Can Sports Teach the Hardest Leadership Lessons? What Ryan Kent Learned from Football, Failure, and Curiosity

Leadership Blueprints

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What do football, combat deployments, and dress shirts have in common? For Ryan Kent, they’ve all played a role in shaping his evolution as a leader.

In this episode of Leadership Blueprints, BJ Kramer sits down with Ryan, a West Point graduate, former Army Ranger, and current CEO of menswear brand Mizzen+Main, to unpack the lessons he learned on his way from the locker room to the boardroom.

From his journey as a small-town athlete to leading in Iraq and then navigating the apparel industry with no prior experience, Ryan reflects on the power of curiosity, adaptability, and showing up with presence.

Whether you’re a veteran stepping into civilian leadership or guiding teams in construction, engineering, or development, Ryan’s story is a masterclass in leading through uncertainty, failure, and reinvention!

Key Points From This Episode:

• From option quarterback to linebacker and adapting to team needs.
• Asking better questions to become a more competent and connected leader.
• Ways that winning and losing both shape leadership.
• Leading through presence, not just position.
• Parting wisdom on the connection between sport and leadership.

Quotes:

“Sports have been the foundation of my leadership. My journey through sports has made me a much better leader because I've had very good highs and lows.” — Ryan Kent

“There are frequent times where I’m leading through success, leading through challenge, and leading through failure. The origin of my ability to do that has been through sports.” — Ryan Kent

“Change is inevitable. A capitalistic society allows people to innovate, to evolve. If you don’t do that in a business, in our country, you will fail.” — Ryan Kent

“It’s very hard to be a good leader consistently. It requires a lot of attention and effort. – Give it that credit. If you don’t spend time on it, you’ll likely not be a great leader.” — Ryan Kent

Discount Details

Code: LEADERSHIP20

Offer: 20% off first purchase

Expiration: 9/30/25

www.mizzenandmain.com

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Ryan Kent on LinkedIn

Mizzen+Main

Good Profit

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Mastery

12 Rules for Life

Sapiens

Team of Teams

Shoe Dog

Air

Dune

Friendly Strife

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MCFA

MCFA Careers

BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn