Linch With A Leader

Episode 64: Anthony O'Neal

On this episode of Linch with a Leader finds Mike sitting down with Dave Ramsey Personality, Anthony O'Neal. Since 2003, Anthony has helped hundreds of thousands of students. He’s the national bestselling author of Graduate Survival Guide: 5 Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make in College and travels the country spreading his encouraging message to help teens and young adults start their lives off right. His latest book, Debt-Free Degree, launched in October 2019. During this episode, Mike tal...

Episode 63: Terence Chatmon

On this episode Mike sits down with Terence Chatmon who is President of Equip, part of the John Maxwell Company. Prior to his time with Equip, Terrance was in executive leadership with some of America's greatest companies including Johnson & Johnson and the Coca-Cola Company. In this episode Mike talks to Terence about not only his vantage point on leadership from the positions that he has held but also he learns about the faith that drives him. Terence also shares his passion for famil...

Episode 62: Mark Batterson

On this episode of Linch with a Leader, MIke sits down with Pastor & New York Times best-selling Author Mark Batterson to talk about his new book "Double Blessing". Mark is the Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC and has led them from a church start-up to now one church in seven locations. Mark also has authored such popular books such as In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Circle Maker, Play the Man, Whisper among others. Mark shares with Mike his heart by Double Bless...

Episode 61: Pat Flood

On this week's episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike sits down with Pat Flood. Pat is the regional operating partner of Supreme Lending.  In 2018 he was voted one of Atlanta's Most Admired CEO's by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.  He has been a mainstay mortgage industry for his career and led Supreme Lending to be voted one of Atlanta's top places to work in 2017. Pat shares with Mike what he believes is the calling that God has placed on his life and how he believes faith integrates with h...

Episode 60: Dan Rockwell

On this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike sits down with the "Leadership Freak" Dan Rockwell. Dan has been recognized by Inc Magazine as Top 50 Leadership and Management Expert and Top 100 Leadership Speakers. His blog "Leadership Freak" is the most socially shared leadership blog on the internet according to Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness. Dan has earned both MBA's and undergraduate degrees as well owing two of his own businesses. He currently coaches leaders acro...

Episode 59: Dr. Gary Chapman

On this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike sits down with Dr. Gary Chapman.  Dr.  Chapman is the author of the best selling book “The Five Love Languages” which has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide along with translated into 50 languages.  Along with traveling the country speaking on marriage and family, Dr. Chapman has served on staff at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC.    He has authored many other books including:  Anger, The Family You’ve Always Wanted, The Marria...

Episode 58: Daniel Jeremiah

This week's episode features guest , Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL network. Daniel is a former scout for three different NFL teams. Most recently, he was the West Coast scout for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2010 to 2012. He previously worked as a national scout with the Cleveland Browns (2007-08) and a West Coast scout for the Baltimore Ravens (2005-06), after initially joining the team as a personnel assistant from 2003 to 2004. Jeremiah graduated in 2000 from Appalachian State, where he st...

Episode 57: Jack Easterby

On this weeks episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike sits down with Jack Easterby of the Houston Texans.  Prior to his role with the Texans where he currently serves as the executive vice president of team development, he served with the New England Patriots from 2013-2018 as the team chaplain and character coach.  Easterby was lauded by the Patriots players for the incredible role he played during that time.  Prior to that he had served with the Kansas City Chiefs and some time at the Univers...

Episode 56: Shep Shepherd

On this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike sits down with speaker/leader Shep Shepherd to talk about his story from adversity to one of the most inspiring leaders of today. Shep travels the country now inspiring hope in this generation. His presentations are as relevant as they are timeless. He is one of the leading authorities today on Hope and Transformation. His influence is global. His philosophy is simple: Tough times do not last, Tough people do! He was born in the hood, but he is ...

Episode 55: Rodney Bullard

Rodney Bullard currently serves as the Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Chick-fil-A, Inc. and Executive Director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation.  He leads the company in their community engagement, philanthropic efforts and the sustainability strategy.  Before beginning with Chick-fil-A, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney prosecuting difficult criminal cases.  Due to his work, he was awarded by the United States Attorney General with the Department of Justic...

Episode 54: Rachel Baribeau

Rachel is a graduate of the Auburn University Broadcast Journalism program and has become a master at her craft.  She has been featured on national broadcast such as Fox Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo and Sirius XM.   Whether a field reporter and host of the College Football National Playoff game or working NASCAR, Rachel bring passage and energy!  She is known by many as the “SEC-ologist” for her vast knowledge of SEC football and was the first female host of SiriusXM ESPNU. Her most rece...

Episode 53: Kevin Scott

Kevin Scott is an entrepreneur and author from Kennesaw, Georgia and is a graduate of the University of Georgia. He has spoken in over 100 countries, and co-founded ADDO in 2011 with the mission and goal of inspiring people today to impact tomorrow. ADDO is a leadership consultancy that partners with Chick-fil-A and Coca-Cola. Prior to founding ADDO, Kevin was involved with non-profit charitable work, business ventures, and politics. Kevin has been named to the “40 under 40” lists for...

Episode 52: Chris Norton

Chris Norton is a motivational speaker and has a non-profit foundation. Chris was a collegiate football player who’s career ended in 2010 after becoming paralyzed after making a tackle. Although he was told he would never be able to move again, Chris had defied the odds and walked across the stage at graduation and walked down the aisle with the assistance of his wife Emily. His story was seen online hundreds of thousands of times online. Now he is sharing his story with people all over ...

Episode 51: Sam Chand

Dr. Sam Chand is a former pastor, college president and chancellor, speaker, and author. He lives with the singular vision for his life of “help others succeed.” He climbed the ranks at Beulah Heights Bible College beginning as a janitor, and finishing up as the president of the school. He continues to develop leaders through the Sam Chand Leadership Institute working with ministries, governments, and social organizations. In this episode, Mike Linch and Dr. Sam Chand discuss his back...

Episode 50: Ira Blumenthal

Ira Blumenthal is a speaker, consultant, author, branding expert, and a motivator based out of Atlanta, Georgia; he is often considered the modern day “Renaissance Man.” He is the founder and president of Co-Opportunities Inc., which a consulting company that has worked with some of the largest companies in the world including: Coca-Cola, Nestle, Kroger, Disney, and many more. Ira has the honor and notable distinction of being the single longest continually retained consultant in The Coca-...

Episode 49: Bryan & Shannon Miles

The Miles’ are the CEO’s and Co-Founders of Belay. Belay is a virtual assistant company that has the mission to, “glorify God by providing solutions that equip our clients with the confidence to climb higher.” Bryan and Shannon felt a calling from the Lord to start their own business, and in 2010 they began the step by founding the Miles Advisory Group. That group expanded into a multitude of areas and roles of providing those solutions to their clients all across the country, and in 2017...

Episode 48: Dan Reiland

Dan Reiland is the Executive Pastor at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He first partnered with the legendary John Maxwell for 20 years, as the Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church located in San Diego. He then moved on to become the Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at Injoy. Dan also writes a blog to help encourage and pass on leadership insights that he has learned and acquired from his time in ministry. He has a passion for seeing leaders grow and be...

Episode 47: Darlene Santore

Darleen Santore, also known as “Coach Dar” is a Board Certified Occupational Therapist, business executive, author and speaker. She started out as an occupational therapist working with a variety of different clients. While she was working her way up in the management world living in Nashville, she suffered a stroke at the age of 25. It changed her world and her own faith, as she then stepped out and began her own practice. She now helps individuals, corporate executives, and professiona...

Episode 46: Brian Dodd

Brian Dodd currently serves as the Director of New Ministry Relationships for Injoy Stewardship Solutions, where he helps churches fully-fund their mission and vision for their church. Brian also has a leadership website entitled Brian Dodd on Leadership. Brian states the goal for the site is “to take everyday life experiences we all have and process them in the light of leadership.” He is constantly updating the site with blog posts and e-books that are all leadership focused. Brian’s s...

Episode 45: Dave Barnes

Dave is a graduate of Middle Tennessee University with a degree in recording management.  While a student there he began writing songs for others but was later encouraged to begin to perform himself.  He has now released eight albums, his most recent being, Who Knew It Would Be So Hard To Be MySelf,which released in 2018.   He gained huge notoriety when Blake Shelton recorded and released his song, God Gave Me You, in 2011.  The song became his fifth number one song and led to his nomination...

Episode 44: Mark Cole

Mark Cole is the CEO of all John Maxwell Companies and has been in the world of leadership for over 25 years.  He has gained experience in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors, and has been with companies through economic challenges and difficult team dynamics.  Today, Mark works closely with John Maxwell and brings access to John’s real time principles to the rest of the John Maxwell Team. In this episode, Mike Linch talks with Mark Cole about his upbringing, what he’s learned from h...

Episode 43: Rachel Cruze

Rachel Cruze is currently a member of the Dave Ramsey Speaker’s Group, and a New York Time Best-Selling author. She learned the idea of handling money properly at an early age and began to share that message and those principles with teenagers and young adults all across the country. She authored a book entitled, Smart Money Smart Kids, that was co-authored with her father, Dave Ramsey, and achieved the top spot on the 2014 New York Times Best Seller list. She also wrote a book in 2016, c...

Episode 42: Dansby Swanson

Dansby Swanson is the current shortstop for the Atlanta Braves.  Swanson was born and raised in Marietta, Georgia and was a two-sport star at Marietta High School.  He went on to play at Vanderbilt University where he began to become a household name.  In 2014, he led the Commodores to win the College World Series, where he was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player.  In 2015, he was the number one pick in the MLB Draft to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Later that winter, he was ...

Episode 41: Butch Thompson

Coach Thompson is the head coach at Auburn University, and has been a staple in collegiate baseball since the 1990’s. He has a record of 103-82 (.557) as the head coach of Auburn, where he took over in 2015. Before he arrived, he was an assistant at many stops along the way, most notably at Mississippi State University where he served as the pitching coach. In 2014, Baseball America and American Baseball Coaches Association National Assistant Coach of the Year. Eight of his former pitche...

Episode 40: Patty Gasso

Patty is entering her 25th season as the head softball coach at the University of Oklahoma. She is widely thought of as one of the most successful softball coaches in NCAA history, as she is already a member of the NFCA Hall of Fame. Gasso has seen the Sooners win four national championships since she has been at the helm in 2000, 2013, 2016 and most recently in 2017. She has completed 28 seasons as a head coach, compiling a collegiate coaching record of 1364-386-3, which equates to a 77....

Episode 39: Dondi Scumaci

Dondi is an international speaker, who is known for delivering high-energy presentations all over the globe. She’s made a name for herself in the industry becoming a sought-after consultant about the keys that made her so successful in business. She is also a best-selling author for some of her work, such as Designed for Success: The 10 Commandments for Women in the Workplace. In this episode, Mike Linch talks with Dondi Scumaci about what led her to have so much success in the business w...

Episode 38: Chris Hogan

This week’s podcast features Chris Hogan, who is a part of the Dave Ramsey team. Chris Hogan received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he was a star on the football team as he became an All-American. After graduating from college, he transitioned to the coaching side of football while completing his graduate degree. Chris found lots of success in the business world, as he climbed the ladder becoming the vice president of a prestigious company....

Episode 37: Ravi Zacharias

Episode 36: Steve Robinson

Steve is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Chick-fil-A. He now serves as a counsel for leadership development and continues community involvement on behalf of the company. He began his career with Chick-fil-A as director of marketing, but went on to work his way all the way to chief marketing officer. In that position, he was responsible for overseeing marketing, advertising, brand development management, menu development, and hospitality strategies. Bef...

Episode 35: Joan Cronan

Joan has spent her career changing the landscape of women’s athletics at the collegiate level. She spent a couple of decades as the Women’s Athletic Director at the University of Tennessee. Most notably, she was over the athletic department when Pat Summitt brought the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team to the national stage due to their tremendous success. Joan is also known for serving on the First Tennessee Bank Advisory Board, a Trustee for the U.S. Sports Academy, and she is o...

Episode 34: Pat DiMarco

Patrick is currently a fullback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills. He grew up just outside Orlando, Florida in a town called Altamonte Springs where he starred at Lake Brantley High School. He went on to play collegiate football in the SEC at the University of South Carolina playing for the legendary Steve Spurrier. After a great career with the Gamecocks, Patrick was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers in the NFL. He had stops in San Diego and Kansas City before b...

Episode 33: Andy Revella

Andy has been working in the food service industry for over 40 years of his life. He has been in and out of restaurants his entire life. He owned several restaurants early on in his career, but was ready to take on the opportunity with a big company and joined Bennigan’s as an assistant manager. After six months he was promoted and placed in charge of the entire state of California where the company was struggling. He quickly turned things around and was honored with one of only four cre...

[BONUS] Episode 33: Andy Revella

Episode 32: Luke Norsworthy

Luke is the senior minister of the Westover Hills Church in Austin, Texas. On top of pastoring week in and week out, he is also an author and the host of his own podcast entitled Newsworthy with Norsworthy. In the podcast, Luke will discuss a variety of topics including, Spirituality, Christianity, and other news worthy events that occur. In October of 2018, he released his first book God over Good. In this episode, Mike Linch talks with Luke Norsworthy, about his life as a pastor and ...

Episode 31: Christy Wright

Christy Wright is a Certified Business Coach, author, speaker, podcast host, and business owner. When Christy isn’t speaking to Fortune 500 companies or students at some of our nation’s greatest universities, she is working with many start-up business leaders as a Certified Business Coach. She is also the host of Dave Ramsey’s podcast, and contributes as a content writer for entreleadership.com. Her work with EntreLeadership extends to the Master and Performance Series as well, where she ...

Episode 30: Ken Coleman

Ken Coleman is an acclaimed interviewer, broadcaster, author and host of The Ken Coleman Show as well as hosting the EntreLeadership Podcast. Ken joined the Ramsey Solutions team in 2014 and is a frequent guest host on The Dave Ramsey Show which is one of the most listened to shows in the United States. From there, he launched into his interviewing career which has led Ken into authoring a book entitled: One Question- Life Changing Answers from Today’s Leading Voices. In this episode, Mik...

Episode 29: Aaron Niequist

Aaron Niequist is a liturgist, writer, and pastor in the Chicago, Illinois area. He has led worship at large churches such as Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan and at Willow Creek in Barrington, Illinois. He went on to create a new set of modern worship recordings that are called A New Liturgy. Aaron has also gone on to author a book entitled: The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning which is focused on a practice-based faith. In this episode, Mi...

Episode 28: Terry Smith

Pastor Terry Smith is the Lead Pastor of The Life Christian Church in West Orange and Paramus, New Jersey. He has been at TLCC for the past 27 years and has seen the church grow to over 3,000 people, but he is also heavily invested in his local community. He co-founded The New York City Leadership Center and is involved with the West Orange Government Reform Commission, West Orange Rotary Club, and Concerts of Prayer Greater New York. He has also authored an Amazon best seller titled, Liv...

Episode 27: Bill Curry

Coach Curry was born and raised in College Park, Georgia. He starred on the football team at Georgia Tech under the iconic coach, Bobby Dodd. In 1965, he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers where he won his first of two Super Bowls under Vince Lombardi. Curry was in the NFL until 1974, playing not only for the Packers, but also for the New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Colts, Houston Oilers, and Los Angeles Rams. He then made the transition to the sidelines as an assistant coach at Georgia ...

[BONUS] Episode 26: Carey Nieuwhof

Episode 26: Carey Nieuwhof

Carey is the founding pastor of Connexus Church in Ontario, Canada. He is also the host of the widely popular podcast, The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast, and the author of many books with a brand new one about to be released entitled, Didn’t See It Coming. Carey is a native of Canada and originally had intentions of being a lawyer. He eventually made the transition to ministry, and founded Connexus Church in 1995. He now oversees the communication and is working to expand Connexus’ b...

Episode 25: Chris Goede

Chris is the Vice President of Client Success for The John Maxwell Company. Growing up between Ohio and Florida, Chris began to excel on the athletic field and earned a football scholarship to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. While at Liberty, he studied sport management and business, but went on to play in the Canadian Football League for a few seasons. Afterwards, Chris began to launch and lead fast growing startup companies in the real estate and manufacturing world. In his...

Episode 24: William Vanderbloemen

William is the CEO and Founder of the Vanderbloemen Search Group which is a search firm that serves churches, ministries, and faith-based organizations. Previously, he was in ministry for over 15 years serving as a Senior Pastor. He also draws on his previous experience studying executive search, and serving as a Manager in Human Resources in a Fortune 200 company. Vanderbloemen serves as a keynote speaker for many events across the country, and he’s also authored Next: Pastoral Successio...

Episode 23: Chris Brown

Chris is located in Tennessee, and currently serves as a member of the Dave Ramsey team.  Before joining Ramsey in 2014, he was known for his work in the church serving as a pastor and speaker.  However, he also had a background in business and real estate that played a role in his success as a campus pastor.  He managed the churches multi-million dollar budget that had eight different campuses and over 12,000 members.  With the Dave Ramsey team, Chris communicates to audiences the importanc...

Episode 22: Annie F. Downs

Annie is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee but was born and raised in Marietta, Georgia and has burst onto the scene with her unique and creative writing style. Authoring books such as Looking for Lovely, Let’s All Be Brave, Perfectly Unique, and Speak Love, she has captivated a wide-ranging audience. Many of her books have moved on to become best-sellers, but she is also known as a speaker and podcaster. Annie frequents many churches, conferences, and large gatherings to inspire au...

Episode 21: John Flood

John Flood is currently the Founder and Managing Director of Elevate which is located in St. Simons, Georgia. Elevate serves to assist executive teams to develop a performance strategy that results in performance improvement. Previously, he has served as the Vice President and General Manager of Further Processing at Wayne Farms Incorporated. He has made his career in the food industry with his 30+ years of experience in the business. Before Wayne Farms, he has worked for other giants in...

Episode 20: Kevin Burrell

Kevin was born and raised in southern California. He jumped onto the baseball scene at Poway High School, and become a first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 1981 MLB draft. During his playing career, he spent time with not only the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals organizations. He made it all the way to AAA with both the Giants and Royals. Once his playing career was over in 1992, he was not out of the game long, and he began to climb t...

Episode 19: Dr. Sam Chand

Dr. Chand was born in India and raised in a Pastor’s home, and equipped him from an early age to be around leadership development. In1973, he became a student at Beulah Heights Bible College where he served as a janitor, cook, and dishwasher at the school. Dr. Chand went on to become a youth pastor and senior pastor, before returning to Beulah Heights in 1989 to become the President Emeritus of the school. Under his leadership, it became the country’s largest predominantly African-America...

Episode 18: Molly Fletcher

Molly Fletcher has always made a mark wherever she is involved.  That’s been true since her time at Michigan State University, where she was the captain of the women’s tennis team, and earned her bachelor’s degree in communications.  She spent much of her career serving as a one of the only female sports agents in the world, representing many of the biggest names in the industry such as: John Smoltz, Matt Kuchar, Erin Andrews, Tom Izzo and Doc Rivers.  In her time serving as president of cli...

Episode 17: Todd Gongwer

This month’s podcast features author and speaker Todd Gongwer. Todd Gongwer has made many stops throughout his leadership journey, but you will be hard pressed to find one where he did not make an incredible impact. He learned about leadership from a very young age on growing up around his family’s food service business. As he grew, he kept his entrepreneurial spirit as he built restaurants, and even dabbled in the world of real estate. In 1992, he began serving as an Assistant Basketbal...