About this episode

Dr. Rhonda Glover Reese discusses her leadership journey and the importance of relationships in effective leadership.

Dr. Rhonda Glover Reese is a retired FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, executive leadership coach, founder of Noble Youth, and one of the most direct leadership voices in public safety today. She joined the FBI as a switchboard operator, spent four years in pre-agent positions, and built a career that spanned counterintelligence, undercover drug investigations across the U.S. and abroad, and senior executive leadership. In this conversation, Dr. Reese is precise and unsparing: about the relationships leaders fail to leverage, the comfort that stalls careers, the danger of blind trust, and why loving your people isn't soft leadership — it's the job. She also shares the moment she cried in a bathroom stall at FBI headquarters and finally understood her purpose. For law enforcement leaders at every level, this is an episode worth returning to. Key themes include intentional positioning, mentorship as a leadership obligation, sponsorship vs. mentorship, and the real dynamics behind closed-door promotion decisions.

People in this episode

Host: Dominick Watters

Guest: Dr. Rhonda Glover Reese

Topics covered

• leadership
• public safety
• mentorship
• career development
• emotional intelligence

Keywords

• leadership
• FBI
• mentorship
• career
• public safety
• emotional intelligence
• trust
• sponsorship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FBI, Noble Youth

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