In S4E9, we get NEW perspective as I’m joined by a manager who is just beginning his “corporate” leadership journey.  My guest, Ryan McKennedy first led others during his time in the US Military, then in the non-profit world before taking his first official people-management job in the private sector earlier this year.  He’s been praised for impacting other people’s careers through his engagement, highly positive energy, and commitment to excellence. Now supervising in a manufacturing environment, my guest has taken some time out to sit down with me and walk us through some of his learnings and best practices from leading in all three environments.  You’ll hear him talk about vocally setting expectations for language his team uses, and he shares some questions from one-on-ones that have successfully driven behavior change. 

I’ve invited Ryan to the ManagerMirror because I wanted to learn from his journey leading people in 3 different worlds.  Ryan enlisted into the Illinois Army National Guard in during high school and started his career in Afghanistan with the US Army where he was a part of the casualty liaison team in 2008.  Ryan continued to serve with the Army (NG) part-time while attending college and In 2016, after completing his MSW at USC, he took on a role as the Leadership Training and Retention Manager with Team Red, White & Blue – a national nonprofit committed to connecting veterans and their communities.  Ryan was promoted to Program manager and took on his first people-management responsibilities outside of the US Army in 2018.  In 2020, Ryan returned to the Army (NG) full-time leading a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration team.  Past staff praise Ryan for his hands-on engagement and general interest in their careers.  In April, Ryan started as an End-of-Line Assembly Manager with the highly-visible EV manufacturer Rivian, and he’s here to share from his experiences leading others in military, nonprofit, and the private sector. Follow Ryan’s leadership journey on LinkedIn to continue to learn from his perspective!