Podcast #138: Rocky’s Route, via UPS, to the Top!

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Becoming a leader of a team or perhaps a senior executive of a company is the dream of many people in the business field. However, what most people don’t see is the humble beginnings and the stages that you have to undergo to hone yourself in becoming what it takes to be a leader. Your attitude and outlook of what you can do and where you can add value to your job foresee your progression through company ranks.

Joining us in today’s podcast episode is our guest, Rocky Romanella. After a storied career that began on the bottom rung of the UPS ladder in 1976 and progressed up every rung to the boardroom, Rocky is now a motivational keynote speaker, founder and CEO of 3Sixty Management Services. 

 

Check out today’s episode highlights, and don’t forget to tune in to the show if you want to know more about the process of becoming an effective leader. Sit back, relax, and be inspired.

Jumpstarting Your Career (2:23)

• The most effective leaders are those who could get their people to connect the dots.
• How are teaching and coaching relevant in the business setting?
• Taking advantage of promotion within policy.
• You are expanding your skills and knowledge by surrounding yourself with the right people.
• What are the value-added solutions?
• Learn your job–and learn some more.

An Advice To Starting 18-Year-Old Leaders: What Is The Leadership Perspective? (05:15)

• Step back as a leader and let your people fly. You have to believe in your people until they’re ready to believe in themselves.
• It is essential to bridge the gap of confidence and knowledge for your people to fully believe in their capabilities.
• Think of that word you want someone to use to describe you at the end of your career. You will build that mosaic throughout your career—your brand identity.
• Answer these three questions: “Who am I? What do I stand for? What are the things I won’t compromise?”
• The importance for companies to articulate their values and demonstrate them through actions.
• Backing in first is the best opportunity to understand the set of circumstances you’re facing.
• It is not a leader’s characteristic to silently sanction bad behaviour.

Balanced Leadership, Thought, and Philosophy (12:22)

• The three critical constituents in business decision-making are your customers, your people, your shareholders, and stakeholders.
• When making decisions, you have to be able to represent these three key constituents. 
• You have to think like a customer—you want to make sure your people feel like valued individuals—but you want to act like an owner and make all the decisions.

The Importance of Customer Proximity (14:48)

• As a leader, you have to effectively train your employees in explaining to customers why your products are valuable, why they should buy it.
• In Rocky’s experience, he focused on getting a line of sight from everyone inside their organization. They do this by treating their product as if it was a patient and not an inanimate object. 
• Every business needs to be safe.

Starting From The Bottom-Up (20:05)

• Rocky loved understanding the business right from doing it himself.
• The fact that you’re willing to try to understand the job from the ground level and frontline level speaks volumes of who you are, as well as the respect that you give those people who are performing the task.
• Why should hard work be combined with enthusiasm?

High-Performing Teams (23:12)

• High performing team members place high accountability on themselves. 
• High performing team members hold each other accountable. However, mutual accountability can be demanding of a high level of service and deliverability.

Tighten The Lug Nuts and Leaving A Legacy (27:34)

• “Don’t allow important things to become urgent: tighten the lug nuts.”
• Legacy is leaving things or people a little better because of their interaction with the business—having made a difference to the lives of both employees and the customers.
• Being a good leader translates to being a good person. It is painting people with dignity and respect.
• Leadership doesn’t come with the title of a manager.

Book Recommendation and Rituals (33:55)

• Rich recommends the book The Lessons From The House by Dennis Snow, where he talks about his time with Disney. He also recommends Coach John Wooden’s books about the concept of hard work and the pyramid of success.
• “My routine is to get up early, square everything away, and make sure I’m in a good place. After that, I just hit the ground running from that perspective.”

You can connect more with Rocky on his website. You can also email him and send questions at rockyromanella@gmail.com. His book, Tighten The Lug Nuts is available on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

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