292: From Winning Athlete to Thriving Entrepreneur

292: From Winning Athlete to Thriving Entrepreneur

292: From Winning Athlete to Thriving Entrepreneur

If you’ve ever gone through a major transition from one career path to another that’s totally unfamiliar, you may have felt disoriented and unsure of your identity. That often happens to college and professional athletes when they leave the sport that’s been a central part of their identity.

This episode’s guest, Jay Dixon, specializes in helping these athletes discover how they can transfer the skills they already have to the business world. You’re going to hear ideas that you can apply to your own role as a leader.

Jay is an expert at the intersection of sports and business. He was a student-athlete at the University of Nevada, where he played football. Since then, he’s cofounded three companies and consulted or participated in more than 50 transactions. After these experiences, Jay started an elite accelerator for athletes called SuccessCoach.com. It blends the mindset strategies of elite CEOs and an actionable playbook to transition their athletic talents into thriving business ventures.

He’s the author of a new book, After the Game: Bridging the Gap from Winning Athlete to Thriving Entrepreneur. It’s an excellent book for anyone in business.

You’ll discover:

  • Jay’s personal journey from athlete to entrepreneur
  • The unique strengths athletes have that serve them well in the business world
  • Why a growth mindset is the first piece in the 10 mindset elements that Jay teaches
  • Tips for optimizing your time and energy
  • The distinction between expectations vs agreements

Watch the episode:

Connect with Jay

  

Jay’s Resources

Website

Success Coach

Book

After the Game: Bridging the Gap from Winning Athlete to Thriving Entrepreneur

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

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Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

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289: Why Strong Character Matters

289: Why Strong Character Matters

289: Why Strong Character Matters

I’ve been hosting my podcast for more than five years, since June 2019, and have never done a solo episode. That changes with this episode! Many of my listeners have requested that I share some of my thoughts about leadership, so I’ve decided to devote one episode each month to speaking directly with you.

For this episode, I focused on the topic of character—what it is and two specific areas that show why it’s essential for leadership. My business partner Denny Coates and I have been immersed in this aspect of leadership development for decades, and even more so in the past two years as Denny has worked on his latest book, Grow Strong Character, and the two of us have created content for our new self-paced leadership development program, GSL SkillBuilder.

I’m the co-founder and president of Grow Strong Leaders, a company that publishes software tools and books to help people build strong relationships at work and at home.

You’ll discover:

  • What strong character consists of
  • The role of character in leadership
  • Why character development strengthens emotional intelligence
  • The importance of helping people live into an organization’s core values
  • Resources that can help you strengthen your own character

Watch the episode:

 

Connect with Meredith

        

Meredith’s Resources

Website

GrowStrongLeaders.com

Books

Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Order from Amazon

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

Order from Amazon
284: You Can Grow Strong Character

284: You Can Grow Strong Character

284: You Can Grow Strong Character

Character has always been essential for anyone in a leadership position. But what exactly IS character? And is it a fixed aspect of who you are, or can it be developed?

In this episode, you’ll learn the answers to those questions from a special guest, Denny Coates, who’s been Meredith’s business partner for almost 33 years. He’s the CEO of Grow Strong Leaders, and his genius is in writing and creating content for the company’s books and products.

Denny has studied character for decades, and he’s just published a new book, Grow Strong Character, that explores this topic in depth. Together, he and Meredith developed a new online, self-paced leadership program called GSL SkillBuilder that facilitates mastery of high-impact communication skills and character skills.

You’ll discover:

  • How Denny defines character
  • The relationship of communication skills and character to emotional intelligence
  • What’s required to strengthen a specific character skill
  • The role of coaching in the mastery of any skill
  • GSL SkillBuilder’s unique structure for growing strong character

Watch the episode:

 

Connect with Denny

Denny’s Resources

Websites

Grow Strong Leaders

Dr. Denny Coates

GSL SkillBuilder

Books

Grow Strong Character

Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Order from Amazon

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

Order from Amazon
220: Over, Under, Around, and Through Obstacles

220: Over, Under, Around, and Through Obstacles

220: Over, Under, Around, and Through Obstacles

Want some inspiration and practical tips for surmounting obstacles in your life? You’ll get both from Jill Tietjen, who shares stories about the adversity faced by several of the 50 women featured in her latest book, Over, Under, Around, and Through: How Hall of Famers Surmount Obstacles.

Jill is an author, international speaker, and an electrical engineer. After more than 45 years in the electric utility industry, her professional focus is now on women’s advocacy, worldwide. She speaks internationally on the accomplishments of women, nominates women for awards, and continues to write books, with 12 published to date.

Her first 2 books about women were bestsellers and award-winners: Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America and Hollywood: Her Story, An Illustrated History of Women and the Movies.

Jill has been inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame, and the National Academy of Construction. 

You’ll discover:

  • How Jill got the idea to write this book
  • The wide range of obstacles faced by the 50 women featured in the book
  • The 10 common characteristics they shared
  • Key take-aways readers have reported
  • Tips for surmounting the obstacles in your life

Watch the episode:

Connect with Jill

    

Jill’s Resources

Website

Jill Tietjen

Books

Over, Under, Around, and Through: How Hall of Famers Surmount Obstacles

Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who changed America

Hollywood Her Story: An Illustrated History of Women and the Movies

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Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Order from Amazon

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

Order from Amazon
209: Why Paying Attention Is the Start Point of Emotional Intelligence

209: Why Paying Attention Is the Start Point of Emotional Intelligence

209: Why Paying Attention Is the Start Point of Emotional Intelligence

What’s required for a person with technical expertise to develop Emotional Intelligence (EI)? Susan Schwartz provides excellent insights and examples in this interview. As a high tech professional and leader, Susan learned the importance of developing EI in order to work effectively with her team. And now she coaches professionals in technical fields on how to become more effective as leaders of people.

Susan Schwartz is a leadership and management coach. For more than 20 years prior to that, she led teams herself and coached professionals to their next career level. Her Expert To Excellence® programs are designed to help knowledge experts in technical fields make sense of intangible leadership concepts and equip them to create amazing, collaborative teams. She uses the EQ-I 2.0 assessment to help them identify

Susan is the author of Creating a Greater Whole:  A Project Manager’s Guide to Becoming a Leader. In this excellent book she unlocks the not-so-secret secrets of how aspiring managers can become strong leaders. 

She also serves on the Executive Committee of the weekly group, Inclusive Leadership in a Virtual World (ILVW), where she and Meredith first met. If you’re committed to growing as a leader, this is an outstanding group to be a part of.

You’ll discover:

  • The one skill that’s at the core of all other leadership skills
  • What technical professionals struggle with most when they transition from individual contributor to leader
  • Why Susan emphasizes the importance of Reflective Exercises to learn from your experiences
  • Success stories of clients who’ve raised their emotional intelligence as a result of Susan’s coaching

Watch the episode:

Connect with Susan

  

Susan’s Resources

Website

River Birch Group

Book

Creating a Greater Whole: A Project Manager’s Guide to Becoming a Leader

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Connect with Your Team

Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Order from Amazon

Peer Coaching Made Simple

How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill

Order from Amazon