PRAISE FOR
RYAN HAWK AND
WELCOME TO MANAGEMENT
Welcome to Management is the ultimate all-in-one guide to becoming a great leader—from developing the right skills, to building and managing teams, to coaching your employees. Whether you’re a novice in a brand-new leadership role or a veteran looking to get better, this wise book is for you.
—DANIEL PINK, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive, and To Sell Is Human
Ryan Hawk is a master of dualities: He’s a great leader, but also a ferocious learner. He’s an accomplished athlete, but he’s also excelled in the business world. He’s eminently interesting, but he’s also genuinely interested. Ryan has uncovered the secrets of what the best leaders do and how they think. If you are a new manager transitioning from player to coach, do yourself and your team a favor and read this book. Welcome to Management will teach you to lead like the pros and build a team that wins together.
—LIZ WISEMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Multipliers and Rookie Smarts
Ryan Hawk is a continuous learner and passionate teacher. His book, Welcome to Management, is an invaluable tool for anyone taking responsibility for managing others.
—PATRICK LENCIONI, CEO of The Table Group and New York Times bestselling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Advantage
Ryan Hawk’s work provides nuanced and articulate insights into the best way to begin developing a plan for bringing to light how we should lead—and it starts with reexamining ourselves.
—FROM THE FOREWORD BY GENERAL STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, New York Times bestselling author of Team of Teams
Every new manager makes mistakes. But you might make fewer of them if you follow the practical advice that Ryan Hawk has spent years collecting.
—ADAM GRANT, Professor of Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife
Welcome to Management by Ryan Hawk is more than a guide on how to effectively lead people. It will force you to look inward and rethink how you learn, grow, and improve. If you want to scale up your leadership ability, you must read this book.
—VERNE HARNISH, founder of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and bestselling author of Scaling Up
Greatness is in the agency of others. The transition from player to coach is a drastic one, but Hawk’s accessible, practical read will help new managers learn what it takes to move from being responsible for their own success to being responsible for the success of many.
—SCOTT GALLOWAY, Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and bestselling author of The Four and The Algebra of Happiness
If you are curious and open for the ride, you will discover that leadership is a journey into yourself. Ryan Hawk is someone who points the way, illustrating how you can’t lead a team or a company until you first learn to lead yourself. Ryan offers inspiring and practical advice based on his lessons as a sports and business athlete and by sharing insights he’s learned from others along the way.
—BETH COMSTOCK, former Vice Chair of GE and bestselling author of Imagine It Forward
A superb script for sustained success, Welcome to Management is the perfect playbook for leaders who want to go to the next level.
—JAMES KERR, bestselling author of Legacy
Ryan Hawk is that rarest of people—a truly curious soul who asks questions that drill down into the heart of the matter, leave space for contemplation, and gently urge his subjects to look inside for answers they might not yet have discovered themselves.
—ROBERT KURSON, New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Divers
New managers face a steep learning curve and an entirely new landscape of opportunity and responsibility. With this book, Ryan has created a resource for the day-to-day tactics of great leaders. Don’t miss out on this incredible companion for managers who aspire to lead strong teams to extraordinary outcomes.
—SCOTT BELSKY, Founder and CEO of Behance and author of The Messy Middle
The same traits that brought Ryan Hawk success as an athlete and business leader—curiosity, self-awareness, commitment—make him an indispensable guide to the crucial and often challenging transition from player to leader. By reading Welcome to Management, you’ll be standing on the shoulders of the hundreds of legendary business leaders whose wisdom Hawk has distilled.
—ALEX HUTCHINSON, bestselling author of Endure
If you are new to a leadership role, then this book has the power to take years off your learning curve. If you have been leading a team forever, then the depth of experience in this read will make you wonder how you made it this far without it and will empower you to raise your game to a new level.
—PHIL JONES, author of Exactly What to Say
A thorough, well-researched, and highly practical manual for new managers. When you promote someone, first congratulate them, and then immediately hand them a copy of this book.
—TODD HENRY, author of Herding Tigers
Ryan Hawk offers much needed practical advice to help tackle the challenges ahead for new managers. It is especially valuable as you realize the hard truth that being good at a job doesn’t directly translate into being successful at leading others to do it. Learning that hard truth, and discovering Ryan’s response to it, make it worth your while to buy this book.
—ANNIE DUKE, bestselling author of Thinking in Bets
Ryan Hawk uses his unique knowledge and understanding of leadership to help the reader learn practical ways to lead, to build the right culture, and to improve each day. Ryan uses great examples to deliver his message, and after reading this book, I am ready to enact his words of wisdom.
—MICHAEL LOMBARDI, three-time Super Bowl–winning executive and author of Gridiron Genius
A no-nonsense book from a no-nonsense guy about the challenges and opportunities of leadership, drawn from experience and failure and the best of what others have figured out.
—BRENT BESHORE, CEO of adventur.es and author of The Messy Marketplace
From the time he was a young high school and collegiate quarterback to the present, Ryan Hawk has always had the passion to serve and to lead. His presentations, podcasts, and now his book will make a difference in many lives.
—JIM TRESSEL, former National Champion Ohio State University football coach and President of Youngstown State University