Leadership Chalk Talk

What if the key to personal development, confidence, and inspiration was right under your nose, waiting to be discovered? Our special guest, Nick Hutchinson, author of the upcoming book "Rise of the Reader," unveils the power of reading as a formidable tool for self-improvement. A former athlete, Nick's journey from the sports field to the library is a captivating tale, revealing ho...

Want to discover the secret link between pop culture phenomenons, like the captivating relationship of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey, and navigating through added responsibilities in life? We've got you covered as we delve into this fascinating intersection, enlightening you on why work-life balance matters, how it can be disrupted, and how to regain equilibrium. Your work-life balance is vi...

What does it take to fuel the competitive spirit in the NFL? Find out as we dissect the leadership style of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin with our esteemed guest, Nick Angelo. Together, we explore the significance of Tomlin's approach in setting high standards, his uncanny ability to communicate with impact, and the steadfast commitment he holds towards his team. Immerse yourself...

Do you ever wonder how a college football coach builds a program culture? In our latest episode, we team up with Zac Phillips (returning from the Joe Paterno Episode) and Andrew Kennedy to dissect the leadership style of Penn State Football coach James Franklin. We dive deep into the coach's background, his journey to Penn State, and the next steps he needs to take to elevate the program even...

In this episode, we tee off on a journey through Change Leadership using Golf's earth-shattering merger as the focal point.   The craziness of this announcement provides a unique backdrop to explore the art of effective change leadership.  Using clips from Rory McIlroy, Jay Monaghan, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, you'll hear a powerful narrative of successes, challenges, and essential leadership le...

Nate shares the personal news contributing to a pause in Chalk Talk episodes, and then welcomes his daughter Lily (11 years old) onto the podcast for the first time. Lily offers up the leadership lessons she's learned as a gymnast, basketball player, and huge football fan.  She emphasizes the importance of building relationships, supporting teammates in moments of triumph and disappointment,...

Nate's favorite book is Mindset, by Carol Dweck.  He's brought up this important concept many times before but has never dedicated a full episode to it -- until now. Following the Bucks shocking first round exit, a reporter asked Giannis if he viewed this season as a failure and his answer surprised a lot of people.  Ernie Johnson described it as a "breath of fresh air" but Ken...

Following up from one of the show's most popular episodes, Productive Conversations, Nate takes on the challenging topic of Racial and Gender bias using content from the Women's Basketball Championship game which was won by LSU over Iowa. Nate uses comments from Dave Portnoy and Emmanuel Acho to illustrate the "two sides" of this argument, and then explains his bold point of vi...

Nate welcomes special guest Dr. Benjamin Ritter, the founder of  Live for Yourself Consulting ( www.liveforyourselfconsulting.com ), onto the show.  Ben specializes in career coaching by helping leaders to find their career sweet spot -- that intersection between your super powers and your passions.   Ben was a former Division I and aspiring professional soccer player.  A journey that taught him a...

"Coach Nate" has a double meaning in this episode.  Nate shares his 12 Leadership Lessons from his time coaching 2nd Grade basketball, including a few special guest appearances from the stars of the season.  If you're coaching youth sports, you might pick up on a few tips, like the three types of passes (bounce pass, chest pass, and terrible pass) or Nate's best friend "Mr...

Nate welcomes Resiliency expert Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal on to the show to offer her advice and wisdom to athletes, leaders, and parents.   Tune in to learn more about "The Three C's," a life of abundance, vicarious joy, and bouncing forward (and not backwards) -- a must listen for any parent that has ever experienced a "meltdown."   Taryn offers practical tips that you wo...

Nate and Zac finish analyzing Joe Paterno's Leadership by discussing the 1987 season through his eventual firing in 2012.   The ongoing thread of their discussion is The Grand Experiment and Paterno's stated values, which his actions start to deviate from later in his life. The guys discuss succession planning, Joe hiring his son Jay as the Offensive Coordinator, and the dangers of cutti...

Nate is joined by his longtime friend, and Penn State super fan, Zac Phillips to analyze Joe Paterno's Leadership over his 46 career as a head coach.  In this Part 1 of 2, they cover the "Early Years" (1966 - 1981) and the "Prime Years" (1982 - 1986). The guys breakdown the famous "Grand Experiment" and tie that to the concept of identifying and living by your pe...

Damar Hamlin faced one of the scariest scenarios we've ever seen on a football field.  But thanks to emergency responders -- and their crisis leadership -- the result was a best-case scenario. Now, you might never face a crisis like that ... but as a leader, you might face more crisis than you think.  Some big, some small, and some so micro you might not even realize they're happening ar...

Nate talks to Executive Coach and Psychotherapist Mollie Eliasof about the Power of Coaching.  Mollie offers practical advice around how to be the best version of yourself, by starting with a deep understanding of your true goals and intentions.  She goes on to share stories and insights -- without breaking any confidences-- about her time as an executive coach and as a learner herself.   Mollie p...

Nate kicks off this New Year's edition episode with some reflection and gratitude for a terrific 2022.  Then, he plays the first two listener voicemails and offers his leadership advice for the challenges of aligning a team with different motivations, how to lead when you're having a bad day, and what to do about "quiet quitting." Next, Nate closes the book on 2022 and looks ah...

Nate speaks with former Penn State All-American Offensive Lineman turned Serial Entrepreneur EZ Smith.  EZ shares a bunch of leadership tips, starting from the time he grew up with a highly successful football coach Dad and educator Mom, to the "Culture Deck" and "Standard Operating Procedures" he's implemented in his various businesses today.   He drops a few nuggets he l...

Over 15 years ago, Oklahoma State Football Coach Mike Gundy gave a press conference where he famously said "I'm a Man!  I'm 40!"  It's been quoted, memed, and analyzed hundreds of ways ... but never like Leadership Chalk Talk.  Nate breaks the 3:00+ press conference into 10 different segments and teaches us the leadership lessons we can learn from Mike's powerful word...

With World Cup season upon us, Nate finds some leadership lessons from the world of Soccer.  He provides helpful tips on bouncing back from setbacks, preparing for a big presentation, coming together as a cross functional team (or National Team!), and effectively declining a strong candidate in a positive way.  Next, Nate counts down his top 8 leadership lessons from the first two seasons of Ted L...

Employee retention feels more important than ever.  Since the pandemic, new terms like “The Great Resignation,” “The Great Reshuffle,” and “Quiet Quitting” have all emerged.  If you aren’t re-recruiting your team, you probably aren’t doing enough as a leader.  To teach this important leadership topic, Nate dives into the fascinating story of  The PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf.   This Civil War highlights...

Learn the art and science of giving effective feedback with Nate’s 10 tips for success.  In this episode of Leadership Chalk Talk, Nate walks through the decorated 20+ year career of Lebron James … giving him effective feedback at every stop along the way.  From his rookie year, to “The Decision,” to the loss to Dallas, to the 3-1 comeback, the Bubble Championship, and many stops in between, Nate...

Servant Leadership is one of the highest forms of leadership, and in some cases, an unattainable aspiration.  In this week's episode, Nate provides a simple definition of Servant Leadership, then pulls in relevant examples from businesses and sports to bring it to life in a practical way.  Featured "guests" include Bo Ryan of the Wisconsin Badgers, Bruce Arians of the Tampa Bay Bucc...

Without leadership consistency, it's hard to build trust within your team.  In the first "Emergency Podcast" edition of Leadership Chalk Talk, Nate examines the recent events surrounding Deshaun Watson's suspension and compares that to other suspensions levied during Roger Goodell's tenure as commissioner of the NFL.   The inconsistencies in previous cases led to strange p...

If you want to learn how to be a great leader, there's no one better to listen to than Tiffany Haley.  Nate interviews and converses with his mentor, former leader, and friend about a wide range of  leadership topics, and draws out the nuggets you can put into practice right away. Nate reveals how one of their conversations from almost a decade ago planted the seed for what would eventually b...

Situational Leadership is an easy concept to understand.  It's about adapting your style to meet the needs of the situation, and more importantly the people.  But if it's so easy, then why do so many College Football coaches struggle to adapt to the NFL?  And why do so many first time leaders struggle to adapt from peer to manager?  Because there's a big difference between knowing ,...