2302 - How Mentorship Helps Leaders Surf the Waves of Business Change with Ardent Mentoring's Ryan King

0:04Well, hey, Thoughtful Leader. Welcome to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur. On this show, I interview purpose-driven founders, experts, and change makers who are making a real impact in the world. Want to be a guest? Simple. Go to upmyinfluence.com and click podcast. I'd love to promote your story to our audience of over 100 ,000 and across over 2 ,300 daily episodes and counting. Want to get booked on other great shows like this? Simple. Go to podverified.com and get your free guest authority score. Thousands of hosts are looking for high quality guests and Podverified connects you the right way. Now let's dive into today's episode.

0:58With us right now, it is Ryan King. Ryan, you are the CEO and co-founder of Ardent Mentoring. You're found on the web at ardentmentoring.org. We have that website all linked up. Ryan, it's great to have you. Thank you, Josh. It's such a pleasure to be here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, listen, before we talk about the work you do with Ardent, I always love finding out what our passions are or hobbies or interests of our guests. And so when you're not at work, what have you been geeking out on lately? Yeah, Josh, I love the ocean. Back in 2014, I moved my family from the East Coast to the West Coast for my wife and I's love of the ocean.

1:36And so teaching my kids how to find peace and joy, how to understand the ocean, how to accept it as a powerful part of creation. But to how like and I like to think sometimes when we're surfing, when we're riding our bodyboards, we are literally sliding along the surface of the earth, as my mentor and inspiration Rob Bell says. Ah, I like Rob Bell. He's got a great message. So yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. My wife and I have taken to create a new Sunday evening habit where we'll find like a planet Earth type series. We just finished The Americas, which is narrated by Tom Hanks. I think it's on Hulu.

2:18That one was really fantastic. But of course, planet Earth, we just saw an episode around the ocean. You know, just some of the mysteries of the ocean. And just what an amazing world that as humans, we are, you know, it's an honor to be able to share this earth with, you know, these species that have been here forever. And, you know, we're all just, you know, here trying to do the best we can and, you know, coexist together and support one another and look out for each other. So and I think, Ryan, that this this is segues pretty heavily into the work that you do. Do you mind sharing just a bit about what Ardent Mentoring is?

2:56Yeah, Ardent Mentoring matches impact-driven enterprises and entrepreneurs with faith-driven mentors. And we match them based on the specific expertise of the mentor matched to the needs, the challenges, the opportunities of the mentee or the entrepreneur through what we call subject matter expertise executive mentoring. That really looks at the industry that the mentee is working within, the context that they're serving within, and matching that with the experience, the expertise, the skills, the competencies of a really high capacity, highly successful mentor that can help them solve problems, drive growth, and most importantly, transform lives along the way.

3:37And I need to say alongside of that, we have a whole person approach that really sets our mentoring apart where part of our mentoring integrates faith, family, identity, work-life balance. We're really after what we like to call sustainable success. Reimagining mentoring where it brings together coaching and consulting, but there's also that side to it that talks about how are you going to flourish as a person? How are you going to be successful inside the workplace, but also outside of the workplace so that you can really see sustainable success through your relationships, in your own life, and through those you touch every day?

4:12Sometimes when you're sitting next to someone in the ocean waiting for a wave. Yeah. So do you mind maybe just sharing a little bit more tactically about how Ardent works? Yeah. So Ardent matches one-on-one. That's our uniqueness is that all of our mentoring is done one-on-one. We're highly affordable. We set ourselves up as a nonprofit so we can make this high-level executive mentoring from Fortune 500, Fortune 100 CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs themselves available around the world. We're in 30-plus countries. We work with over 100 different enterprises every month providing the mentoring that we provide.

4:49And tactically, how you can get involved, you can visit our website if you're wondering, will a mentor be able to help me? Could I really grow with one of Arden's mentors? Could that specificness of what I need in this season really be fulfilled by someone who knows what I'm going through and has the skills to help me? You can go right to our website. You can take our entrepreneurial quiz. That can help you understand what you can get out of our program. Also, right on our homepage, you can schedule a discovery call with us. And you can jump in a room with myself or my co-founder, and we can really talk deeply about what are your specific needs?

5:21What's keeping you stuck? What has you excited? What are you inspired about? and we can find a mentor that can walk alongside of you. And our secret sauce lies in our mentor is not invested in your business. They're not donating to your nonprofit. They're not on your board. They're not your boss. Your conversations are confidential. And you have this highly successful, high capacity leader who's solely in your corner. You can share the good, the bad, and the ugly with them. And they really have been there and done it before and can help you traverse what's in front of you. Well, I believe that, what is your observation of most leaders?

5:58I think that most of us, like, you know, while it's not just about money, right? You know, I feel like, you know, if I look at why did I start something? I think a lot of us, most of us, like we want to improve the world in some way. Like we, we want to make our mark, not just in, well, I did this thing and made some money. Like that's, I mean, I'm sure, I'm sure that exists, but I wonder how much of this innate desire that we all have just simply needs a simpler facilitation. And that's kind of my observation, Ryan, of what you're talking about. I couldn't agree with you more. I talked to a lot of highly successful former executives, CEOs, entrepreneurs themselves, and they're like, how can I make a difference around the world through some online mentoring?

6:48And I tell them, what is everyday wisdom to you is gold to our mentees. And through one, two, three, four hours a month online, you can literally help transform a business. That business can grow. That business could hire someone new. A lot of the areas we work in the world have less than one job available per person, sometimes 0.2, 0.3 jobs available per person. So when we create a job, it can transform a family, which then can transform a community. I, you know, I think one thing I lack here in Southern California is the idea of community and communal living too often. We pull in our garages and shut the door and we miss that side that so much of the world sees so much betterly.

7:27Yeah. And, um, mentoring, um, mentoring works. Uh, matter of fact, I was just talking with, we were so blessed that, um, in Orlando, we qualified for an advisory board, uh, you know, pro bono advisory board for the next 18 months. And, you know, as leaders, Ryan, I'm sure you hear this a lot. It's lonely at times because there are just, there's levels of disclosure and there's things that it's tough because as a founder and as a leader, as an entrepreneur, you always need to keep a brave public face, right? And you need to let people know, you know, you need to help them maintain the vision. But that's not to say that we don't have our own struggles and our own doubts and our own fears and frustrations, but it's just not appropriate to share a lot of that sometimes.

8:15Well, when you have a mentor, you know, it's like, it's okay, brother, we're all in the same club. Very much so. I couldn't agree with you more. And I really see, you know, a big difference in those people who I feel like have been successful in a way where they're flourishing within their own life and their business, not just successful, but drowning at home or unsuccessful in both areas is the difference between dualistic and non-dualistic thinking. That's what is so successful mentoring. Dualistic thinking, everything is black and white. I'm right. You're wrong. Non-dualistic thinking, hey, there's a lot of gray here.

8:48I need to grow. You know, this is what I believe and I might be right, but I'm open to learning. I'm open to growing. And when we have that humble approach, I can think all the way back when I got my first mentor in 2001 was when I was in college and somehow he helped me lead the fraternal organization I was president of for the first time to get most improved organization out of 260 on campus. And I really give all credit to Charlie Warner because he was the mentor who helped me see the vision. I came to him and I said, here's a goal. I have no idea how to get there. And that's what I see a lot of people in business.

9:21They have a great vision. They have a great idea of how they want to make an impact, but they've not traversed the path anymore. So without a mentor, they bump, they fall, they trip. They make a lot of mistakes along the way. With a mentor, they can get there a lot quicker. It's along with the African proverb. We can go a lot farther when we walk together. Wow. You know, I just, thank you so much for mentioning dualistic thinking. In fact, I just punched that into my AI. I'm gonna do a deep dive on this later. And I just think, Ryan, I'll just stay in a safe way of talking about this, but how would the world be a different place if everything just wasn't so black and white?

10:02We're right, they're wrong. Yeah. And just, you know, are just constantly, you know, exposing ourself to messaging about how we're so much righter than those other people over there. Um, man. And then that same thing that applies everywhere. I mean, in relationships are, you know, um, you know, how we deal with issues of, you know, bigger, you know, questions about who we are, faith, you know, that sort of thing. And, you know, once we figure out that we've got the right answer, that that automatically makes everyone else wrong. That that's tough. That's, that's a really tough life. And, um, yeah.

10:39So thank you so much for bringing that up. Um, Yeah. So what's the vision? Like where does, you know, five years from now, like what are you creating with Ardent? Yeah, our hope is that we're in 30 plus countries now. We want to be in 60 plus countries. We want to be serving over 500 for-profit, nonprofit enterprises globally. We really want to see a huge impact in the SME market in terms of job creation. We're already a huge impact and we want to grow it in the anti-trafficking movement. We want to see more relief work supported around the world, especially in times of natural disaster, in times of great need.

11:15One of the most inspiring mentees we have is helping people in refugee camps launch businesses because the refugee camps themselves become small businesses. And then right here in our country, we're working with people who are really helping others find financial freedom. We're working with one organization that is supplying clothes to mentally ill hospitals so that the patients don't have to wear paper clothes. and where we want to go is we also want to leave a trail of inspiration we want people to be inspired that they're encouraged about the work that they're doing and that as their work spread it inspires others along the way i was at a concert last night with my wife and it was so cool uh one of the ads in between acts came up and it was by a credit card company so excuse me it was by mercury insurance company excuse me just popped in my head bonus city that was an ad before that Mercury Insurance.

12:05And they were just highlighting normal individuals around the country who were volunteering for the Boys and Girls Club, who were serving in their communities, who had a job that was really giving back. And I just would love that inspiration to spread around the world. If we all turned to our neighbor and said, hey, what's one thing I could do to help you? This world would be a much different place. Ryan, there is an absolute economic argument to be made, even for the most, I'd say, you know, data-driven, money-focused entrepreneurs or leaders out there, there is an economic argument or financial argument to be made for doing the right thing or just participating as a good global citizen, right?

12:50I couldn't agree with you more. My wife and I at home, we tried to tell our kids, you know, everyone believes different things. And so you're going to be in a world where people believe they see differently, they act differently, walk differently. So we're really teaching our kids, be good humans. Love the person in front of you. Don't think too highly of yourself. Be generous in every way you can. You know, a lot of people complain these days. Oh my gosh, we do. And I get it. I get where they're coming from. We get asked to tip about everything. And sometimes in the most silly places, you're asked to give a tip.

13:18And I just tell my kids, give a quarter, give 50 cents, give a dollar every single time, spread generosity. Because when you do that, that joy and peace that each of us are looking for. And I think we can do that in work as leaders. We can be servant leaders, truly caring for what's going on in our employees' lives beyond just the workplace, celebrate their successes, help them overcome their challenges, but see beyond the workplace with them. And just when we begin to spread like that out as business leaders, and as we begin to think more about how we serve the people that work for us, it can be transformative in their lives, especially as we do that with our leaders, that will bleed down in our organizations.

13:55Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh. Workplace culture. Imagine, you know, again, not when you're leading with an inspirational poster, you know, or just some, you know, flippant message in Slack or something like that to the team, but that, you know, again, in this same way with kids, right? It's our modeling. You know, kids may not always believe what you say, but they'll start to emulate what you do because you're normalizing this is just what we do. This is who I am. But we demonstrate that with our actions, not our words. Boy, there's another powerful reframe that I think can't be said enough. Mentoring here, you bring up a great point.

14:40If we want our leaders to grow, but we're not committed to growing ourselves. We're not setting the example of having a coach, a mentor, you know, in our lives that's helping us grow. It's going to be really interesting to our leaders when we ask them to do that, just like we would at home with our kids. All right. So I suspect that you have some resources available. Your website is ardentmentoring.org. So obviously, I'd love to talk about the, you know, kind of what that enrollment path is, what that looks like. And then I suspect, you know, just based on what I'm seeing right here, you have resources for people who, you know, just might be looking for, you know, inspiration or like how to do this or, you know, how to be that, you know, kind of better, you know, participant in making the world a better place.

15:31Where do folks go from here after they've heard this conversation? Yeah, we've really tried to put every link right on our homepage so people can access it. So if you go to our homepage and scroll over mentees, you're going to have access to our resource library. We try to share freely. If you scroll down a little bit, you'll see our book, The Social Entrepreneur, which is really like the 101s to the 401s of launching a social enterprise. And we give that book out freely. You can download that. You can read it freely. We highlight different podcasts on our website. And most of all, I encourage you to set a call with us.

16:04You know, if you're in the beginning stages of launching something, there's some great AI software out there called One Inspiring that can really help you walk through every different piece of the business and launching it. Now, we don't work in the ideation or concept stages. We can help those who are there find resources, but we really work with those who have launched and who have found some initial success and want to scale that success. Whether they're at, you know, we're helping an organization that's at 15 million now go to 100 million. We're also helping an organization that's at 20 ,000 go to 200 ,000.

16:34So wherever you're at along the journey, we want to come alongside you. But our website is a great place to land. Schedule a call with us, take the quiz, use our resource library, read our book, jump on a podcast that's on there by one of our co-founders, just within everything that's on our homepage. And then you can click to watch our impact videos and the testimonies from those who have mentored and menteed with us around the world. And I would encourage you, I would love to chat with anyone. This call has pricked your heart. Something that you and I have said, Josh, has made, gotten one of your listeners thinking, wow, would I love to have a discovery call?

17:11And you can schedule that right on our website. I'm going to close with a quote that you shared on your LinkedIn. And thank you for doing this. Love is the most durable power in the world. Martin Luther King Jr. So thank you so much, Ryan, for this great conversation. The website, ardentmentoring.org. Membership is very accessible and the network truly is top notch. If you're looking to align with, you know, with folks and leaders that share your values, it's just such a, it's just got to be such a great, warm place to go to, especially in a world that sometimes feels, it's just way too much divisiveness and fighting and bickering and unfortunate platforms that do profit from pitting us against each other.

18:07It's nice to see that you've created a platform that does the exact opposite. Ryan, thank you so much for all the work you've been doing. Josh, thank you. Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk with you today and be on the show. I really appreciate it and appreciate your support.

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