Tag: positive leadership
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Commit to Believing in Each Other

I have coached players who were more talented.I have worked with staff who had more experience.Yet some of the most successful people I have ever worked with had something others did not.Someone believed in them before they believed in themselves.Belief is a powerful thing.It instills confidence.Positivity.Support.We already know that pessimists and negative people do not…
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The Culture You Want Starts Here

As I continue preparing for upcoming presentations centered around Jon Gordon’s The 7 Commitments of a Great Team, there is one commitment that continues to stand out to me. Commit to valuing each other. At first glance it seems simple. Treat people well. Respect each other. Be kind. But when you look deeper, this commitment…
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The Power of Staying Positive When Everything Gets Hard

In the spirit of my recent keynote and Jon Gordon’s The 7 Commitments of a Great Team, I want to take a deep dive into one of the most powerful commitments a team can make: commit to staying positive. This is not about pretending everything is perfect. It is not about ignoring challenges. It is…
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The Commitment That Changes Teams

Commit to giving your best. That is all your team asks. And it is what they deserve. As we push forward after Labor Day and into the fall season, I am reminded of all my days playing and coaching football. This includes raising my kids in sports, coaching them, and building teams in the workplace.…
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Preparation Precedes Performance

Football season is here. Conference season is here too. After coaching high school football for sixteen years, this time of year always excites me. Now, that same excitement shows up in a new way as I prepare to speak at conferences across the country. Serving a community as a Parks and Recreation Director while also…
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Empty the Tank. Then Refill.

Are you emptying your tank every day? Truly, are you giving everything you’ve got? Controversial coming from me because I talk about burnout so much, but it’s important to know the difference — and the defense — against burnout. I’ve heard two different people in the last couple days comment on emptying your tank and…
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Burnout Lives in the Cave You Refuse to Leave. Light Only Shows Up When You Step Out

Stop for a minute. No seriously, stop and pay attention to this. You need this. July is closing out and heating up. Heat waves across the country. Summer is almost over and school will be back in session in a couple weeks. Yet here you are, exhausted, needing a break, carrying a huge load all…
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How to Make Difficult Choices a Little Easier

I don’t know what to move forward on, we need many things and I am struggling to decide what is best. Yep, that was last week’s conversation with a director. Last week we talked about difficult conversations. This week we lean into difficult decisions, because they often go hand in hand. My first question was,…
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Why Leaders Struggle With Difficult Conversations and How to Fix It

I am really struggling with one of the managers I oversee right now. They are not getting the job done. I hear this all too often. To which I respond, “have you discussed things with them and designed a plan?” “Well, I told them they were not meeting deadlines, and it was holding the team…
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The Year I Started Over: Why Change Built My Calling

A year ago today, life changed in a big way. Change is not always easy, but sometimes it is needed. July 4, 2025, was my final night of a one-month stint living in a hotel while closing out my job duties. Oh yeah, my son was living in the hotel with me while he closed…
