Some people understand leadership skills at a young age. For Bruce Wirt, EVP and CRO at Telesystem, it happened at 13 years old.

Telesystem’s Bruce Wirt

“I was a pretty good baseball player, but not the best,” Wirt said of that time. “But I started coaching at that age and I knew from that point that this is what I wanted to do. It fills my bank when I can make somebody else better.”

Baseball was just the vehicle for him. It was the opportunity to shape people so they can be their best selves.

He added: “Everything in my life forward from that was about learning how to be a better leader, and every job that I took, I had that leadership aspiration set in my sights.”

Over the last 15 years of executive leadership, Wirt has built two nationwide brands and led organization growth in the tens of millions of dollars. Maybe more importantly, he’s amassed what he calls a “coaching tree” of technology industry superstars. Part of his leadership style is centered on encouraging employees to know their purpose and then apply the passion and perseverance necessary for success.

At the Channel Partners Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, Wirt will take attendees through his personal journey and share his foundational elements for individuals to thrive. His conference session, “Leading and Motivating Using the 4Ps of Success,” will explore how partners can utilize purpose, passion, perseverance and positivity to achieve nearly anything they aspire to.

The Ultimate Destination

The session is the culmination of years of insight. Some of it stems from Wirt’s upbringing.

“I grew up in a very working class, lower-middle-income neighborhood. But I didn’t know that we were poor,” Wirt said of the ability of his parents to shield him from some realities. “I didn’t know that we were struggling — and that’s a good thing when you’re a kid.”

What his parents instilled was a strong work ethic. They encouraged their son not to “call out” and “don’t get lazy.”

“Don’t take ‘mental’ days off. Don’t have days where you’re just sitting there with your head down on the desk, because that’s a negative force on you. That’s a negative force to people around you. That makes you prone to mistakes that you wouldn’t otherwise make. If you wake up in the morning, and you’re not mentally ready to go to work, you’re better off not being there. And so those are the things that I learned growing up. I just tried to carry that forward.”

However, Wirt acknowledges that sometimes people must take jobs that aren’t necessarily what they want to do.

“Everybody has to feed their family. But sometimes you have to take risks where they’re appropriate and weigh in other factors so that you can get to your ultimate destination because that’s where it’s really going to pay off.”