The Highest Level Podcast with Evan Burk

Coach Matt Doherty served as the head basketball coach for 4 college programs: Notre Dame, his alma mater North Carolina, FAU, and SMU. He played at the University of North Carolina under legendary head coach Dean Smith and is the author of the book "Rebound: From Pain to Passion".

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Coach Doherty about learning under Dean Smith and Roy Williams, the need for every leader to be vulnerable and embrace the truth, and how his book uses his own failures as a coach to teach leadership lessons for any audience.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Tune into this episode to hear:

• Playing under Coach Dean Smith at North Carolina

• How Coach Smith held the team accountable to his core values

• Developing as an assistant coach at Davidson and the University of Kansas

• Writing a book to teach through his failures

• The importance of being a lifelong learner

• How George W. Bush handled his days as President of the United States

• Managing change and the 1st 90 days of starting a new role

• Having a "truth teller" on your staff

• Looking for players who can embrace the truth and are open to being coached

• "The Art of Coaching" - Always evolving and adapting to change

Jared Sandler is a play-by-play announcer and studio host for MLB's Texas Rangers. Before commentating in Major League Baseball, he broadcasted in the minor leagues and for USC athletics as a college student.

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Jared about his path as a broadcaster, his front row seat on the Pete Carroll era of USC football, and the unique perspective broadcasting gives him on how leaders and winning teams operate.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

• Jared's desire to become a broadcaster

• The Path of a Broadcaster

• Highlight of his broadcasting career he shared with his father

• Toughest aspects of the job

• What Pete Carroll was really like at USC

• A broadcasters perspective into teams and how they operate

• Broadcasting for his favorite team

• Not settling for "my numbers"

• The social dynamics of the clubhouse

Taylor Jenkins is the head coach of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. Before becoming a head coach, Jenkins cut his teeth as an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, and Milwaukee Bucks.

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Taylor about developing his coaching voice as a young NBA coach, earning trust and respect in the locker room, and developing relationships that challenge growth within the Grizzlies' organization.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

• Wearing suits as a youth basketball coach while attending Penn
• The desire to coach naturally grew with each experience
• How Taylor found his coaching voice and coaching identity
• "Living in the Grey" and learning to coach in the NBA
• The intentional development of coaches within the Spurs organization
• Coach Mike Budenholzer putting his own spin on the Spurs' culture
• Earning trust and respect with players in Memphis
• How are we going to: 1) Work together and 2) Play together
• Ignoring rising expectations and embracing the progression year to year
• Using organizational skills to prioritize and increase efficiency

Michael Lombardi is a former NFL executive, author, and podcast host. His football career spans over 3 decades, where he served as an NFL executive with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and Oakland Raiders. He is the Author of the book Gridiron Genius, co-founded and writes for the daily newsletter "The Daily Coach", and hosts his own podcast "The GM Shuffle".

In this conversation, Evan Burk speaks with Michael about learning football from Bill Walsh early in his career, Bill Belichick's ability to simplify the complex, and how leaders can find the right players when building a team.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Buy Evan's book, Finding Intangibles

EVAN BURK is an author, speaker, former NFL coach, and podcast host who uses the sports world as his backdrop to engage audiences with thought-provoking lessons of leadership, team-building, and creating championship cultures. Learn more about having Evan come speak to your team by visiting his website, or email him at: [email protected]

In this Episode:

2:00 | Learning football from Bill Walsh early in his career

4:30 | What defined Michael's early success

5:45 | Bill Walsh's Standard of Performance

7:45 | How Michael is still growing as a leader

9:00 | The simplicity of the system with Bill Belichick

10:15 | Admitting mistakes creates accountability

13:00 | How Belichick evolved as a leader over the years

14:45 | Belichick getting players aligned to the culture

16:30 | Finding the right players vs. collecting talent

18:15 | Assessing character in player evaluation

21:00 | Finding superb system players vs. star players

24:15 | How teams can build a resilient culture

28:00 | Understanding why you win and why you lose

31:30 | What makes writing so meaningful?

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Full Episode Show Notes

Connect with Michael Lombardi on Twitter @mlombardinfl, read his book "Gridiron Genius", and listen to his TEDx talk "Leadership is Destroying Culture"

Blaine Scully is a recently retired professional and international rugby player. His comprehensive leadership experience includes being captain of the United States Rugby team from 2016-2019, co-founding the US Rugby Players Association, working as a broadcast analyst with NBC Sports, and advising a number of sport technology companies.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Blaine about the foundation for success that was built in college at the University of California, the great team cultures he experienced in his professional rugby career overseas in the UK, and how he developed from a star player into a team leader on the US National team.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

2:00 | Being a multi-sport athlete growing up

4:30 | Learning to play rugby at an older age

9:15 | Cal Rugby building the "Foundation" for Blaine as a player and person

11:20 | Blaine's leadership education and the "Constant Performance Improvement" at Cal

16:00 | The journey of transitioning into professional ruby in the UK

19:30 | Playing for two historic pro rugby clubs

23:00 | Co-founding the US Rugby Players Association

25:30 | Blaine's evolution as a leader

31:00 | Being strategic with your voice as a leader and empowering others

32:15 | Commonalities in the 4 organizations he played for

34:45 | Gratitude for the journey and "the uniqueness of the experience"

John Thomas is an executive with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, where oversees basketball development for both Minnesota's NBA and WNBA franchises. As a former NBA player, he played for the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, and his hometown Timberwolves, and was a part of the University of Minnesota's Final Four run in the 1997 NCAA Tournament his senior year in college.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with John about making the Final Four in college, his professional career in the NBA, playing overseas, and returning to the NBA, and the profound impact his basketball journey had on his own personal development.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

• 2:00 | John's beginnings as an athlete

• 4:15 | Ending up at the University of Minnesota

• 6:00 | The essence of culture that was set by Coach Clem Haskins on the Minnesota basketball team

• 8:00 | Subtle ways the coaching staff built the culture

• 10:15 | University of Minnesota's Final Four run his senior year

• 14:45 | Adjusting to the NBA and the approach of NBA coaches

• 22:45 | Playing overseas and his journey back to the NBA

• 33:45| John's role as an NBA executive

• 38:45 | Where John focuses in his own personal growth

Ronnie Vinklarek is a football coach that has coached at every level of football: NFL, college, and high school. He now works as a speaker and coach, teaching audiences his success principles through the story of his own coaching journey.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks with Ronnie on his unique family circumstance that influenced his decision to become a coach, what he learned from working with great coaches in his career, and the traits needed to be a successful leader and a winning team.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

2:00 | Unique family circumstances influencing his decision to pursue coaching

5:00 | Learning to coach by watching others

7:15 | "A great leader adheres to the people around them"

11:00 | Taking genuine care and interest in the people you lead

15:45 | What stood out about the great coaches Ronnie worked with

18:30 | Consistency is better than greatness

20:45 | Leading with an Attitude of Gratitude

22:30 | What makes a great offensive linemen?

25:15 | Team chemistry separates the really great teams

28:30 | "The Chain of Success"

Jonathan Van Horn is a National Soccer Director for Athletes in Action, where he currently works with college and professional teams on character and team development, and also hosts the SHIFT Podcast, which focuses on assisting athletes through successful transitions in sport and in life.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Jonathan about how he started working with athletes early in his career, why emotional and character development is more important now than ever, and the immense power of the stories we tell to others and ourselves.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

• 2:00 | Starting to work with athletes transitioning out of sports

• 6:00 | Working a The Ohio State University with football and wrestling teams

• 8:45 | Emphasis on the value of relationships

• 12:30 | Career of mentoring athletes and working with teams

• 14:45 | Where athletes struggle the most?

• 19:00 | The Power of Stories

• 22:30 | Working with athletes and teams through his SHIFT course and framework

• 30:00 | The Importance of emotional and character development

• 37:00 | Looking for character and how to develop character

• 39:30 | Starting with "The Iceberg" when working with athletes

• 41:00 | Jonathan's purpose for writing the book

Jamey Rootes served as President of the NFL's Houston Texans for 20 seasons. Before joining the Texans, he was president and general manager of the Columbus Crew in the MLS, and recently published his book, "The Winning Game Plan".

In this conversation, I talk to Jamey about how to create an identity as a new NFL Franchise, the habits that helped form the winning culture in Houston, and the great mentors that influenced him in his career.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

• 2:00 | The camaraderie that helped Clemson win 2 National Championships

• 4:30 | Being a team executive in professional soccer

• 7:45 | Creating an identity as a new NFL franchise

• 10:15 | Leading from the front office with the Houston Texans

• 14:30 | Building the team culture and having the values drive behaviors

• 18:45 | Importance of trust in building relationships

• 22:00 | Admitting mistakes as a leader and utilizing After Action Reviews

• 25:45 | JJ Watt and Andre Johnson as "Triple Threats"

• 31:00 | Influence of mentors on Jamey's career

• 33:00 | Putting his leadership philosophy into his new book

Brendan Burger is the Director of Equipment for the Los Angeles Rams, and has spent a career working in NFL and college locker rooms with the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Rutgers University, and UCLA.

In this conversation, Evan Burk talks to Brendan about leaving college early for his 1st NFL opportunity, developing relationships with Hall of Fame players and great coaches, and the equipment staff being the heartbeat of the team.

Get Evan's book, Finding Intangibles, to learn about how high-performing teams are built and the hidden character traits that drive all elite performers and organizations.

To stay up to date with Evan and The Highest Level podcast, sign up for Evan's leadership newsletter.

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Topics Discussed:

1:45 | What does it mean to work in Equipment for an NFL Team?

4:15 | How his 1st NFL opportunity came about before even graduating from college

10:00 | Going to work for the New York Jets

17:30 | How did the team culture change with Rex Ryan in New York?

26:30 | Rex Ryan's authentic leadership style

32:30 | Differences in NFL and college locker rooms

40:45 | 1st impressions of Sean McVay

44:45 | What stood out about the best teams and players you were around?

48:30 | Equipment as the heartbeat of the team