Stephen Drum is a retired combat-tested Navy SEAL Master Chief who has 27 years of experience leading and developing high-performance teams. As a speaker and consultant, he helps individuals and organizations develop leadership and performance strategies. Stephen shares his thoughts on giving effective feedback, the importance of professional development, and decision-making pitfalls.

Key Takeaways

[4:25] If there is a secret to enhancing your performance, it comes down to intentionality and consistency.

[5:25] All the stressors that you feel in business… are similar to what you feel on the battlefield.

[9:20] A good leader is decisive and takes ownership. You have to be bold when you need to be bold, and patient when you need to be patient. Most importantly, you need to understand the root reason behind your decision-making skills.

[13:45] Failure is a requirement for success.

[16:35] You can create “self-contained” failure bubbles to help people prosper and grow.

[20:35] Business leaders are falling short when they’re not carving out time for training and development.

[25:45] When there’s an environment of fear, we react instead of respond.

[29:40] Thoughts on how to provide good feedback without being hurtful.

[34:40] The true leader becomes revealed when things go sideways.

[37:55] You might not always like your boss, but at the end of the day, you still have to be true to who you are, you still have to be dependable.

[41:15] Good sales staff and leaders ask the right questions to tailor a solution to the individual. It goes beyond serving their own self-interest.

[42:35] Listener challenge: Identify your key triggers and stressors, and get better at managing them.

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The Leadership Podcast is sponsored by W.S. Darley & Company.  

Founded in 1908, Darley remains a family owned and operated business, providing the highest quality equipment solutions to our country’s warfighters and firefighters.  

Learn more at darley.com and darleydefense.com

Quotable Quotes

Resources Mentioned

• Sponsored by: Darley.com.
• Connect with Stephen: Stephendrum.com, and Stephen on LinkedIn