Middle management is a grind: high responsibility, limited authority, and pressure from every direction. In this episode, we break down the invisible weight middle managers carry, like being the translator, mediator, protector, and problem-solver while taking heat for things you didn’t even control. We talk burnout, boundaries, empathy, and how to implement decisions you don’t fully agree with without abandoning your integrity. If you’re in the middle and exhausted, this one will feel familia...
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Middle management is a grind: high responsibility, limited authority, and pressure from every direction. In this episode, we break down the invisible weight middle managers carry, like being the translator, mediator, protector, and problem-solver while taking heat for things you didn’t even control. We talk burnout, boundaries, empathy, and how to implement decisions you don’t fully agree with without abandoning your integrity. If you’re in the middle and exhausted, this one will feel familia...
Middle management is a grind: high responsibility, limited authority, and pressure from every direction. In this episode, we break down the invisible weight middle managers carry, like being the translator, mediator, protector, and problem-solver while taking heat for things you didn’t even control. We talk burnout, boundaries, empathy, and how to implement decisions you don’t fully agree with without abandoning your integrity. If you’re in the middle and exhausted, this one will feel familia...
Knowing your worth is easy to say but can be hard to live. In this episode of Leading Ain’t Easy, Ryan and Erny unpack what it really means to understand your value as a leader; beyond titles, money, or years of service. From imposter syndrome and loyalty traps to quitting without a backup plan, they explore how self-worth quietly erodes when effort isn’t recognized and support disappears at the top. This is an honest conversation about: When loyalty turns into self-sacrificeWhy “prove yourse...
You don’t have to say a word for people to know exactly what you’re thinking. Sometimes your face gets there first. In Episode 6 of Leading Ain’t Easy, Ryan and Erny dig into the idea of “Fix Your Face” and how your nonverbal tells can completely change the way people experience your leadership. In this episode, we cover: Why you can’t “not communicate” A workshop exercise makes it painfully obvious: even when you’re silent, your body and face are saying plenty.When your emotions live on your...
Being the “good guy” at work sounds great on paper. You’re empathetic. You listen. You try to do right by people. You avoid unnecessary conflict. You take the high road, even when it stings a little. But over time, that version of leadership can start to cost you. In this episode, Erny and Ryan unpack what happens when being the good guy quietly slides into people-pleasing, conflict avoidance, and eventually burnout. We get into: How empathy can quietly turn into people-pleasingErny’s story o...
In this episode of Leading Ain’t Easy, we’re joined by special guest, John Moore (a longtime training leader turned coach) who has spent over 20 years leading teams in corporate environments that didn’t always make it easy to show up as himself. We dig into what it means to “lead as yourself” in 2025, why so many workplaces feel colder and more transactional than they used to, and how you can still lead with empathy, love, and high standards without getting steamrolled. John shares stories fr...
No one really tells you how lonely leadership can get, especially the higher you climb. In this episode, Ryan and Erny talk candidly about the isolation that comes with being the one everyone turns to. The pressure, the silence, the responsibility you can’t unload on your team, and the shrinking safety net as you move up. They discuss: • Why support turns into “context,” not coverage • The truth behind “that’s why you get paid the big bucks” • Taking the blame when the public or leadership is...
Leadership isn’t something you unlock the day you get a promotion. It starts long before you ever have authority, a team, or an impressive title. In this episode, Ryan and Erny break down the real difference between managing and leading. They share stories about leading from the background, stepping up without recognition, and the trap new managers fall into when they rely on their title instead of their actions. They get into: • Why the best leaders often don’t have the title • Leading as a ...
In this Episode: The hosts focus on Imposter Syndrome, the feeling that you don't deserve your position and are waiting for someone to call you out. Defining the Doubt: Erny shares his first managerial experience (being a young boss to older, more experienced employees) and the blunt question that triggered his earliest professional imposter syndrome.Early Career Terrors: Ryan recounts being a 19-year-old Lance Corporal marksmanship coach, tasked with instructing NCOs and officers who had far...
Leadership isn’t all highlight reels, motivational quotes, or textbook frameworks. It’s messy, isolating, full of self-doubt, and it rarely looks the way it does on social media. That’s why we created Leading Ain’t Easy. In this special intro episode, Ryan Calkins and Erny Epley pull back the curtain on what this show is all about. We share our leadership journeys; from the Marine Corps, student government, and private-sector consulting to public-sector transportation leadership and building ...
Middle management is a grind: high responsibility, limited authority, and pressure from every direction. In this episode, we break down the invisible weight middle managers carry, like being the translator, mediator, protector, and problem-solver while taking heat for things you didn’t even control. We talk burnout, boundaries, empathy, and how to implement decisions you don’t fully agree with without abandoning your integrity. If you’re in the middle and exhausted, this one will feel familia...
