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The Boys Club

The Boys' Club

Defining Moments from the Life of John Gronski
There are events in life that reach the level of defining moments. These are moments or timeframes that teach a lesson and generally build confidence in some way. I remember first visiting the Scranton Boys Club when I was about 14 years old. I was a freshman in high school. I grew up just outside of the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. I played basketball with a group of friends every winter at the Scranton Boys Club from my freshman through my senior year of high school. I was a poor basketball player, possessing very little athleticism, but I loved playing at the Boys Club with my friends. I had grown up in a mostly white community. Playing at the Boys Club opened the door to friendships with a more diverse group of people. This was a formative step in my youth that began to open my eyes to the world beyond my neighborhood. The reason this experience at the Scranton Boys Club was a defining moment in my life is because it was the first time I found that I had the ability to make friends and develop a network outside of my family, neighborhood, and school. To a small-town boy like me, the city of Scranton was bigtime. As it turned out, I developed long term friendships with adult staff at the Boys Club and felt it was an institution that I could go back to rekindle friendships, even after being away for years at a time. Establishing those friendships with people who were clearly outside of my tribe gave me a tremendous amount of confidence to spread my wings and begin to branch out from my hometown of about 3,000 people. I learned lessons about relating to people and how to make friends at that Boys Club, and perhaps, more importantly, I gained confidence that I could make new friends, even with others who grew up with experiences different from mine. I learned that for the most part, all people have similar wants and needs. Most people want to be liked. They want to make new friends. People reciprocate when they are treated with kindness. Karma is a powerful thing. You reap what you sow. A smile and a little empathy and consideration go a long way.

Helping Others Makes Us Stronger

We can find many wise men and books of wisdom that point out that we can best be served by serving others. Here are some examples of what has been said and written. Napoleon Hill said, “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to...

Generation Gap 2023

By John Gronski Lately, in leadership workshops I have been conducting around the country I have been getting more and more questions from front-line leaders about how to work with and motivate our younger generation of employees entering the workforce known as...

Stay Away from Monsters

By John Gronski Scary times. Halloween is upon us, and our thoughts turn to monsters. As a leader of your organization, you do not want the people you lead to place you in that category. This may be a good time to reflect on your leadership style. Ask yourself the...

Helping Others Makes Us Stronger

We can find many wise men and books of wisdom that point out that we can best be served by serving others. Here are some examples of what has been said and written. Napoleon Hill said, “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to...

Generation Gap 2023

By John Gronski Lately, in leadership workshops I have been conducting around the country I have been getting more and more questions from front-line leaders about how to work with and motivate our younger generation of employees entering the workforce known as...

Stay Away from Monsters

By John Gronski Scary times. Halloween is upon us, and our thoughts turn to monsters. As a leader of your organization, you do not want the people you lead to place you in that category. This may be a good time to reflect on your leadership style. Ask yourself the...

Taking The Helm

By John Gronski When you are entering a new leadership position it is always very exciting. You will want to get things right from the very beginning. As a younger, inexperienced leader I made mistakes. Some blunders I made included thinking I knew everything there...

Mindset x 4

By John Gronski The world can be a crazy and distressing place at times and it is easy to get discouraged. It seems like there are so many things that are beyond our control. We must focus on the things we can control and two of those things are our mind and our...

Keynote Leadership Presentation at Comcast

In September 2023 I had the opportunity to provide the keynote leadership presentation at Comcast MilDev. This is an annual event where Comcast brings together military Veterans from across the United States and the United Kingdom who work for the company. My remarks...

Continual Learning

Deputy Sheriff Krzysztof Sadowski attended John Gronski's two-day Iron-Sharpened Leadership and Resiliency Workshop recently. Krzysztof provides his views on the benefits of the workshop in the short video posted on John's YouTube channel. Watch the video below....

A Question for Leaders

By MG John Gronski (USA, Ret.) I have a question for leaders. When you are out circulating around the organization you lead, what questions do you ask? Most leaders have learned that one of the keys to being a good communicator is to listen. Listening helps us to...

Stay Humble, Stay Hungry

By MG John Gronski (USA, Ret.) When I conduct leadership workshops or deliver keynotes focused on leadership, I am usually quick to point out that although I have led military and civilian organizations for over 40 years, I am still trying to develop myself to become...

Leaders Continue Learning In Scotch Plains, NJ

There are many great things about taking the Iron-Sharpened Leadership and Resiliency Workshop on the road. First, I get to present with awesome people like SGM (USA, Ret,) JoAnn Tresco who is a Master Resiliency Trainer. I also get to meet fantastic leaders who are...
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