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Why Mission and Vision Matter When Life Gets Busy
Over the next several weeks I will be giving presentations on many different topics. One topic very close to me, and one that was essential in building great teams, is commitment. In Jon Gordon’s book, The 7 Commitments of a Great Team, one commitment stands out to me more than any other: committing to the…
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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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Doing Common Things With Uncommon Effort
Doing common things with uncommon effort, attitude, and perseverance. That is what greatness looks like. Too often we get mesmerized by social media, someone doing something out of the ordinary. It appears they have reached greatness. Sure, it happens occasionally, not all that often though. Social media simply sensationalizes things. Last weekend I saw a…
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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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Clear as Mud? That’s Not Leadership.
Ambiguity at work is about as awesome as slicing my finger while food prepping. If you’ve been there, you know exactly what I mean. In the last week alone, I have engaged in three separate conversations that went well beyond the jovial discussion of difficult conversations. These conversations dove in headfirst and dug deep in…
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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…
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The Power of Connection Starts With Your TEAM
We are hitting the middle of summer. Avoid the mid‑summer meltdown. You know exactly what I’m talking about. All staff, part-time included, are going to start burning out from heat, long hours, and working more days than they are used to. And when we are tired, habits slip. The key to overcoming this is uniting…
