”  - Henry David Thoreau “Often, it’s not the hail-Mary pass but the slow and steady plodding that lead to our eventual success..”  - Ken Downer “Maybe the best way to start the new year is by thanking the people who helped us get through the old one.”  - Ken Downer Related posts:  6 Powerful Ways Leaders Reflect, and how Reflection Makes Your Team Great The After Action Review: A Leader’s Guide No Car, No Phone, No Clue: 10 Life Lessons from a Treasure Hunt Stay connected with Rapidstart Leadership Visit the site at https://www.rapidstartleadership.com/ Tweet us at @RapidStartLdr Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rapidstartleadership Subscribe to the Leadership Updates NewsletterEmail us at Ken@RapidStartLeadership.comThanks for listening, and Lead On!

    9 min
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About

The RapidStart Leadership Podcast brings you short, interesting stories, revealing research, and practical tools to help make you a more effective leader. Whether you are a new leader, a seasoned manager, or mentoring someone else who is learning to lead, these podcasts will arm you with actionable takeaways you can apply, whatever the leadership situation you find yourself in. Host Ken Downer is the founder of RapidStartLeadership.com where his blog posts, videos, podcasts, and online courses equip leaders and mangers of all experience levels to become more skilled at getting things done through people. Through his 26 years of active duty as a U.S. Army Infantryman, he has lead people in a wide variety of circumstances, from the jungles of Panama to the cubical jungles of the office environment. Using those and other life experiences, he regularly shares practical tips and techniques that help leaders master the art of leadership, whether it is self-improvement, setting a vision, team-building, problem-solving, planning and organizing, communicating, or simply figuring out the first steps to take as a new leader. Becoming a great leader is hard work. The goal of RapidStart Leadership is to make climbing the leadership learning curve a little easier for you. Lead On!

Information

  • Creator
    Ken Downer
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2023
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 RapidStart Leadership Podcast
  • Show Website
    RapidStart Leadership Podcast