Your Next Best Step

86% of leaders believe their people trust them completely. Only 33% of employees say they actually do. Sit with that math for a second. That's not a stat about bad companies. That's a stat about a blind spot. In this solo episode, Brek steps into the Locker Room to talk about the gap most leaders don't even know they have — the space between what leaders believe about their own trustwo...

Most leaders diagnose a stalled team as a motivation problem. It's rarely that. In this episode, Brek breaks down the three forces actually driving disengagement on your team — Dreams, Drains, and Doubts — and why your normal motivation playbook misses all of them. Each force is different. Each one needs a completely different move from you as a leader. And if you don't know which one is active ri...

What's It Like on the Other Side of You? If someone said your name in a room you weren't in, what would they say? Not your title. Not your output. Who you are. That's the question Brek Cockrell explores in this episode, drawn from a leadership workshop on building your brand with purpose. Here's the challenge: most leaders are managing their image when they should be building their...

In this episode, we're diving into something I've personally struggled with, and something I see in almost every leader I work with: the Advice Monster. You know that moment in a one-on-one when someone comes to you with a problem, and before they even finish explaining it, you've already jumped to the solution? Yeah, that's the advice monster at work. Here's the truth: it'...

When was the last time someone on your team referenced your mission statement without being prompted? Not because you asked. Not because it was on the agenda. Just… because it was alive in them. If you had to think about that — this episode is for you. Brek gets straight to it: most mission statements are just crappy wall art. They look great in the lobby, they live on the website, and they go com...

Every conversation you have is either making a deposit or a withdrawal — and most leaders never stop to examine which one it is. In this solo episode, Brek walks through the E.D.O.T. framework — Everything Depends On Trust — as a practical roadmap for communication that actually connects. Using stories from Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and three all-too-familiar workplace moments, Brek bre...

Dave Rust didn't start with a playbook. He started with a problem: in 2012, Buffalo's high school graduation rate was 49%. Half the kids weren't making it. Today, it's 79%. That's not just a statistic — that's thousands of lives redirected. As the founding CEO of Say Yes Buffalo, Dave has spent over eleven years proving that when you remove barriers and build trust across systems that historically...

Culture isn't created through mission statements on a wall. It's created in moments—specifically, in the moment between trigger and trust. In this solo episode, Brek explores one of the most overlooked yet critical aspects of leadership: emotional intelligence in real time. Most leaders are trained operationally but not emotionally. We know strategy, execution, and systems—but very few of...

Most leaders think they have values. What they usually have are positions. In this return visit to the locker room, Nick Kennedy — founder of RISE, author of The Good Entrepreneur , and executive coach — joins Brek to unpack a distinction most leaders miss until it's too late: the difference between a value (unmoving, like a rock) and a position (a finger in the wind). Nick traces the idea back to...

You promoted your best performer. Six months later, they're overwhelmed, their team is disengaged, and everybody's wondering what went wrong. In this episode, Brek Cockrell digs into one of the most common — and most costly — leadership mistakes happening right now: promoting people because of what they produced, without preparing them for what leadership actually demands. Backed by resear...

What happens when a leader stops running from their most painful chapter and starts leading from it? Kelly Diane Galloway — award-winning humanitarian, founder of Project Mona's House, PBS documentary producer, and the woman who walked 902 miles along the Underground Railroad — joins Brek Cockrell in the Locker Room for one of the most powerful conversations we've had on this show. Kelly grew up i...

What does it take to lead when the pressure is real, the stakes are high, and nobody handed you a playbook? In this episode, Brek Cockrell sits down with Carlos V. Spencer — transformational speaker, author of Flip the Switch: Let's Go, Let's Grow, Let's Get It , former New York State Trooper, and the first African American speaker invited to address the NY State Police Academy. Carlos...

Who are you really trusting to run your leadership? In this solo session, Brek steps into the Locker Room to bring the full Throwdown Thursday series to life — and it all comes down to four letters: EDOT. Everything Depends on Trust. Built on the ancient wisdom of Proverbs 3:5–6, this episode breaks down a powerful framework for purpose-driven leaders: 3 lenses, 2 verses, 1 operating system. Throu...

You don't need more information. You don't need a better plan. And you definitely don't need to wait until everything feels ready. Nine times out of ten, you already know what you need to do — you're just avoiding it. In this solo episode, Brek Cockrell pulls back the curtain on the phrase at the heart of this podcast: Your Next Best Step. Where did it come from? Why does it matter...

What happens when a top 1% mortgage advisor — five years running — stops chasing every shiny object and bets everything on doing less, better? In this episode of Your Next Best Step, Brek welcomes back Joshua Dean, leader of The Dean Team Experience and National Sales Director at Homeowners Financial Group, for a conversation that's as much about life and leadership as it is about loans. Joshu...

What happens when a kid from Buffalo answers a call that takes him far beyond anything he ever imagined? In this episode of Your Next Best Step , host Brek Cockrell sits down with Bishop Matthew L. Brown — senior pastor of Greater Community Church of God in Christ in Marietta, Georgia, a church with over 100 years of legacy — for a conversation that is as honest as it is inspiring. Bishop Brown ta...

What does it actually take to build a culture where every voice is heard and every person truly belongs? In this episode of Your Next Best Step, Brek sits down with Ekua Mends-Aidoo, CCDP , founder and president of Clementine Gold Group — a full-service strategy, planning, and community engagement firm doing some of the most necessary work in organizations today. Ekua doesn't consult from a di...

What does it take to lead with oneness instead of isolation? In this powerful conversation, Brek Cockrell sits down with DaMar Dowell—author, musician, father, husband, and Buffalo community leader—to explore the evolution from dictator-style leadership to collaborative, rooted leadership. DaMar shares his journey from "my way or the highway" to understanding the power of different perspectives th...

What happens when a DJ from Buffalo decides to stop waiting for permission and starts building platforms for others to be heard? In this episode, Brek sits down with Jamil Crews — founder of Cruise Control Media and The PodHub, photographer, world-renowned DJ, and one of the most intentional behind-the-scenes leaders you'll meet. Jamil shares how he went from piecing together old equipment in...

Leadership isn't neutral—you're either being formed or deformed by the way you live and lead. In this episode, Brek unpacks a powerful framework from Galatians 5 that reveals two kinds of leaders: the spirit-led leader who cultivates love, joy, peace, and self-control, and the self-driven leader fueled by ego, comparison, and the constant hustle. Brek shares four warning signs that you might be sl...

What does it look like to build multiple successful businesses while keeping family, culture, and community at the center? In this episode of Your Next Best Step, we sit down with Kenworth Reeves—a hands-on entrepreneur who owns and operates a diverse portfolio of businesses including a real estate investment company, 13 Stripes Brewery, and a local Junk King franchise. But Kenworth's approach...

In this episode of Your Next Best Step, Brek Cockrell sits down with Kristian Andersen, Co-Founder and Partner at High Alpha, to explore the innovative venture studio model that's changing how technology companies are built. Unlike traditional startups or venture capital, venture studios like High Alpha conceive, launch, and scale companies from the ground up—and Kristian has mastered this app...

The armor we wear isn't physical—it's the self-protection we put on when we feel threatened, exposed, or uncertain. And it's killing trust on our teams. In this episode, BC unpacks 6 contrasts from Brené Brown's "Strong Ground" that reveal where leaders armor up and how to choose daring leadership instead: Being a knower vs. being a learner Tapping out vs. leaning into hard conversations Shame &am...

🎙️ Season Finale | The Final Episode of 2025 As we close out the first 25 years of this century, I explore a question from Father Richard Rohr: What if we don't lack love, but wisdom? In this powerful episode, I unpack Jesus's parable of the wheat and weeds, offering a fresh perspective that challenges our leadership instincts around control, certainty, and fixing people. What You'll L...

Most leaders don't suffer from a lack of good intentions—they suffer from a lack of good attention. In this episode, Brett introduces a powerful leadership framework to help you design 2026 instead of drifting through it. Learn how to move from hoping the year goes well to creating a year that ends with a win you can actually point to. Key Takeaways ✓ Most leaders suffer from a lack of good at...