Dr. Ron Camacho · May 29, 2026

Podcast: Mens Anonymous
May 29, 2026 · 39 min
Chief of Police Dr. Ron Camacho opens up about the immense personal toll of maintaining the "Iron Duke" persona—a mask of anger, ego, and fear of failure rooted in childhood trauma, which cost him his family and relationships, and led him to terrorize his own officers. In this…
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Leadership Expert | Author, Speaker & Executive Coach
30 years Career in policing400 Person police agency led4 Police departments servedGraduate FBI National Academy
Ron Camacho has spent three decades leading in some of the highest-pressure environments imaginable, but the work that defines his next chapter began with a much more personal challenge: confronting the role ego had played in his own life.
Early in his career, Ron built a version of leadership around toughness, control and relentless self-protection. It helped him rise quickly and take on significant responsibility, but it also came at a cost. Anger, defensiveness and unresolved trauma affected his relationships, his marriage and the way he moved through the world. What began as an attempt to save his marriage became a much deeper process of therapy, introspection and self-awareness - and ultimately a complete re-evaluation of what strength and leadership really mean.
That journey sits at the heart of Ron’s forthcoming book, which explores how ego quietly influences the way we lead, communicate, make decisions and respond when our identity or authority is challenged. Blending personal experience with decades of leadership at the highest levels of policing, Ron moves beyond theory to give readers practical tools for recognising and managing ego through self-awareness, journaling, feedback, mentorship, coaching, therapy and experiences that deliberately cultivate humility. His goal is simple: to help people see themselves more clearly and give them tangible tools they can use to change.
Chief of PoliceDr. Ron Camachoopens up about the immense personal toll of maintaining the "Iron Duke" persona—a mask of anger, ego, and fear of failure rooted in childhood trauma, which cost him his family and relationships, and led him to terrorize his own officers. In this raw and honest conversation, Dr. Ron shares the breaking point (an affair) that forced him into therapy, revealing his powerful four-step recipe for transformation: cultivating Self-Awareness, practicing Introspection (even when painful), developing Empathy, and relentlessly Suppressing the Ego. Discover how this new mindset of putting others first led to exponential blessings, significant reductions in departmental use of force and citizen complaints, and the key actionable step—looking in the mirror—that you can take this week to start changing your own life.
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