Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
“Not all readers are leaders but all leaders are readers.” (Harry S. Truman)We must continually learn and one of the best ways is to read books. I have previously posted some books for coaches and books for leaders. Many of these books are by very popular authors and are on most bookshelves across the nation.
However, I have put together a list of 7 books that you might not have heard of but can help you maximize your potential influence and increase your leadership skills.
Chris Rollins is a Master Trainer in the DISC Model of Human Behavior and a Founding Partner with the global John Maxwell Team. He speaks and trains using his proprietary 3C Model of Performance (Communicate, Connect, Convert) to address the crucial areas of Communication, Leadership, & Sales that every organization must address to achieve massive & sustainable top & bottom line growth. Chris has shared the speaking stage with speakers such as John Maxwell, Les Brown, & Brian Tracy, among others. Chris brings an uplifting, encouraging, yet challenging delivery style that has helped inspire audiences to take action that leads to achieving their true potential.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Todd Gongwer is the best-selling author of “LEAD…for God’s Sake. The book has been called a “game changer” by national championship football coach Urban Meyer. It has been credited with having a huge impact on Coach Meyer’s decision to come out of the broadcast booth and take over the reigns of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Todd is first and foremost, a husband and father. His expertise in leadership and cultural dynamics comes from a broad range of experiences in the world of business and athletics, spanning over 25 years. He has held numerous executive positions in companies ranging from entrepreneurial start-up to public entity, while also serving as an assistant college basketball coach for over a decade.
Following the successful launch of the Need to LEAD program, a systematic approach to shaping team culture, Todd wrote LEAD…for God’s Sake, A parable for finding the heart of leadership. As the popularity of the book grew, stories of its powerful impact surfaced in such noted publications as ESPN Magazine, Yahoo Sports, ESPN.com and Forbes.com. Testimonies from high profile coaches, business leaders, and educators from around the country continued to stream in, affording Todd the opportunity to work directly with some of the most successful leaders, teams and organizations in America.
Today, when Todd isn’t coaching his own children, he travels throughout the country speaking, teaching, and coaching on the topics of leadership, purpose and cultural dynamics. He lives in Indiana with his wife Traci and their three children; Kaden, Kira, and their newest arrival from Haiti, Wadson.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Darrin Gray serves as President and CEO of The Lions Lead. Darrin has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in communications, media, branding, sports philanthropy and non-profit sectors and has managed annual budgets as large as $40,000,000. Based upon his work with All Pro Dad, the national non-profit founded by Tony Dungy, Darrin is recognized as a thought leader and speaker on the topics of family, fatherhood, mentoring and leadership. Darrin co-authored The Jersey Effect, Beyond the World Championship, and supports his community by serving on non-profit boards and as the President of the Center for Serving Leadership at the Sagamore Institute, an action-oriented think tank. Darrin has a unique window into the National Football League by virtue of his day-to-day involvement with All Pro Dad, Family First’s national fatherhood program cofounded by Tony Dungy and Clyde Christensen. Darrin interacts with NFL athletes, coaches, and alumni that serve as spokesmen for All Pro Dad, and he has conducted programming with over half of the NFL franchises. He develops innovative partnership strategies to reach families via special events, broadcast, and new media with the assistance of media partners and corporate sponsors. He conceptualized The Jersey Effect years ago when he wondered what motivated some athletes like Tony Dungy to use their professional platform in sports, their jersey, to make a positive impact both on and off the field. A few years later he invited NFL punter Hunter Smith, while he was still playing in the NFL, to coauthor the book and to help him explore the many ways that sports shape culture, with the help of his world champion teammates and coaches.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Tony Gaskins Jr. is a motivational speaker, author, and life coach who has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. Tony built his brand from scratch to where he now has more than 1 million followers on social media. At 22, he became an author. At 23, he became a husband and father. At 25, he started his first company, Soul Writers LLC. At 25, he also got himself on globally televised shows to tell a portion of his story. Tony decided to turn his pain into purpose and live a life of service. Raised in the church and being the son of a pastor, there was something about service that stuck with Tony.
Tony made his fair share of mistakes like most young men from areas like where he grew up. Many of his childhood friends are serving life sentences in prison. Although Tony was introduced to the street life between the ages of 18–23, he finally found his way. At 23, he allowed love to change his life. His wife was unwilling to be with a man who wouldn’t live up to his full potential. That tough love pushed Tony to be more and to do more.
By combining all of his passions Tony became an author, life coach, and speaker. In 2015 Tony began working with an NBA team as the team life coach. Tony also became the life coach for several college teams. His message comes from his mess. He believes that we all are coaches because we’ve all learned lessons that can help someone else. Operating in his gifts also took him around the world as a highly sought- after speaker. Tony has spoken in two other continents and over 10 different countries and counting. Tony was able to accomplish these feats by the tender age of 31.
He doesn’t believe in boxes. “Don’t put me in a box until I’m going in the ground,” he says. He covers a wide range of topics in the areas of life, love, and business. He’s written several books on those subjects with his latest work being The Dream Chaser published by Wiley and available everywhere books are sold.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Jeff Brown is the host of the highly-acclaimed “Read to Lead” podcast. Before beginning Read to Lead, he spent 26-years in radio. Jeff even co-hosted an award-winning and nationally syndicated morning show from 2002 to 2008.
The Read to Lead Podcast began in 2013. Since then I’ve been fortunate to interview a number of New York Times bestselling authors including John Maxwell, Seth Godin, Dan Miller, Daniel Pink, Simon Sinek, Chris Brogan (not once but twice), Gary Vaynerchuk and Liz Wiseman among others.
The Read to Lead Podcast has been a top #10 Business and top #3 Career podcast in iTunes, is an iTunes Essentials podcast (Book Lovers), and has twice been nominated Best Business Podcast. Read to Lead has been featured in Entrepreneur, Inc., SethGodin.com, ChrisBrogan.com, Goins Writer, Social Media Explorer, Nashville Business Journal, the Tennessean, and more.
Jeff also helps mentor and teach people how to host their own shows. Since January 2014, Jeff has leveraged his radio background to coach numerous podcasters, helping dozens create, launch, grow and monetize their shows. People like Brendan Hufford, Liz Covart, Harry Duran, Darrell Darnell, Ben Castleberry and Nicole Welch have all been clients. He has even had the opportunity to consult with the US government and several multi-million dollar companies the last few years.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Dr. Cory Dobbs is the Founder & President of The Academy for Sport Leadership. A former basketball coach, Cory’s coaching background includes experience at the NCAA DII, NJCAA, and high school levels of competition. Cory has worked with collegiate athletic programs and high schools teaching leadership and team building as a part of the sports experience and education process. Cory is an accomplished researcher of human experience–a relentless investigator of team building and leadership behavior. A skilled researcher, Cory actively engages the process of naturalistic inquiry seeking in-depth understanding of social phenomena such as leadership and team building in their natural setting. A “teamologist,” Dr. Dobbs is an author, speaker, teacher, trainer and a consultant. Cory has been a recognized educator teaching at institutions such as Northern Arizona University, Ohio University, and Grand Canyon University.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
R-Jay Barsh is the head men’s basketball coach at Southeastern University. The 2017-18 season marks his sixth season at the helm of the Fire program. At the time of this episode being released, Barsh just won his 100th game moving the 7th ranked Fire program to 12-2 on the season.
In only his second season, he was a finalist for the Don Meyer National Coach of the Year Award as he guided the Fire to a 27-7 record and the program’s first-ever NAIA National Tournament appearance. Before coming to Southeastern, Barsh was the assistant coach at Tacoma Community College. While at Tacoma, he was considered one of the top recruiters on the West Coast and was even featured in The Bleacher Report for being a main catalyst for the Titans recruiting and developmental success. He also coached at Pugent Sound University, as well. Before he began his coaching career, he enjoyed a successful playing career at Tacoma Community College from 2001–2003. In his first season, he led the Titans to a NWAACC title and a 30–3 overall record. In 2003, Barsh was named Second Team All-Conference and found himself in a unique position, having won NWAACC titles as both a player (2002) and a coach (2012).
Off of the hardwood, Barsh has always felt the call of God on his life and has used basketball as the vehicle to deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For over the past 10 years, he has been an integral part of Northwest Basketball Camps (NBC), which is a Christ-centered camp that utilizes basketball to impact the hearts and minds of young people through Jesus Christ. Through NBC, Barsh has led several camps around the world, including in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Alaska. He is also the founder of SkyMotivation, which is a ministry he uses to help young people grow in Christ. His website for the ministry has testimonies, devotionals, and even an area where viewers can ask questions about their faith.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Jason Romano is the host and producer of the Sports Spectrum podcast where he interviews athletes, coaches, and other personalities on the intersection of sports and faith. He is also a speaker, author, media consultant and church leader with 20 years of professional broadcasting experience on the regional and network level. For 17 years, Jason was a Senior Manager and Producer at ESPN. He has created and produced content for shows such as SportsCenter, Monday Night Football, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Sunday NFL Countdown, College Gameday, MLB’s All Star Game. During his time at ESPN, Jason produced content for ESPN Radio, helped lead and grow the talent booking department, building relationships with the biggest names in sports as well as creating and managing the NFL on ESPN’s social media channels, growing them to over 6 million followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Jason has spoken to thousands of people at conferences, colleges, companies and churches. He’s a big advocate of social media, having built up large followings both for ESPN’s social feeds as well as his own personal brand. Jason’s first book, “Live to Forgive” was published in January of 2018.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Lolly Daskal is the go-to executive leadership coach for Fortune 500 companies. She has been named by Inc. Magazine as a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert. The Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of “The Most Inspiring Woman in the World”. She regularly writes for the Harvard Business Review, Inc, Fast Company, Huffington Post, and Psycholgoy Today. Her newest book is called The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness. It has appeared on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller charts. Lolly is the founder of Lead from Within, a successful leadership firm that offers custom made programs in leadership and organizational development. Lolly also has more than 1 million followers on twitter.
In today’s episode, we discuss: