Steering From the Center: Mikel Bowman’s Leadership Approach

Wayne Herring 00:00:00 - 00:00:01
Michael. Welcome to the Business Builder way.
Mikel Bowman00:00:02 - 00:00:11
Hey. It's an honor to be here, Wayne. I love you great big, and I any excuse to hang out with Wayne Herring is a is a is a good excuse in my opinion. So glad to be here, bud.
Wayne Herring00:00:11 - 00:00:32
That's great. Hey. So let's start with tell us a bit about Bowman Legacies. I wanna work a little bit on the concepts that you train and that you teach companies and the book you wrote. We're gonna get into that, but I'd like to start with how did you start this business? What does the business look like? What do the products look like for Bowman Legacies?
Mikel Bowman00:00:33 - 00:01:28
For us, just a quick synopsis of how we started. I chased the non for profit path for a long time with a blue collar background. So, you know, I had done everything from construction to, gosh, being a a hard carrier. I've been a helper for everything you can imagine and went for the non for profit space. And then when we left that, when I came back in the blue collar world and entered the mining space, I just remember right away telling my wife that I think there's a gap here. I think there's a gap here in civil construction and mining and in the blue collar world that I think that my non for profit background and counseling people and helping people to improve can really plug in here. And then that went on the back burner to the 90 hour work week, and I stuck with that for several years. And then moving on to a start up company and seeing where they were just falling apart and faltering, and they were just kept getting into the rut, you know, that rut of a starting budding business, of breaking things like crazy.
Mikel Bowman00:01:28 - 00:02:38
I'm like, I know for a fact that this company needs x, y, and z, and I started to influence online. And I became an influencer on LinkedIn, and all these CEOs and presidents started to come to me. And they started wanting phone conversations, and they started wanting to ask me if I'd mentor them and and help them to do certain cultural things and leadership items in their organization. And I just told my wife one day, I think there's a business here. I think that we can help people lead, live, and love, and I think that we can help them take those concepts from that non for profit sector into their business and their home life. And my wife called me to the carpet one day and said, well, why don't we have a business license yet? And so that's how this thing was born. And what we do typically is we come in, we like to mentor the CEOs and presidents and leadership of organizations to help them to move forward, but you can't help but to help someone move forward operationally without helping them to move forward in advance personally. And that's always gonna blend in together.
Mikel Bowman00:02:38 - 00:02:54
And what we're seeing is a mass effect on the growth of the organization and the ability to move forward a lot freer when they don't have the weight of a lot of problems from home or life on their shoulders. And so that's how we started, and that's where we're at.
Wayne Herring00:02:55 - 00:02:57
And when was it that you started Bowman Legacies?
Mikel Bowman00:02:58 - 00:03:08
So we started Bowman Legacies, I think, officially in 2020. We got the license, but we really kicked off. I think we really amped up in 2001.
Wayne Herring00:03:09 - 00:03:32
And so 2021, you really get started. Now you were telling me before I hit record that you're about to go to West Texas, and you're about to do a lead from the middle conference for the company and their leaders, kind of all these people in the room. So can you tell me a little bit about the the lead from the middle conference that you're going around the country delivering to various groups?
Mikel Bowman00:03:32 - 00:04:08
The lead from the middle conference is 3 PowerPoint presentations that if you start around 8 or 9, gets you out around lunchtime, and they have been so impactful for the companies that I've worked for and other companies that I've done them for. So I've done them for companies that I work for, but I also have done it all over the country. And it is based upon the principles of my book, lead from the middle. And spoiler alert, at 3 AM, I get a phone call from a guy. I live in the Midwest. This guy works for us and, works for the company I worked for at the time. And he's a foreman. He's a leader, and he has a gun in his mouth.
Mikel Bowman00:04:09 - 00:04:59
And I had to rely on solid leadership principles to get him to the place where we're we're gonna take that. We're gonna set that aside, and I'm gonna link shields with you. And so that's how the lead from the middle conference start. We start off with one heck of a bang, and we teach you how to lead, and we give you very solid, very simple principles just like within the book. And then we move on to the problem protocol, which is an SOP that we usually institute in any business that I work for. And it's a communication, how we communicate, how we move forward. We're lost in this world in how to communicate anymore. And this one of the biggest problems that we have because of this right here, the cell phone and keyboard warriors, and we have forgotten these key skills on how to handle problems day to day, how to communicate problems, how to talk to other people and engage.
Mikel Bowman00:05:00 - 00:05:43
And so that's that next phase. And then the 3rd phase of the of the lead from the middle conference, we talk about the importance of linking shields. As you see, my or my logo right here is a sword and a shield. And that term linking shields comes from the Romans and the importance of coverage, that importance of actually being there for each other, and it's extremely impactful. And what we're seeing from that is a complete and total life change. During that time, those 3 just those few hours right there, we're seeing people in tears. We're seeing people come up and talk and people opening up. I just did one for Midwest Mole this year, and I remember the president coming to me going, I knew you'd be good, but I didn't know that you would be phenomenal.
Mikel Bowman00:05:43 - 00:06:28
I didn't realize this would impact our company so much. And now year or, you know, several months later, he's still feeling the echoes of it. He's constantly hearing those principles ring back, and he said the the be able to bring principles now of taking care of one another and being there for each other is so much clearer and easier to communicate since you've been here. And we're getting ready to do a recap of it in November and go back with this team and and see where they're at. And so it's been very exciting. It's been so beautiful to see it happen, and we've been everywhere from, like you said, Texas, all up and down the East Coast and throughout the Midwest doing this lead from the middle conference, and it's just been massively impactful. So
Wayne Herring00:06:29 - 00:07:12
you come from the you said the heavy civil construction industry. You mentioned that in the beginning. Blue collar, heavy civil. Sometimes this has now become dirt world. There's some marketers out there who've done a good job calling it the dirt world, excavating, earth moving. And I started my career in drilling and blasting and soil nails and things like that. So when I hear lead from the middle, I think of the foreman position, the even project manager superintendent, not on the c suite, but all the people who day to day are making all these projects happen, safety managers, things like that. But you you have this powerful story in the book.
Wayne Herring00:07:12 - 00:07:28
And so, yes, I recommend that everybody get the book and read it. You have that powerful story. What is this core message that you're giving to all of those, like, middle managers or people that are in between the front in between the frontline and the the c suite?
Mikel Bowman00:07:28 - 00:08:03
I think in these industries, and I think in all industries, because I've I've coached now people that have been investors. I've coached people that are in the chemicals industry. I've keep coached people that are in drill and blast. I've coached people that are in the earthmoving business. I've coached people that are civil construction now. And just been, like, all over the map, the main message of this is you. I remember as a young man thinking that I could not make a difference because I wasn't the president of the organization, and so that's what gave me my trajectory. I wanted to be up there in the executive suites, not because of my ego, but because I wanted to make change for people.
Mikel Bowman00:08:03 - 00:08:32
My dad was blue collar. I watched him suffer horribly. He worked himself almost to death. I mean, his knees are shot. His back is shot. He's gonna be 81 this year, and he's still the strongest dude I've ever met in my life at 81, but he worked himself half to death for people who were horrible leaders. But I think that he got lost also in not realizing the massive effect that you can have right where you're at. I don't care if you're leaning on a shovel, you're d 3, you're day 3 in the company.
Mikel Bowman00:08:32 - 00:09:17
Right? You're 19, 20 years old, you're just starting in the industry, or you're the president and CEO and you've been there for a long time. The fact of the matter is you have a phenomenal opportunity to influence and make huge changes right where you are by just reaching out and learning and taking a personal responsibility to lead on a high level no matter where you are in the queue of leadership. No matter where you are, you gotta stop getting down in tunnel vision that, oh, I'm just a haul truck driver. You gotta stop getting that tunnel vision. You're not always just gonna be a haul truck driver. Not that I've met a haul truck driver though. 67 years old. He's been driving a haul truck his whole life, and he loves it.
Mikel Bowman00:09:17 - 00:09:50
Okay. That's not what I mean. But the fact is if you're wanting a forward trajectory, you're not always gonna be there. You're gonna naturally progress and move forward and add more value as you have more knowledge. So when you're that haul truck driver, when you're leaning on the shovel, when you're that guy who's the low man on the totem pole wherever you are, or the low gal on the totem pole, you absolutely 100% can make lasting change, change that can save people's lives, that can grow you exponentially so that even you at home aren't the same person.
Wayne Herring00:09:51 - 00:10:10
Yeah. Without a doubt. And what strikes me about you is you've been there. You know it. It's not that you wrote about this in a book. As you said, you've been a help in a a helper in many industries, and you did you sat in a in a drill rig seat for a long time or for a significant amount of time. Right?
Mikel Bowman00:10:10 - 00:10:33
Yeah. Yes. I drilled for a company for a year, realized that I was getting very sick. And the long hours, I couldn't do as well. So I stayed in a drill, but I've also became the safety guy. So on and off for 5 years, I drilled for that company. But I was also the safety guy and covered 6 states, and I ended up working more as the safety guy than I did as a driller. I was away from home more often, but I loved that organization.
Mikel Bowman00:10:34 - 00:11:08
I loved that company, and I loved those guys. And I learned even there. I remember the day when I was telling one of the guys from Illinois that I was leaving, and he wept. And it just confused me because I'm not used to that sort of kind of reaction in the industry. And he's like, don't leave. He said, don't leave. He goes, you've just changed our perspective on who we are. I'll never forget walking into I was doing a talk with a group of men who had addiction problems, and they lived in this particular place and quarantined themselves to learn and grow, and I was able to go in there and talk to them.
Mikel Bowman00:11:08 - 00:11:44
And the first one, I asked them all where they were from. I asked them all what got them there, and then I just told them, you need to hold your head up because at least right here, you've decided that you're gonna do something about the problems in your life, and you don't need to feel any shame about where you are. You need to be proud of yourself for doing something about it. And that's my approach in the blue collar world. With those drillers, I'm like, guys, nothing can happen in that mine site without us. It's at a they can clear as much ground as they want. They can clear as much material as they want. But without us, there's not a single thing that they can do.
Mikel Bowman00:11:44 - 00:12:00
And let's check this out. This is where our rock goes. This is what we're doing. This is the thing that we're involved in right now, and it's enormous what we do. So we're not just dumb drill. Because they would always say, well, I'm just a stupid driller. I said, you guys gotta stop saying that. You need to be proud of where you are.
Mikel Bowman00:12:00 - 00:12:32
You need to be proud of who you are. At least you're not a pill popping jukebox in Hollywood who's pretending to be something else or a politician who's in the same boat. You are a man or a person who is striving so hard to do something great for your family so they can eat and move forward. In this room, I told him one time. I had him all in the room. I said, in this room represents colleges. It represents your kids going to school, your kids buying homes, you buying homes, you doing great things for your family move forward. I said, there's no greater person that you can possibly be.
Mikel Bowman00:12:32 - 00:13:04
There's no greater life that you can live. And I think that's one of the biggest things where people feel so hopeless about where they are that they forget who they truly are. They're convinced with all this impoverished thinking that they're lowly, and I'm telling you, you're not. And all it changes is you just lifting that chin up and recognizing you belong where you're at, and you absolutely can obtain whatever dream, whatever vision that you have in life, you're not stuck. There's nobody stuck. You can absolutely put one foot in front of the other. I've done it. I've done it.
Mikel Bowman00:13:04 - 00:13:34
And I started when I was a kid, hard carrying. And for those of you know, you know what that is. That's helping out a mason and picking up brick and mix and mortar. You know? I've been there. I've been that guy to a guy who's a CEO c or a, executive, guy who owns his own business now and has a worldwide following on LinkedIn and is influencing people all over the world. You can be that person. You've just gotta believe in you and recognize you belong wherever you're at, and you're not stopping.
Wayne Herring00:13:35 - 00:14:06
Identify with the the person weeping when you left. My roommate when I was in Colorado, whose name was Randy, may he rest in peace. And Randy was a old bull rider and bronc rider. And after a few too many beers one night, he did and because we would room together to save money with the construction company. He's like, partner, you want me to show you how you spur a saddle bronc versus, you know, bareback in his, you know, DVDs. And I'm like Yeah. No, dude. Like, I don't need to see it.
Wayne Herring00:14:06 - 00:14:46
But he and I were very different. I was an engineer. I came from eastern. I I was a Pennsylvania guy, an East Coast guy. He was a western born and bred, hadn't gone to college, and we became, like, best friends, Randy and I. And he ended up giving me his bull riding hat and his robe when I left because he was just tore up and and wanted me to take those things. But I learned a lot from him, and he was one of those guys who in a world that he was unique about in this construction world and others other industries too where it's and really, you know what? Like, it's probably the same everywhere. My grandfather is in a nursing home right now.
Wayne Herring00:14:46 - 00:14:50
I watch the people there caring for him, and I think of how hard that must be
Mikel Bowman00:14:50 - 00:14:50
Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:14:51 - 00:15:49
And how they almost have to leave their feelings at the door sometimes. Or they've got all kinds of stuff going on at home, and now they come to work, and they need to really be caring for these other people. And you have families and doctors and so much going on that you're trying to segment. So it's probably everywhere. What I find about you is that is different, and I think how I showed up in that construction world, is this optimism, believing you can make a difference, seeing how you can make a difference, seeing how your work matters. And you are a storyteller who's able to relate that concept to people such that they get it inside. And it seems to me, like, now you're able to, in a room, pass that on to others, so they start to wake up to the idea that they can be a little bit like you 2. They can be Michael in their world because Michael is just a guy who sees things differently, and they can too.
Mikel Bowman00:15:50 - 00:16:20
You know, I I'll never forget. I was sent to a site that a d nine dozer in the pit looked, you know, that big. It was a deep, deep, deep pit, and we were losing at that site. We were getting ready to get kicked out, and I got a one way ticket. That that's when I always knew when I got a one way ticket somewhere as the fireman now and a kind of a spokesperson for the organization. I was very good at going in and fixing these problems that were just massive, and it was a multimillion dollar site. A lot was resting on that place, and we were just losing. We were hot seating equipment.
Mikel Bowman00:16:20 - 00:16:46
People were working 6, sometimes 7 days a week to meet production needs, and they're young guys. You know? They're living out in California. They're they're young guys. You know? They're not wanting to work 6 7 days a week. They're wanting to have fun too and get out there. And I'll never forget walking in there and just watching the shift change, and nobody was talking to each other. And all their heads were down. And I knew that people who had came in the past to try to fix it came yelling.
Mikel Bowman00:16:47 - 00:17:17
You know, coming in, they're gonna kick butt and take names. I also knew that if I came in in that arrogant way, it was just the same as everybody else that came in. And I I just stood up on the the metal stairs to the job trailer, and I got everybody in front of me that day 1. I was like, guys, some of you know me, some of you don't. I'm looking over, and I see a kaleidoscope of skin tones and religions and belief systems right here, but I also see that nobody's hanging out and being together. We're not a team. I'm not coming here to tell you that you're losing. I'm here to tell you that we're gonna win.
Mikel Bowman00:17:17 - 00:17:44
We're gonna make this happen, and I'm gonna prove it to you for the next several weeks, and I'm here to support you. And we're gonna move forward. Now there is gonna be some accountability here, and that's gonna be the hard pill to swallow for some of you. But for the most of us, the bulk of us, we wanna win. I wanna win. I'm extremely competitive, and you're gonna find out I love each and every one of you right where you're at. And I just told them about my background. I told them where I was at, and I told them that I was there to support them and take care of them.
Mikel Bowman00:17:44 - 00:18:18
And in 3 weeks' time, we were smoking production. All of the safety problems were all gone, and I didn't know as much as half of the guys on that site. We had one guy, a grandpa, that he had we called him grandpa. And like you said, god rest his soul, he's no longer with us. He was a great guy from west or eastern Kentucky. He'd worked coal. He had worked gold mines in his life, and now he was doing this at a concrete. But, dude, what am I gonna tell that guy that he doesn't already know? But being that I ended up talking to his daughter at one point, and he's like, hey.
Mikel Bowman00:18:18 - 00:18:38
I'm having problems. I'm in California. She's in Kentucky. Can would you get on a three way call with us and help me with my daughter? Yes. I will help you with your daughter. Absolutely. And as leaders, what I'm finding is that we have to step it up. We expect these people to be more with us at work than they are at home with the ones they love.
Mikel Bowman00:18:38 - 00:19:11
And then we tell them, well, you gotta leave home at home, and you gotta leave work at work. I'm gonna tell you the human psyche does not work that way. The brain does not make that cognitive shutoff. It does not work. You will always move in the default, and you're always trying to figure it out. When we sleep, that's why sleep is so important because a lot of the times, have you ever woke up and had the answer to a problem you've been racking your brain about? It's because that thing kept going while you were asleep working on that problem that you're currently dealing with. So the human mind doesn't make that boom strict cutoff. It just doesn't.
Mikel Bowman00:19:11 - 00:20:05
And how distracted is somebody when they're going down switchbacks on a mountain, and it takes them 45 minutes to get to the bottom of the pit unloaded. Right? You want that guy to or that gal to be in the game. And so as leaders, we have to step it up to help them handle that. And I'm not expecting anybody to be a counselor or a therapist, but I am saying that when people know that you have their backs, when people know that you are there to stand with them and link shields with them, when adversity comes their way, their behavior changes. The way they approach work changes. The way that they look at who they are changes because then they start to feel like this is not a job. This is place where I have a purpose. And then when you ignite in them that I see greatness in you and you step it a step further and you start pointing out things in them that is awesome, then you have the opportunity to point out things that aren't so awesome that they can work on.
Mikel Bowman00:20:05 - 00:20:20
And then they realize they have someone there that's far more than just a manager. They're a leader and a guide and a mentor in their life. And I'm telling you, the effect is unreal, and that's what I plugged in to every site that I was ever at.
Wayne Herring00:20:21 - 00:20:47
You know, there's a lot with what you said right there that would be worth rewinding and listening to. But the one thing that struck me, Mike, is sometimes we see something. Steve Chandler, the coach. Other people say this too, but it he's the one where I learned about insights. When I have an insight, it's like a a sight seeing inside. I see something differently. Now the world looks different from that point forward. I can no longer go back.
Wayne Herring00:20:47 - 00:21:32
And what you just did right there about the the person driving, and not everybody on the call maybe has been to a big pit mine or quarry or whatever. But when you said somebody driving a haul truck, a truck meant to go going down to the bottom of the pit empty, that's then gonna come out with material is is what I take it. Right? Yep. And it takes 45 minutes to drive down these switchbacks down to the bottom of that pit. I can picture that. Yeah. But and then what you did there, though, is you thought about the person in that truck, and you thought about them. It's almost like you can think of them in every moment of that 45 minute drive.
Wayne Herring00:21:33 - 00:22:14
The there's a human. There's a brain. There's our thoughts never stop, and you're aware of that. And that I I think we tend to it's not like and I know there's a word for this or a phrase to describe it. I tend to think that people I speak with, then it's almost like their life is paused from the day I speak with them until 3 weeks later when I speak with them again, when in reality, there's so much going on in between. So that's a important insight is to be able to have empathy. So I have a guy in my community who owns a, heating and air conditioning company. And if I'm him and I can think of the and I and I think he does this, and he'll know who he is.
Wayne Herring00:22:14 - 00:22:46
Right? Well, I have a couple heating and air conditioning guys. Maybe I'm talking about either one. If they can start to think of a service, you know, service tech who has a van and picture that it life for them doesn't just end. Or, you know, it's not like only when you see him at the office in the morning and when you see him at night. There's something going on. And that idea of the drive time is a lot of times when their thoughts really get going and that could impact their work. That's an important thing to see, and you see that, and then you share that with other people.
Mikel Bowman00:22:46 - 00:23:12
I think it's all about having a paradigm shift. And I'll be honest. When I was in the blue collar world and especially when I was young, I used to think this stuff was all fluff until I started implementing. I got sick of me. I got sick of me blowing up. I got sick of me being a leader that was just not feeling like I had any friends within the organization because I got to the point where I'll fire you pretty easy. I didn't care, and I was a yeller. And I get mad, and I get rowdy.
Mikel Bowman00:23:12 - 00:23:47
And what I realized when looking back, it just seemed like, you know, embers of burnt bridges and and devastation behind me. And then I also realized that that was affecting my married life, and and I have more issues in Time Magazine. So if I'm going to stay with this woman that I have, I gotta change. And I realized that a change affected me both at home and at work, and I realized it's just one thing. Samurais back in feudal Japan, they were all kinds of things. The samurai, he he could be a farmer. He could be, you know, all kinds of statesman, but they were still all samurai. You know? It was all samurai.
Mikel Bowman00:23:48 - 00:24:10
Everything was samurai. The sword went with them every day. Breakfast sword was with them. Dinner sword was with them. Dude, if they went to the restroom, guess what? You know? That sword is with them, and it was all one thing. And I'm gonna tell you, there is no work life balance. There's just life. And in it is life, and is it love, is it and it is loss, and it and it and it is joy, and it is hardship and sadness, and in it is work.
Mikel Bowman00:24:10 - 00:25:07
It's all life. And when we learn and understand that, and I had that paradigm shift in my life, it radically changed, and I could see the field of view of the people that I was leading in a much different way. And I felt less like a leader and more like a facilitator, more like somebody who was mentoring and helping like a guide. If you're gonna go up to Mount Everest, you hire a Sherpa. Right? And you be that you follow that guide up the mountain. And that's how I felt, and I realized to get that effect with them. If I smack them around all the time, they were bracing themselves. But if I was able to look within and get that intel into their lives and go, I see greatness when you and this is why the unbelievable response and willingness just to bury a body for you, you know, and be that guy who was willing to go way out of his way.
Mikel Bowman00:25:07 - 00:25:42
I still last week, I got a text from a guy that I met in LA at a job in just outside of LA in Irwindale years ago, and he invited me to his wedding. He's like, you're welcome at my table. I just want you to know that I love you, and I welcome you at my table because you loved me first, and you saw greatness in me. That was the text. You know? We have a awesome opportunity as leaders no matter where you're at. I don't care if you're in the bank right now. I've actually mentored people in the banking industry. I've done a problem protocol for 2,000 people in the banking industry on Zoom.
Mikel Bowman00:25:42 - 00:26:06
It was so weird because you it's hard to connect, you know, with people that way. But but I will tell you right now, you have an awesome opportunity to change your life and the lives of others. So don't feel hopeless. After this podcast today, I don't care where you're leading. If you're a business leader or if you're you're just wanting to head that direction, don't feel hopeless. You got this. And it's in the trying and in the failing that we learn.
Wayne Herring00:26:07 - 00:26:26
I love watching movies like Coach Partner, Remember the Titans, anything that's like a sports story where a team comes together or even Apollo 13. 13. There's a scene where these engineers go into this room, and they're tasked with having pull parts together and improvise, but they work together.
Mikel Bowman00:26:26 - 00:26:27
Yeah.
Wayne Herring00:26:27 - 00:27:30
And it strikes me, Michael, that you are bringing that message a message like that to the companies you work with when you do your conference and speak to them and videos that you have and things you have online, and your book does that as well. The great thing about books is it's like getting a little bit of Michael, and I can carry your story with me. So these business owners that we work with and that would hear this, and that is a way helping the people in the organization lead from the middle is a way that they can build their companies. They can make people's lives better. What would you tell a business builder, somebody who owns a company with a staff of 5 to 50 people? It'd be great if you could go speak to everybody, and I know that's not Right. Possible. How what how could they take your book and then read it and then go speak to the people once, but then importantly, have have a way of sharing with their team so there's, like, a residual effect and that it that it builds over time.
Mikel Bowman00:27:31 - 00:27:31
What do you
Wayne Herring00:27:31 - 00:27:32
tell them to do?
Mikel Bowman00:27:33 - 00:28:00
It's crazy. You said a couple weeks ago, I got this random DM on LinkedIn. And, a guy just said, I just wanted to say thank you, for your book and the conference that I just went to, about your book. I had no idea what he's talking about. I wasn't booked to do a conference. I wasn't a part of a conference at that time, and I and I just said, oh, I'm so glad it helped. You know, I'm Trump fishing without trying to seem ignorant because I met this guy, I'd have felt really bad. Sure.
Mikel Bowman00:28:00 - 00:28:38
Because you I've at this point this year, I've literally talked to thousands upon thousands of people. And, he then he told me he goes, the president of our organization read your book, and he put a conference on based on that book. And so the reason why I wrote it the way I did, we we didn't go the traditional route of going with a publisher because I didn't want someone to tell me I needed to add chapters and fluff. I can't stand books like that. I can always tell when I'm reading a book. I was like, oh, this was an add on. This was an add on. I wanted to also write a book that, dude, if a guy's 17 years old and he's or a gal, 17 year old, and he wanna learn how to read, lead, they can read this book, and it's very simple.
Mikel Bowman00:28:38 - 00:29:14
And I give you at the end. I've also written it in a way to challenge that CEO and that president that if he's asking that question to me, I'm gonna say, hey. Look, man. Read to those books, stick to those precepts yourself, and then teach them to other people, and you will replicate that. I'm gonna tell you something. Leaders, people pick up and catch more than you teach, and they know who you are. It doesn't take long for people to know who you are. So when you start walking in these precepts that I map out and then I teach, and you keep it simple, I'm gonna tell you it's going to bleed out.
Mikel Bowman00:29:14 - 00:29:47
People are going to learn it. You can be very intentional, map it out in your meetings, and say, hey. This is how I want us to move forward. These are the precepts and the things that you need, the knowledge that you need, but they're gonna learn a lot by your example and by you actually living it out. Because when those cultural changes come, they're always just waiting for the other shoe to fall. They're waiting for this just to be the next fad that you're introducing now, and you're gonna be over it at some point, and we're gonna be back to the old ways. I've heard that. I I've said that.
Mikel Bowman00:29:47 - 00:30:07
I've been in that business where I'm sorry. You know, this is bull crap. We're just gonna, you know, just nod and have the lunch, and and it's all bull crap. Or through consistency later months, years down, they're gonna go, hey. We did this thing. It was amazing. We hosted this guy or, hey. My boss said this, and we're still doing it.
Mikel Bowman00:30:08 - 00:30:21
And I think that is that is where the value comes. That's what I would tell a young leader or an old leader. Hey. Just be consistent in that change, and you will see change just by your actions alone.
Wayne Herring00:30:22 - 00:31:07
Time has flown talking with you. We're about at the end of the time that I typically allot for these sessions. I'm not surprised at all. And I do encourage people to get your book, and we'll have you join us for one of our virtual campfires in the future so that people get to kind of spend some time with you and get sit around the fake digital fire on the screen. But before we do, I you mentioned Anita. You mentioned your your business partner, your wife. How how do you work together, and and what does that look like? And are you doing some planning and taking a look at the integration of your life that you're building together and the the business you have? Because lots of people in my community do. Either either they work with their spouse directly or they certainly care about the impact the business is having on their home life.
Mikel Bowman00:31:08 - 00:31:42
With no change, with no direction that I move, do I ever put her on the back burner? We are co partners that move together, and we've learned this through, you know, almost 30 years of a relationship now. You know, we were both strong characters. We're both used as children. We were a mess when we first got together, and we're a hot mess now. But it works. She is very savvy with very specific things that I trust her in, and I put a lot of trust in her because through consistency she's shown me. So we're equal partners in this. We travel together.
Mikel Bowman00:31:42 - 00:32:27
We go to these conferences together. We're a package deal. A few, last year, you know, I was brought in to help mediate for a business sale, and I brought her in. And she was a key component to bringing common sense and all that anxiety down. And so what she does in the business is she handles a lot of the day to day tasks as far as scheduling and things like that. But also with each in particular client, we map out where we're going, where we're striving to bring them with every new PowerPoint presentation that we bring and new talk that we bring. We are mapping that out together and seeing how that works and feels together, and it's just such a an element of trust there. And then when one of us falls short, it isn't there's no shame in that.
Mikel Bowman00:32:27 - 00:32:52
There's no shame game. We're just like, okay. How do we adapt? How do we get past that? And then there's no reminding of, well, you remember when you did this. You know? We don't do that. We do not bring that into the business. And like I said, with life, it's just life. Right? You know? There is no separation between work and life, and we have combined that into our marriage, and it's made us stronger instead of pulled us further apart.
Wayne Herring00:32:53 - 00:32:56
How can how can the business builder community help you, Michael?
Mikel Bowman00:32:57 - 00:33:16
I don't know. Man, just reach out. I would love to talk to any of you. I and that's not a sales pitch, and Wayne knows this. I am not I hate the sales y stuff. I I try to stay away from it as much as I possibly can. As a matter of fact, there was a point in in the business where Wayne had to say, hey. Look.
Mikel Bowman00:33:16 - 00:33:41
Contact so and so. Ask him some things, and I just had a hard time, not pride. Just I just don't wanna be salesy. And I would love to talk to you. I would love to to see where you're at and see what hurdles that is facing you because we make each other stronger. You know? Anytime that I'm helping someone else someone said this the other day. I was helping them for free, and he goes, what can I do? And I said, you don't understand what you've already done. By me helping you, you've helped me.
Mikel Bowman00:33:41 - 00:33:49
Because now I can take this concept that I've learned with you along with you, and I can apply this to someone else. So to me, it's currency.
Wayne Herring00:33:50 - 00:33:58
But, practically, if somebody wanted to order a case of books and then hire you to do, a Zoom talk or some are you available for things like that?
Mikel Bowman00:33:58 - 00:34:30
Absolutely. We're available to actually come to your site, which I'm going to say for the lead from the middle conference with all 3 is so impactful and is necessary because there is a physical representation at the end. I do some teaching about martial arts and hand to hand combat and, and, no one gets hurt, But it's very, very impactful for your team, and it really brings the whole conference together. But I would be willing to adapt to any medium that you have. Reach out to me on LinkedIn. That's it's m I k e l. It's the north spelling of my name. Blame my parents.
Mikel Bowman00:34:30 - 00:34:37
And Michael Bowman, reach out to me there, and I would love to love to influence your team to to leading on a higher level.
Wayne Herring00:34:38 - 00:34:40
Michael, thanks so much for being with us today.
Mikel Bowman00:34:40 - 00:34:44 Thank you. It's always an honor to be with you, buddy. Take care.

00:00 LinkedIn influencer mentoring CEOs in leadership development.

04:09 Conference teaches leadership and communication problem-solving skills.

08:32 Embrace opportunity to lead regardless of position.

11:08 Hold your head up; be proud workers.

14:51 Optimism and storytelling inspire people to change.

19:11 Supportive leadership fosters employee engagement and growth.

21:33 Human connections require empathy and continual awareness.

24:10 Shifted leadership role from leader to facilitator.

26:27 Michael empowers companies through books and speeches.

30:22 Discuss collaboration with spouse and business integration.

33:58 Available for impactful on-site martial arts training.

1. How does Mikel Bowman's samurai sword metaphor challenge the traditional concept of work-life balance, and what can we learn from it about integrating different aspects of life?

2. In what ways does Mikel Bowman's approach to leadership as a mentor and guide, akin to a Sherpa, offer a new perspective on managing teams and individuals?

3. How do personal anecdotes, such as being invited to a wedding by someone he mentored, illustrate the impact of recognizing and fostering potential in others?

4. Can you think of examples in your own life or career where the influence of a middle manager or non-executive leader prompted significant organizational change, similar to Bowman's "Lead from the Middle" concept?

5. How does the dynamic of working collaboratively with a spouse or partner, as described by Bowman, influence the way personal and professional challenges are approached and resolved?

6. How can leaders use trial and error to bring about change and growth within their teams, and what role does perseverance play in this process according to Mikel Bowman?

7. In what ways does Mikel Bowman's background in both blue-collar work and non-profit sectors shape his views on leadership and organizational development?

8. How does Bowman's evolution from a strict, traditional leader to one that embraces empathy and support highlight the importance of self-reflection and personal growth in leadership?

9. What do you think of the idea that everyone, regardless of their role, has the power to lead and enact change within an organization? How might this mindset transform workplace culture?

10. How does Mikel Bowman's focus on acknowledging the human side of employees, particularly in challenging work environments, influence the culture and effectiveness of a team?