the Spirit of Leading

Tom McDaniel chairs the citizens advisory board for the Oklahoma City MAPs-3 initiative (Metropolitan Area Projects). The MAPs project has revitalized an urban center from the verge of blight in the 1980s to a teeming destination location with sports venues, convention space, improvements to public schools, and other major infrastructure improvements. A vibrant downtown area […]

Before listening, get your Listening Guide. Click the listening guide logo below. Ken Parker, CEO of NextThought, will tell you the mission of his company is to, “Change the world. Have fun. Make money.” On this episode of The Spirit of Leading I talk with Ken about his transformational journey in educational software design. Ken […]

Nothing breeds success like success, and the transformational impact of multiple success stories can have a major impact on the psyche of an organization, a city, and a state. That’s part of the impact that Mike Knopp’s crazy idea of making a dry North Canadian River riverbed into a successful rowing venue has had […]

When Stephanie Cameron moved to Tulsa in 2008 to work at a non-profit, she did not expect to become the highly visible leader of a foundation seeking to improve the science, technology, engineering, and math education in Oklahoma. Stephanie was hired as the community affairs director at APSCO by its founder, the late Larry Mocha, […]

Will Richey says, “the power of our stories leave a great impact on one another.” I agree. His storytelling takes the form of poetry through which his spirit of leading shows. In this episode of The Spirit of Leading, Will talks with me about his work helping us find voice in our creative expression. His life’s […]

I’ve experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly of job situations. The overwhelming majority have been of the good variety. I’ve been very fortunate to get the boss’s attention and have excellent working relationships with all but one of my bosses. I’ve also been the boss. And I can speak from experience about those […]

We all want to feel good about ourselves. Pursing high self-esteem can put us at risk of self-delusion. In this episode of The Spirit of Leading, I discuss why “getting real,” is important to a healthy self-image and self-esteem. We are more likely to develop a healthy self-image and enjoy high self-esteem if we are honest […]