Author Archives: willieryder

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About willieryder

Willie Ryder spent 10 years in the United States Marine Corps working in Communications and Information Technology in multiple different Leadership roles. He then went to work at Microsoft where he has been for almost 15 years now working in Engineer, Manager, and Leadership roles. Willie is very passionate about his personal and professional development and also helping others grow. Especially our next generation. He was an active member in Toastmasters for 8 years where he worked on his Communications and Leadership skills and has mentored many others in these areas. Willie has been a year round youth basketball coach at www.YesICanBasketball.com for 13 years where he has had the wonderful opportunity to work with and coach 100's of kids of all ages. The past 6 years he has regularly volunteered to speak about character traits and mentor kids at the nearby public elementary schools. Over the last 3 years he has been a volunteer mentor with the nonprofit organization www.RightMovesForYouth.org where he tries to make a positive impact on some of the local High School students. Willie has been married to Jennifer for 24 years. They have 2 daughters, a son, and a Siberian Husky. In his free time he enjoys spending time with family, attending and serving at Elevation Church, Coaching youth basketball, Writing, Public Speaking, Reading, and Running.

Leadership Shorts – Identify and Develop Successors

A leader should not only be concerned with the success of their team, organization, and company while they are there.  They should also be focused on making sure they are setup for success after they are gone.  The best way … Continue reading

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Leadership Shorts – Hope

When things are not going well and everyone is struggling it’s easy to be overly critical, wanting to complain, and looking to blame others. In these circumstances what you need most from your leaders is hope, the hope that no … Continue reading

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Leadership Shorts – Develop Others

The greatest leaders are always looking to help develop others. They make their selves available to those wishing to grow and improve. They honestly answer any questions and provide advice when appropriate. They are a welcome source of support and … Continue reading

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Leadership Shorts – Communicate Effectively

In order for a Leader to gain support and get the best from their people especially during challenging situations they need to be able to Communicate Effectively. To Communicate Effectively you have to start off by stating where the team/organization/company … Continue reading

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Leadership Shorts

Recently Walk the Talk decided to develop a new handbook on Leadership.  To help gather content they solicited ideas from the many subscribers of their popular mailing lists.  If your idea was selected to be included your name would be … Continue reading

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The First and Last Words

I believe I am a creature of habit.  My likes and dislikes, hobbies, and people I spend my time with are pretty predictable if you know me.  I usually go to the same restaurants, eat the same foods, read a … Continue reading

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Thinking and Acting Like a Child

“WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GROW UP AND START ACTING YOUR AGE!”   Wow!  Can you imagine being on the other end of that conversation?   Sadly enough, I am pretty sure most of us can.   Even sadder is … Continue reading

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Find Your Voice and Share It

Imagine its Monday morning.  You just pulled out of your driveway and you are on your way to work.  The radios playing in the back ground and you are cruising along through traffic just like any other day.  As you … Continue reading

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Lead, Follow, or Get out of the Way

"Pack up your stuff, you’re out of here, you’ve got orders to another duty station."    "What do you mean I got orders, I don’t want to change jobs, I love this job.  Does the Colonel know about this?"    … Continue reading

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