Lead Different

Too often, people view leaders as those who are out front and in charge – they think in terms of power. But real leaders are those who have the ability to effect change in the lives of others. They are those who create a collaborative culture where everyone is supported, included, and set up to succeed. Join Russ Ewell’s conversation with educator and founder of Think Inclusive Tim Villegas as they discuss the necessity and importa...

Rather than building an organization around an individual leader or one generation of leaders, the goal should be to build a sustainable organization, which requires developing multiple generations of leaders who share the vision of building the organization to last. Join Russ as he talks to Jim and Rick McCartney about the importance of leaders who raise up other leaders.

References:

1. Built to Last by Jim Collins
2. Michigan Foo...

As leaders, each of us needs to become self-aware, so we can develop the relationships necessary to cultivate an effective team. While a solo leader puts out objectives, a team leader puts out a mission. Russ Is joined by friend Dr. Gregg Marutzky, a minister, counselor, engineer, and professor in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, as they discuss what makes up effective leadership.


References:

• Inclusive Leadership
• ...

Sensory Friendly Vaccine Clinic sign up

In today’s podcast, Russ talks with Dr. Dave Traver and Dr. Dieter Bruno about the importance of understanding and inclusivity in the conversation surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations. On May 15 and June 12, Hope Technology School is partnering with the Bay Area Christian Church and Sequoia Hospital to provide COVID-19 vaccines for people 12+ who may require a more sensory-friendly envi...

Artists communicate and articulate emotionally what we are unable to do ourselves. When we don’t value and support artists, society as a whole misses out on truth, introspection, and depth. An Urban Institute study found that “96 percent of respondents said they were greatly inspired and moved by various kinds of art…[and] only 27 percent of respondents said that artists contribute "a lot" to the good of society.” If so m...

Students are people, first and foremost. When we treat them as products or resources for the job market, we deprive both them and the world of the creativity and depth necessary to develop holistic leaders. In this second episode of three, Russ continues his conversation with William Deresiewicz about rethinking and redefining education and the importance of seeing students as human beings.

Deresiewicz has published more than 280 es...

In this first episode of three, Russ talks with award-winning essayist and best-selling author William Deresiewicz about a varying number of topics, including friendship, mentorship, and learning from those who are different from you. 

Deresiewicz has published more than 280 essays and reviews, won the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, the National Book Critics Circle’s Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, as well as a Sydney...

When thinking about effective leadership, it can be easy to focus on the tangible: what needs to be done and how quickly can it be accomplished? While this is important, it is just as important to develop self-awareness and team-building skills as leaders. Leaders should ask questions, be accessible, be vulnerable, and create an environment that allows people to feel safe to give feedback, and this requires emotional intelligence.

J...

As we are in the middle of a pandemic, it is easy to get negative. But this time of crisis opens the door to not just danger, but opportunity. Those who have accomplished extraordinary things in the past faced crises just like us, but were able to look past the danger to see the opportunities. We are in need of such leaders today: leaders who rise up in their communities, creating solutions the governments and corporations of the w...

“Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.”
Robert Kennedy 

Much like artists, leaders are visionary. They see things that no one else sees, and break the mold of what is considered normal. Not bound by the shackles of conformity, leaders are original in their thinking and in what they produce, whether it is art, technology, athletics, etc. Sil...

“If we lingered on the past play perhaps we would miss an opportunity...Essentially, by not moving on to the next play immediately, we would be compounding that mistake, either by making another or by missing an opportunity to make a great play. Failing to move onto the next play was itself a mistake because it took focus and concentration off the current moment, the only point in time we could do something positive to ...

“However tough people face their fears and doubts head-on, and they overcome them so they can function at the highest level without that fear and doubt inhibiting their ability to perform at their best. Embracing fear and using it to push yourself to get better, takes courage”
Jay Bilas (Toughness: Developing True Strength On and Off the Court) 

Russ continues his conversation with Stone Eleazer an...

“We may be born into a great family situation or a difficult family situation that forces or conditions you to be tough, but we aren’t born that way. Toughness comes from how you handle your experiences, what you learn from them, and how you’re guided through them by others in your life.”
Mike Krzyzewski (Jay Bilas, Toughness: Developing True Strength On and Off the Court) 

“Mental toughness” is a t...

 Finishing the second part of our Military Leadership podcast, Russ continues his conversation with Lee and Ric on who were the military leaders that inspire them. One of the key take-aways is how helpful it is for everyone on the team to have a clear mission and purpose to what they are trying to accomplish. Once everyone knows their role and what they specifically bring to the team then they become bought into the bigger picture....

The military is one of the most successful institutions that builds and develops leaders. Over half of the United States Presidents have served in the military. Russ sits down with Lee Delony and Ric McClain, both retired Military service members to talk about their time in the service and what they have learned about leadership and how that can translate to help anyone who wants to be a leader in whatever capacity.

“THE...

Continuing the conversation started in Part 1, Russ, Caleb and Matt share the overwhelming influence sports had on their lives and discuss how much it can develop the qualities of a leader. 

Northwestern University’s football team and their quest to unionize in an attempt to expand the rights and benefits of the student-athletes showed to contain many lessons on leadership. Team sports culture instills in those involved and ethos of...

"My ego demands— for myself— the success of my team."
BILL RUSSELL 

Everyone should be involved in team sports. Someway, somehow everyone should grow up in or around sports culture because it teaches you so many valuable lessons. How to work with others, leading a small group of individuals towards a common goal, working hard to achieve something and social skills can all be learned playin...

Russ Ewell sits down with Dave Banks and Todd Singleton to discuss if it is worth the time and effort to build and train leaders, allowing them the opportunity to fail and learn through their mistakes. Mark Zuckerberg, according to Kara Swisher’s opinion piece in the New York Times, has cost many people their privacy while he learns “on the job” how to lead in a digital space that has never been explored before. Is our unwillingnes...