"The fact that you're even willing to doubt yourself means you're self-aware enough that if you didn't feel like you were doing a great job, you would go and try to improve yourself. So David, I pronounce you, based on the power vested in me, a good leader." - Ben Arendt

I'd just told Ben I wasn't sure I'd qualify as a good leader if I actually took the test. He gave me a pass anyway, and his reasoning was this: a leader's willingness to ask whether they’re getting it right is the very thing that suggests they might be.

In this conversation, we get into 

• Why management gets treated as a rite of passage when it should be treated as a skill set that takes real training
• The two habits Ben recommends a manager start with tomorrow, beginning with an honest conversation about where you're strong and where you're not
• Emotional regulation and self-awareness, the two qualities Ben would add to almost any list of what makes a manager effective
• The "sugar cube" idea, meaning small, specific moments of recognition that build real trust over time
• The mental shortcuts that lead managers to misread their own people
• Why sales leadership is one of the toughest management transitions, and what high performers consistently miss when they step into leading a team
• The single piece of advice Ben would give his younger self about how to read difficult moments with other people

Management rarely comes with a manual, so if you'd rather not be the manager people complain about at dinner, consider this the kind of training most people never get.

About Ben Arendt 

Ben is the author of the Amazon best-selling How to Suck Less as a Manager and the founder of Depth Charge Consulting. He has spent his career advising leaders across technology, energy, government, healthcare, financial services, and beyond, supporting hundreds of executives through growth, transformation, and the work of becoming a leader people actually want to follow.

📘 Ben’s resources and books can be found here:
https://depthchargeconsulting.com/tools-and-templates/

https://depthchargeconsulting.com/published-works/ 

🌐 To stay up to date with all of Ben’s work, head over to: 

https://depthchargeconsulting.com/ 

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About the Host:

David Kent is the host of The Lead Smarter Podcast, where he has honest, grounded conversations with leaders shaping the future of work, leadership, and organizational growth.

👀 Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/0ibK8lRUlvE  

🔗 Follow David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-james-kent/

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