85: Dr. Tim Elmore — On Generational Diversity & The 8 Paradoxes of Great Leadership

April 01, 2022 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living, Leadership

Dr. Tim Elmore is founder and CEO of Growing Leaders (www.growingleaders.com), an Atlanta‐based non‐profit organization created to develop emerging leaders. Since founding Growing Leaders in 2003, Elmore has spoken to over 500,000 leaders in businesses, universities, athletic teams and non-profit organizations, including The Home Depot, Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, American Eagle and Chick-Fil-A as well as the San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ohio State University, Stanford University and the University of Alabama athletics.

His work grew out of twenty years serving alongside Dr. John C. Maxwell where he focused on leadership for the emerging generations. Elmore has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, Psychology Today and he’s been featured on CNN’s Headline News and Fox and Friends to talk about leading multiple generations in the marketplace.

Tim was listed in the top 100 leadership speakers in America by Inc. magazine. He has written more than 35 books, including the best-selling Habitudes: Images That Form Leadership Habits and Attitudes. Tim and his wife, Pam, have two adult children, Bethany and Jonathan. He and Pam live outside of Atlanta. You can also find his work at: TimElmore.com

I learned a ton from this conversation. We talk about generational diversity and what each generation brings to the table and how us as leaders can lead well by harnessing these difference. So whether you’re a Baby Booomer, Baby Buster, Millennial, Gen Z, or don’t even know what generation you fit into, this episode has something for you. We also dive into mentoring, some great stories about John Maxwell, and his new book, The 8 Paradoxes of Great Leadership.

The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership: Embracing the Conflicting Demands of Today's Workplace

By Elmore, Tim

If you’re interested in growing in your leadership practice and being inspired to think differently and unlock greater personal potential, we want to give you a gift. Just click the link below and tell us where to send you 12 Ideas That Will Make You A Better Leader In 2022.

Listen to some of our most popular podcast episodes here!

Help us grow by leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts

Help us close the gap in leadership instruction by partnering with us financially at Patreon

Follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn

#74: Dana Pittard — Fitness. Mental Health, & Taking Risks as a Leader

October 12, 2021 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living, Leadership

A former general officer in the U.S. Army, Dana Pittard earned the Hero Award for Suicide Prevention from the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation in 2017. The following year, Dana Pittard became one of Savoy Magazine's Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America for his leadership in the defense industry as vice president at Allison Defense.

Alongside leading Allison Defense into five straight years of increasing revenue and growth since joining the company in 2015, Dana Pittard took an executive financial management course at the Wharton School of Business and a corporate executive leadership course at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Previously, he attended Harvard University as a senior fellow for a year. He earned a master's degree from the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), and a bachelor's from the United States Military Academy.

He has recently held interviews across national major news networks and is a regular contributor on CNN, Fox News, PBS, CBS, ABC and NPR on race relations, diversity and inclusion, military issues, Middle East policy, ISIS, and veteran’s issues. Pittard has been published and interviewed in the Washington Post, New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy Magazine, Military Times, Task & Purpose, Politico, Insider, and many other news outlets.

Dana Pittard has also become known for his writing on military subjects. He coauthored a highly acclaimed book titled “Hunting the Caliphate - America’s War on ISIS” in 2019. He was a contributing author to the book, “By Their Deeds Alone - America’s Combat Commanders on the Art of War.” He also wrote articles such as “The Armor Task Force in Mountainous Terrain,””13th Century Mongol Operational Art,” and “Genghis Khan & 13th Century Airland Battle.”

Hunting the Caliphate: America's War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell

By Pittard, Dana J.H., Bryant, Wes J.

He fought in Iraq and was awarded four Bronze Stars, one for valor, along with many other decorations, and was deployed in Kosovo. Pittard served as a military aide to President Bill Clinton, carrying the so-called nuclear football, the briefcase that contains codes for launching a nuclear attack, and he was a winner of the Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.

On this episode we cover a wide range of topics, including:

Some of the largest influences on him growing up
How West Point most shaped him
Where he was on 9/11 and his reflections on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
How he stays so physically fit
His typical fitness regime
His efforts to impact the suicide epidemic in the military
His own journey with mental health and how that has shaped his approach as a leader
Transitioning from the military into the private sector
His views on changing the culture of an organization and managing risk as a leader

Connect with Dana on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn

Listen to some of our most popular episodes here!

Help us grow by leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts

Help us close the gap in leadership instruction by partnering with us financially at Patreon

Follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn

#38: Jon Gordon (Bestselling Author) — On Staying Positive, Self-Belief, and the Comparison Trap

May 24, 2020 by Cal Walters in Intentional Living, Leadership

Jon Gordon's best-selling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous Fortune 500 companies, professional and college sports teams, school districts, hospitals, and non-profits. He is the author of 20 books including 8 best-sellers: The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, Training Camp, You Win in the Locker Room First, The Power of Positive Leadership, The Power of a Positive Team, The Coffee Bean and his latest Stay Positive.

Jon and his tips have been featured on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, The Golf Channel, Fox and Friends and in numerous magazines and newspapers. His clients include The Los Angeles Dodgers, Campbell’s Soup, Dell, Publix, Southwest Airlines, Miami Heat, The Los Angeles Rams, Snapchat, BB&T Bank, Clemson Football, Northwestern Mutual, West Point Academy and more. Jon is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Masters in Teaching from Emory University. He and his training/consulting company are passionate about developing positive leaders, organizations and teams.

Jon has two new books coming out this year, The Garden and Relationship Grit. The Garden is an enlightening and encouraging spiritual fable that reveals the 5 D’s that can sabotage us and a proven plan to help us overcome and win the battle in our mind. Rooted in Jon Gordon’s faith tradition, this fable is a different kind of book than his previous business fables. However, in his familiar trademark style, he takes a complex subject and simplifies it to help people take action and improve their lives.

Everyone will struggle with fear, anxiety, or stress at some point in their lives, and everyone will have to overcome these challenges to create the life they were meant to live. Given that there are many contributing factors that influence how we think and feel, Jon wrote this book to share how the power of love, encouragement, truth, faith, and belief can be part of the solution.

In Relationship Grit, Jon and his wife, Kathryn, reveal what brought them together, what kept them together through difficult times, and what continues to sustain their love and passion for one another to this day. They candidly share their mistakes, decisions that almost destroyed their marriage, and successes so you can learn from their experiences and make your relationship stronger.

Connect with Jon on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Youtube.

Episode Transcript

Help us grow by leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts

Partner with us financially at Patreon

#27: Q&A with David Marquet (Bestselling Author) - Leadership is Language

February 03, 2020 by Cal Walters in Leadership

Today, I am bringing you an interview with former Navy Captain, best-selling author, and a true leadership expert, David Marquet.  Here are a few quotes about David Marquet: "I don't know of a finer model of this kind of empowering leadership than Captain Marquet." Dr. Stephen R.

Today, I am bringing you an interview with former Navy Captain, best-selling author, and a true leadership expert, David Marquet.

Here are a few quotes about David Marquet:

“I don’t know of a finer model of this kind of empowering leadership than Captain Marquet.”

— Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“To say I’m a fan of David Marquet would be an understatement. I’m a fully-fledged groupie. He is the kind of leader who comes around only once in a generation. He is the kind of leader who doesn’t just know how to lead, he knows how to build leaders. His ideas and lessons are invaluable to anyone who wants to build an organization that will outlive them.”

— Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, Leaders Eat Last, and The Infinite Game

I can relate to Dr. Covey and Simon’s thoughts on David. He is a true leadership hero for me, so it was really special to get to do this interview.

A little bit of David’s story for those that are unfamiliar. He graduated in the top of his class at the US Naval Academy, graduated #1 from his nuclear power school class and the submarine officer basic course. David has always been a brilliant guy, but over his years in the Navy, he learned that being a great leader is not all about being the smartest guy in the room.

After years of proving his competence, David was awarded his very own command of a nuclear submarine. He was told he’d be taking over the USS Olympia, so he spent an entire year studying every aspect of the ship, becoming an expert on all the ship's capabilities. But about two weeks before taking over the Olympia, he was reassigned to take over the Santa Fe. He knew nothing about the Santa Fe, but its crew had a reputation for being the worst in the fleet. With only two weeks before taking over, he knew his typical leadership approach of being the smartest person in the room and just giving orders wasn’t going to work.

So aboard a nuclear submarine — a place that few would feel comfortable taking a lot of risk and doing experiments — David tried an entirely different approach to leadership. Instead of viewing his crew as followers that simply followed his orders, David empowered them to think, to take initiative, and he ultimately developed them into leaders. He moved from the leader-follower model he had been taught to viewing everyone as a leader. And the results were truly remarkable. His leadership turned the ship around. They went from worst in the Navy to receiving the best evaluation in Navy history.

Even after David departed the Santa Fe, it continued to win awards and promoted a disproportionate number of officers and enlisted men to positions of increased responsibility, including 10 subsequent submarine captains. When Dr. Stephen R. Covey visited the ship, he said it was the most empowering organization he’d ever seen and wrote about David’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.

Captain Marquet and Dr. Covey aboard the Santa Fe.

David first shared his leadership principles in the #1 Amazon Bestseller, Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders. Fortune magazine named it the #1 must-read business book of the year, and USA Today listed it as one of the top 12 business books of all time.

And, on February 4th, David is releasing his new book, Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't, which I have had the chance to read and it is truly an incredible book. Some books give you a nugget of wisdom here and there, but David’s books challenge me to take my leadership approach to a new level. His books are transformational and paradigm-shifting. Leadership is Language has been endorsed by Adam Grant, General (ret.) Stanley McCrystal, and Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers.

You can connect with David Marquet at his website, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Subscribe to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

You can also follow Intentional Living and Leadership on Facebook.