Leadership Rules

🎧 Leadership Rules with Jason Van Nus What if the biggest thing holding students back isn't a lack of skills... but a lack of opportunities to tell their story? In this episode of Leadership Rules , Nick and Marnie sit down with Jason Van Nus , CEO of the WIN Regional College and Career Academy, to discuss why career readiness is about so much more than technical skills. Jason believes stude...

🎧 Leadership Rules with Dr. Heather Handler Title: Stop Asking Kids What They Want to Be What if we've been asking students the wrong question all along? Instead of asking, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" , Dr. Heather Handler believes we should be asking something much more powerful: "What do you enjoy doing?" In this episode of Leadership Rules , Nick and Mar...

🎧 Leadership Rules with Kristy Volesky Title: Finish Doesn’t Equal Ready What if school was designed less around compliance… and more around real life? In this episode of Leadership Rules , Nick and Marnie sit down with educator, consultant, and CTE Reimagined co author Kristy Volesky to explore what it really means to prepare students for the future. Kristy challenges many of the assumptions sch...

🎧 Leadership Rules with Jeff Utecht Title: AI Can Predict. Humans Must Decide. AI is moving fast. But are we moving thoughtfully? In this episode of Leadership Rules , Nick and Marnie sit down with Jeff Utecht , educator, speaker, and author of Human Still Required , to explore what leadership looks like in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Jeff brings a powerful reminder: t...

🎧 Leadership Rules with Matt Miller Title: Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing AI is everywhere. So what actually matters now? In this episode of Leadership Rules , Nick and Marnie sit down with Matt Miller , educator, author of AI Literacy in Any Class , and creator of the Ditch That Textbook movement, to talk about how teaching and leadership are evolving in an AI saturated world. Matt challenge...

🎧 Leadership Rules with Scott Martin Title: Success Isn’t the Goal. Flourishing Is. What if the goal of school wasn’t just success… but flourishing? In this episode of Leadership Rules , Nick and Marnie sit down with Dr. Scott Martin , Executive Director of the Odyssey Leadership Academy , to talk about how leadership can create environments where both students and educators truly thrive. Scott b...

🎧 Leadership Rules with EJ Carrion Title: Think in Decades, Not Days What does it mean to lead in a world where students are living three lives at once? Personal life. School life. Phone life. In this high energy conversation, EJ Carrion challenges us to rethink education, leadership, and what it means to prepare young people for a future that looks nothing like the past. EJ is the co founder of...

🎧 New Episode: Leadership Rules with Dr. Doan Winkel Title : Say No More Often What does it take to be a bold, curious, values-driven leader in today’s world of education and entrepreneurship? Dr. Doan Winkel joins Marnie and Nick for a powerful conversation about disrupting the status quo, helping students find their voice, and saying no to anything that doesn’t serve your mission. In this episo...

🎮 New Episode: Anthony Conta on Games, Growth, and Getting Unstuck Title : Make Your Next Move a Game This week on Leadership Rules , Anthony Conta brings the fun. He’s a UX designer, product strategist, professor, and the creator of Funemployed (now Bad Interviews ). Oh, and he once taught chess to preschoolers. In this episode, Anthony joins Marnie and Nick to talk about the intersections of de...

🎧 New Episode: Leadership Rules with Dr. John Barile Title: Leading From the Core In this episode, Dr. John Barile joins Nick and Marnie to talk about what it really means to lead with purpose, clarity, and character. As an experienced school leader and author of Leading from the Core , John brings both heart and strategy to a conversation about trust, team culture, and the evolving role of leade...

🎧 New Episode: Leadership Rules with Leah Leverich Title: Redefining Success: How Curiosity and Courage Shape Career Paths What if the best leadership move you ever made was not going to college? In this episode of Leadership Rules, we sit down with Leah Leverich — host of the Decision Day podcast and Brand Manager at Big Brand Ventures — to explore what it means to take an unconventional path wi...

What do NIL deals, career centers, and AI mentors have in common? They all show up in this week’s Leadership Rules conversation with Don Philabaum —a serial entrepreneur, innovator, and author who’s been preparing students and leaders for “what’s next” long before most people saw it coming. Don joins Nick and Marnie to explore how curiosity, adaptability, and human connection still beat out chaos...

What do school safety, confidence in chaos, and sneaking into a Michael Jackson concert have in common? All of them show up in this week’s Leadership Rules episode with Dr. Roderick “Rocky” Sams —a passionate educator and school safety leader who believes preparation isn’t just a strategy. It’s a mindset. Rocky joins Nick and Marnie to talk about how leading well starts with knowing yourself , inv...

What do undefeated teams, AV carts, and prosthetic legs have in common? They all show up in this week’s conversation with educator and coach Rob Elia —and every story points to the same truth: 🏆 Leadership isn’t about winning. It’s about trust. In this episode, Rob joins Nick and Marnie to talk about: 🎾 Coaching through culture, not just competition 🧠 Why confidence is a performance multiplier...

How do you go from wallflower to world-class connector? Jason Croft didn’t just figure it out—he reverse-engineered the process. In this episode, Jason joins Nick and Marnie to talk about leadership, networking (especially for introverts), and how to build “market gravity”—the pull that makes you the inevitable choice for the people you want to serve. Jason is the host of Strategy + Action , a bra...

What do Sour Patch Kids, Target run-ins, and dinner-table confessions have to do with leadership?  According to Derrick Kinney— everything . In this episode, Derrick joins Nick and Marnie to talk about raising confident, character-driven leaders (especially teens), building trust through imperfection, and why financial education is really just leadership training in disguise. Derrick is the founde...

Think presence is just for the boardroom? Think again. Lorraine K. Lee—LinkedIn Top Voice, bestselling author, and introvert turned international speaker—joins Nick and Marnie to rewrite the rules on what it really takes to be seen, heard, and remembered at work. In this episode, Lorraine shares: 🧠 Why you already have a personal brand—and what happens when you don’t shape it 📚 Her EPIC Framewor...

🎙️ Episode Title: “Product Thinking for Life & Leadership – With Tami Reiss” ✂️ Summary: Ever wonder how to influence without authority , scale your own career like a product, and still have time to build Lego bonsai trees? Meet Tami Reiss —executive coach, product thinker, and author of the cutest children's book ever written about what product managers actually do (yes, really). In this...

🎙️ “Lead Loud, Listen Louder – With Scott Nunes” In this episode of Leadership Rules , Scott Nunes drops wisdom on leading with heart, practicing humility, and why every leader needs a dash of Sigma energy. 🚀 Key takeaways: Why leadership isn’t a title—it’s a daily practice Balancing structure and creativity (hello sticky notes & Sigma moves) Letting silence create space for others to lead Us...

What if being the calmest person in the room is actually your best leadership move? In this episode of Leadership Rules , we sit down with longtime friend, educator, and strategic change whisperer Kellie Ady —and it's a mic-drop masterclass in leading with empathy, clarity, and (real talk) patience. From disastrous tech rollouts to unexpected mentorship wins, Kellie shares what she's lea...

In this episode of Leadership Rules, we’re joined by two powerhouses of purpose: Craig Fisher—talent strategist, keynote speaker, and author of Paint Your Store—and Kory Kirby—publishing phenom and founder of Little Cabin Press. Together, they crack open what it really means to build a brand that reflects who you are, not just what you do. 🚫 This isn’t another résumé-polishing, cover-letter-agoni...

In this episode of Leadership Rules , Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio sit down with Milam Miller—keynote speaker, leadership coach, and self-proclaimed real-life Ted Lasso. With a background in international sports leadership and a new book on the way ( The Charisma Craft ), Milam brings stories and wisdom from the pitch to the boardroom. From building a $20M sales team in European football to l...

What happens when one of the world’s most influential engineering minds sits down to talk Ted Lasso, leadership, soft skills, and the art of communication? You get an episode brimming with humility, humor, and hard-won wisdom. 🎧 In our latest Leadership Rules podcast, Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio had the pleasure of talking to Luca Rossi — founder of the powerhouse newsletter Refactoring (14...

🎧 In this episode of Leadership Rules, Marnie Stockman and Nick Coniglio welcome Andrew Levine and Scott Johnson, the innovative minds behind the newsletter Slightly Smarter. Dive into a discussion that explores the power of concise learning and actionable insights derived from leadership and business books. 🔑 Episode Highlights: ⚡ Bite-Sized Learning: Discover how Slightly Smarter condenses co...

In today’s podcast, Nick Coniglio and Marnie Stockman are excited to welcome Melissa Kwan, CEO and co-founder of eWebinar—a platform that automates webinars so founders and teams can reclaim their time and focus on what truly matters. Melissa is a three-time bootstrapper with one exit, a global digital nomad, and a fierce advocate for life-first leadership. Episode Highlights: ⚽ Bootstrapping wit...