1st Lead U - Leadership Development

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. In this episode, John and Douglas look ahead to a new conference they will be attending, and John will be serving as one of the Keynote Speakers at the HEaL Conference. HEaL stands for Health Education and Leadership.  This organization, which has conducted other conferences around the world, is bringing the HEaL Conferen...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. Part 2 of former Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy's interview, where he shares additional stories and wisdom from more than 26 years in the public service through law enforcement. Chief Roddy has an excellent perspective on leading people, making real connections, and being open and honest with those that serve a...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. Former Police Chief, David Roddy, spoke at the inaugural 1st Lead U conference representing the government pillar of society. He shared some great information about leadership, his own personal journey, and the importance of learning to 1st Lead U so that, as a leader, you can better lead others.  This is the first of two...

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Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. Picking up where the last episode left off, we continue our discussion with Segun Aiyegbusi. This week Segun shares some insights about how the early years of development make a big impact later in life.  Being remote created some audio difficulty, but the content is well worth the effort. 

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. This interview with Nigerian Pastor Segun Aiyegbusi get right to the heart of the matter when it comes to personal development and growing Emotional Intelligence. Segun shares his personal journey from his early days in Nigeria to becoming a pastor in the United States and now running a non-profit training pastors.  Also...

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Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. Nowhere is leadership more important than in business. T.W. Francescon, Jr. is the Director of People and Culture Experience at Southern Champion Tray and a respected member of the Chattanooga corporate community.  In this episode, T.W. talks about the values the owners of Southern Champion Tray aspire to bring to their b...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. This is the second episode featuring Buddy Curry, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons, but is now the co-founder of Kids and Pros, a nonprofit focused on connecting young athletes with high-character individuals from the professional sports arena. Douglas takes the lead on interviewing Buddy as they talk about faith, family,...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. John and Douglas step back in this episode and share content from the inaugural 1st Lead U conference, which took place in April of 2023. Buddy Curry, currently with Kids and Pros but formerly with the Atlanta Falcons, talks about his faith, the transition from a professional athlete, and how he discovered the importance...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. John Ballinger addresses an essential question about leadership, are leaders born or made? Another way to ask the question is, are people natural leaders, or are they taught to lead?  Due to his college research, John has developed a definitive answer to whether leaders are born or taught. He shares his ideas on leadershi...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. Developing Emotional Intelligence is perhaps the single biggest component of learning to 1st Lead U, in order to lead others well. In this episode, John Ballinger and Douglas Ford talk about Emotional Intelligence, what it is, how to develop it, and resources that are available for those interested in developing their own...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. In this episode of 1st Lead U, John Ballinger and Douglas Ford discuss how our early life experiences impact our ability to self-develop and ultimately lead others. Quite often, early emotional trauma can stop emotional development. We have to be able to recognize the things that are holding us back properly, deal with th...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. In the wake of the world shutting down in 2020, a wave of resignations impacted companies large and small, panicking business leaders and owners; this became known as the Great Resignation. Essentially employees realized that there was more to life than working, and many decided that they no longer wanted to remain in org...

Text us. Share your thoughts. Ask Questions. We would love to hear from you. Personal Growth Coach John Ballinger and co-host Douglas Ford discuss the origins of John's passion for helping people learn to lead themselves well so they can be more effective leaders for others.  John believes America's leadership crisis led to the Great Resignation and is continuing to negatively impact fou...