The Warrior Servant Leader

What does it mean to be a warrior servant leader?

Pat Welsh joins Richard Lowe (The Writing King) on Leaders and Their Stories for a thoughtful conversation about what real leadership requires.

A national speaker, trainer, and author behind The Warrior Servant Leader, Pat traces his journey from a Dublin orphanage to the stage, and makes the case that the best leaders are servants and warriors at once, guided by a solid moral compass.

Pat Welsh is a national speaker, trainer, author, and podcaster behind The Warrior Servant Leader. Born in Dublin and raised partly in an orphanage, he teaches a leadership philosophy blending service, strength, and a strong moral compass.

For more conversations like this one, see the Leaders Hub.

DISCUSS YOUR BOOK

Full transcript of the interview follows.

Richard: Hello. This is Richard Lowe, and this is the leaders in their stories. Podcast I’m the writing king and ghostwriting Guru. And with me is Pat Walsh who’s going to talk about leadership today? Pat, how you doing.

What is the warrior servant leader mindset?

Pat Welsh: Well, the readers digest version. Currently, I’m a national speaker, trainer, author. and podcaster on the warrior, leader, warrior, servant, leader, mindset, and I also teach Constitutional law and Strategic management for law enforcement through the Southern Police Institute, out of the University of Louisville.

Can a difficult childhood make you a better leader?

Pat: Born in Dublin, Ireland, lived in an orphanage from the time I was 3 days old till 16 months old. adopted to the Us. And eventually became a lawyer. There’s a prosecutor turned cop, and I was in law enforcement for 30 years and retired 13 years ago and move to Colorado.

Define Your Terms

Richard: That’s fun. It’s a fun one. 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.

Why should leaders define their terms?

Pat: Well, 1st I get I’m big on defining 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 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.

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. If you’re willing to stand up, show up and defend, and not be a jackass about it and being a jerk.

But defend what you believe. That’s a warrior mindset. 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.

And then a leader is very, very simple. A leader is simply a person of influence and impact in someone else’s life. You know it wasn’t. When I was a cop I retired as a superintendent rank of major. and I’d 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. 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 that trilogy, if you will, of that mindset.

Servant Leader and Warrior

Richard: Interesting. Interesting, would you say? Good leaders are then servant leaders and warriors together? I guess you can have them together.

Can someone be a great leader without being a servant?

Pat: Well, let’s put it this way Hitler was a great leader for all the wrong reasons. He was definitely not a servant. And you can, and you can. you can be a warrior and and not be a servant, and maybe not even be a leader.

It’s there. I’d like the best example in my lifetime of a person who displayed all 3 parts of of that trilogy is mother Teresa of Calcutta 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.

Who are examples of servant leaders today?

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

Pat: Wow, without gut. And sometimes this gets difficult because you start pushing buttons. You don’t mean to push. I I’d say, and and I’m a registered independent. I’m not a fan of politics to any great degree. that. I think President Trump touches each of those mindsets at times.

When you get into athletics. there’s some great warrior servant leaders in a variety of of sports. And then there’s all those are the ones you hear about. It’s the unsung warrior servant leaders that that you never hear about. There. There was a kid, a kid. He was a kid when he started.

He was 21 and I taught his police academy, and he’s in his early forties now. And he, I learned this. It just just happened within the last year or so that he he got a call by a 9 year old, called the police that a theft his. His lawn mower had been stolen.

and and this kid lived in a depressed neighborhood, economically depressed neighborhood, and this officer goes to take the report. and this little 9 year old was earning money by cutting grass in the neighborhood, and now he didn’t have a a lawn mower. So this officer took the report and left.

and then he came back about 45 min later he spent $400 of his own money and bought this kid a new lawn mower and gave it to him and then left. 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. and but his mom called the police chief.

Leading Without Ego

Richard: Yes, yeah. One person that I look up to is Michael Jordan. Very big servant leader, I think. you know he’s human, so he’s got his vaults. But definitely definitely up there. Yeah, my mind.

Pat: Tim Tebow, you know I’m 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. but I I’d 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 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 that one of the biggest obstacles of of maintaining and obtaining leadership influence is ego.

How does ego undermine leadership?

Pat: And Ryan Holiday wrote a great book called Ego is the Enemy. and and I think that’s what happens. A lot in the sports arena is, and in the political arena is.

Ego takes such a toll on people’s opportunity to actually be true leaders, and they get sucked into these rabbit holes and and other egos of other people to undermine and destroy you because and then fill in the blank.

Richard: Right? Right? Yeah. Egos are are big, and they can undermine a leader. although they can help make a leader, too, like in politics. Maybe you need an ego to, I’m thinking. Jfk, 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. To find him very interesting person.

What characteristics should you look for in a business leader?

Richard: Yeah, interesting. So if you’re running a business or you’re a business leader at any level. what would be the characteristics that we’d want to look for.

Pat: Well, a lot of things 1st of all, is a a very rock, solid moral compass. That I I my my company my challenge coin for my company 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.

Can you be a leader without seeing yourself as one?

Pat: 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 but they don’t see themselves as a leader.

So even in just management, which is systems and processes. He wants somebody that’s that rock, solid 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.

So that’s a huge one. I think another huge characteristic or virtues, if you will. Leaders, have to have a strong sense of hope and charity, and and because those are so positive. and and when people are struggling or when you, as a leader, are struggling, if you can rely on having that strong foundation or mindset attitude of hope and charity.

And and then, personally, I believe the 3rd aspect of that is that you. You’re a person of faith, that that you you are. You’re a person of faith, whatever that faith is. But you have a strong depth to your convictions are based on not situational ethics.

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

The Worst Advice, and the Best

Richard: 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.

What is the worst leadership advice?

Pat: 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’d leave it. I leave you with this thought if you were taught.

If you want it done right, do it yourself. Get rid of that mindset, because that’s not leadership that’s doing somebody else’s job form. So you have to. Leadership is is. it’s in community, it? It’s a group effort. It’s it’s not a solo journey.

Richard: Gotcha. Well, good, I understand. Well, thank you for coming. How can people get hold of you?

Where to Find Pat

Pat: My website is the warrior, servant leader, podcast.com. I have, I have my own podcast, that’s in all my connections are on that website.

Pat: So the water warriorservantleader, podcast.com.

Quotable moments