Leaders and Their Stories

Richard Lowe: Hello. This is Richard Lowe, and this is the leaders in their stories. Podcast

Richard Lowe: I'm the writing king and ghostwriting Guru.

Richard Lowe: And with me is Pat Walsh

Richard Lowe: who is going to talk about leadership today? Pat, how you doing.

pat welsh: Doing well, Richard, thank you.

Richard Lowe: So why don't you introduce yourself.

pat welsh: Well, the readers digest version. Currently, I'm a national speaker, trainer, author.

pat welsh: and podcaster on the warrior, leader, warrior, servant, leader, mindset, and I also teach Constitutional law

pat welsh: and Strategic management for law enforcement through

pat welsh: the Southern Police Institute, out of the University of Louisville.

Richard Lowe: Interesting, interesting. And your background.

pat welsh: Born in Dublin, Ireland, lived in an orphanage from the time I was 3 days old till 16 months old.

pat welsh: adopted to the Us. And eventually became a lawyer.

pat welsh: There's a prosecutor turned cop, and I was in law enforcement for 30 years and retired

pat welsh: 13 years ago and move to Colorado.

Richard Lowe: Interesting, interesting. I've been to Colorado maybe 3 or 4 times.

Richard Lowe: Seems like an interesting state.

pat welsh: It's it's lovely. It's interesting. The politics is interesting, but

pat welsh: I don't go there. But you can't. I mean, this is God's country. When it comes to. I live right at the foothills of the Front Range on 5 acres, and I see 68 miles unobstructed views of of the front range, so it is absolutely gorgeous out here.

pat welsh: But don't tell anybody that we don't want to move in here.

Richard Lowe: I went to the Larkspur Renaissance. Here a few times.

pat welsh: I live 2 and a half miles north and west of the Renfest.

Richard Lowe: That's fun. It's a fun one.

Richard Lowe: all right. So we're here talking about leadership. Let's talk about leadership. So you said in your write up that there's different kinds of leadership. What are those.

pat welsh: Well, 1st I get I'm big on defining

pat welsh: your terms. So people understand where you're coming from, and we don't confuse. And when I talk about leadership. That's just one

pat welsh: leg of a 3 legged stool, if you will. I'm a big advocate of being a warrior, a servant and a leader all 3 at the same time.

pat welsh: and I define a warrior as a person who stands up shows up and defends what they believe, whatever that might be in your work. Life, your personal life, your faith, life.

pat welsh: If you are willing to stand up, show up and defend, and not be

pat welsh: a jackass about it and being a jerk. But defend what you believe. That's a warrior mindset.

pat welsh: The servant mindset is a person that puts the wants and needs of others before themselves. Whether as a parent, as a spouse when I was in law enforcement, it doesn't matter. It's always always concentrate and strive to put the wants and needs of others before your own.

pat welsh: And then a leader is very, very simple.

pat welsh: A leader is simply a person of influence and impact in someone else's life.

pat welsh: You know it wasn't. When I was a cop I retired as a superintendent rank of major.

pat welsh: and I would tell my guys even when I was teaching at the police Academy. It's not about bars, Stars and Stripes positional leadership. You're a leader. If you influence and impact the lives of other people.

pat welsh: And so that's what I advocate when I'm on the speaking tour a couple of books I've written is all about that

pat welsh: that trilogy, if you will, of that mindset.

Richard Lowe: Interesting.

Richard Lowe: Interesting, would you say? Good leaders are then

Richard Lowe: servant leaders and warriors together? I guess you can have them together.

pat welsh: Well, let's put it this way

pat welsh: Hitler was a great leader for all the wrong reasons. He was definitely not a servant. And you can, and you can.

pat welsh: you can be a warrior and and not be a servant, and maybe not even be a leader. It's there.

pat welsh: I'd like the best example in my lifetime of a person who displayed all 3

pat welsh: parts of of that trilogy is mother Teresa of Calcutta

pat welsh: And now now sanctuaries of Calcutta in the Catholic Church. So you can be a great leader, and be the north end of a southbound horse, and and not and and not be a warrior, and not be a servant.

Richard Lowe: I see what are some examples of good leaders today.

pat welsh: Wow, without gut. And sometimes

pat welsh: this gets difficult because you start pushing buttons. You don't mean to push. I I would say, and and I'm a registered independent. I'm not a fan of politics to any great degree.

pat welsh: that. I think President Trump touches each of those mindsets at times. When you get into athletics.

pat welsh: there's some great warrior servant leaders in a variety of of sports.

pat welsh: And then there's all those are the ones you hear about. It's the unsung

pat welsh: warrior servant leaders that that you never hear about. There. There was a kid, a kid.

pat welsh: He was a kid when he started. He was 21 and I taught his police academy, and he's in his early forties now.

pat welsh: And he, I learned this. It just just happened within the last year or so that he

pat welsh: he got a call by a 9 year old, called the police

pat welsh: that a theft his. His lawn mower had been stolen.

pat welsh: and and this kid lived in a depressed neighborhood, economically depressed neighborhood, and this officer goes to take the report.

pat welsh: and this little 9 year old was earning money by cutting grass in the neighborhood, and now he didn't have a

pat welsh: a lawn mower.

pat welsh: So this officer took the report and left.

pat welsh: and then he came back about 45 min later

pat welsh: he spent $400 of his own money and bought this kid a new lawn mower and gave it to him

pat welsh: and then left.

pat welsh: Yeah, he didn't want any accolades. He didn't want anybody to know about it. This was he was being a warrior or servant and a leader.

pat welsh: and but his mom called the police chief.

Richard Lowe: And and shared with the police chief what happened? And then she called one of the local medias.

Richard Lowe: Okay.

pat welsh: And and so he got the. He got the recognition. But that's not why he did it. And that's those are those are real leaders, those type of people.

Richard Lowe: Yes, yeah. One person that I look up to is Michael Jordan.

Richard Lowe: Very big servant leader, I think.

Richard Lowe: you know he's human, so he's got his vaults. But definitely definitely up there.

Richard Lowe: Yeah, my mind.

pat welsh: Tim Tebow, you know I'm

pat welsh: I've always said this, and and I live in Colorado. I'm not a broncos fan. I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, for about 11 years, so I'm an old school Kansas City chiefs, fan.

pat welsh: but I I would tell all my friends here that are big broncos fans. I say, man, the worst mistake Denver ever did was getting rid of Tim Tebow, and they're they're like, why, I said, because you don't win 2 national championships in the Heisman trophy. It suck, for one thing, but his his leadership

pat welsh: characteristics, his virtues, his moral compass. That's the type of person you want bringing your team together, and they missed a great opportunity. Because

pat welsh: that one of the biggest obstacles of of maintaining and obtaining leadership influence is ego.

Richard Lowe: Right.

pat welsh: And Ryan Holiday wrote a great book called Ego is the Enemy.

pat welsh: and and I think that's what happens. A lot in the

pat welsh: sports arena is, and in the political arena is. Ego takes such a toll on people's

pat welsh: opportunity to actually be true leaders, and they get sucked into these rabbit holes and and other egos of other people

pat welsh: to undermine and destroy you because and then fill in the blank.

Richard Lowe: Right? Right?

Richard Lowe: Yeah. Egos are are big, and they can undermine a leader.

Richard Lowe: although they can help make a leader, too, like in politics. Maybe you need an ego

Richard Lowe: to, I'm thinking. Jfk,

Richard Lowe: what's funny is he did. He wasn't in office very long, but his impact like, say, on the lunar. The lunar landings and stuff was dramatic.

Richard Lowe: To find him very interesting person.

pat welsh: Yeah. And he had the, and that, you know, that's you're my era, you know. I mean, we we will. People go. Wow! Where you know. Where were you on? 9, 11, and everybody? If you're old enough, you you can remember it. But you asked one of us, where were you today John F. Kennedy got assassinated, we can tell you exactly you know where we were. And he had, besides the politics. It was really interesting. Because I'm I'm a

pat welsh: cradle Catholic. I've never even been to public school

pat welsh: ever. All the way through law school I went to Catholic schools, but he had that

pat welsh: that diversion, that obstacle of oh, you're Catholic, and you're going to be loyal to the Pope and all these other things of people trying to undermine him. For

pat welsh: you know, I thought petty reasons. But yeah.

Richard Lowe: Yeah, interesting. So if you're running a business or you're a business leader at any level.

Richard Lowe: what would be the characteristics that we would want to look for.

pat welsh: Well, a lot of things 1st of all, is a a very rock, solid moral compass.

pat welsh: That I I my my company

pat welsh: my challenge coin for my company

pat welsh: on the back of it. It says, always strive to do the right thing at the right time the right way, and for the right reasons.

Richard Lowe: Hmm.

pat welsh: And and that's that. That's a moral compass. And so, from a leadership standpoint, and and not only just leadership, you know, some people go. Well, I don't want to be a leader, or I'm not a leader, and you have a business, and they have great management skills

pat welsh: but they don't see themselves as a leader. So even in just management, which is systems and processes. He wants somebody that has that rock, solid

pat welsh: foundation of a moral compass that that they'll do the right thing at the right time in the right way, for the right reasons, even if it's going to negatively impact them.

pat welsh: So that's a huge one. I think another huge characteristic

pat welsh: or virtues, if you will. Leaders,

pat welsh: have to have a strong sense of hope and charity, and and because those are so positive.

pat welsh: and and when people are struggling or when you, as a leader, are struggling, if you can rely on having

pat welsh: that strong foundation or mindset attitude

pat welsh: of hope and charity. And and then, personally, I believe

pat welsh: the 3rd aspect of that is that you. You're a person of faith, that that you you are.

pat welsh: You're a person of faith, whatever that faith is. But you have a strong

pat welsh: depth to your convictions are based on not situational ethics.

Richard Lowe: Right.

pat welsh: But based on in my case, you know the Christian values and faith.

Richard Lowe: Okay, very interesting, very interesting. So we're getting near the end. And if you want to have a couple little wrap up, how would you wrap it up.

pat welsh: The worst, instead of giving you the best advice, leadership, advice ever. I'm going to give you the worst leadership advice you ever got, and you got it, and I got it, and if you were brought up this way I would leave it. I leave you with this thought

pat welsh: if you were taught. If you want it done right, do it yourself.

pat welsh: Get rid of that mindset, because that's not leadership that's doing somebody else's job form.

pat welsh: So you have to. Leadership is is.

pat welsh: it's in community, it? It's a group effort. It's it's not a solo journey.

Richard Lowe: Gotcha.

Richard Lowe: Well, good, I understand.

Richard Lowe: Well, thank you for coming. How can people get hold of you?

pat welsh: My website is

pat welsh: the warrior, servant leader, podcast.com. I have, I have my own podcast, that's in all my connections are on that website.

Richard Lowe: Okay.

pat welsh: So the water warriorservantleader, podcast.com.

Richard Lowe: Sounds, good sounds, good. Well, this has been the leaders in their stories. Podcast

Richard Lowe: I'm Richard Lowe, the writing king and ghostwriting. Guru. Thank you for coming to the podcast and we have these regularly, and I'll see you next time. Thanks.

Richard Lowe: Let me