Intentional Performers With Brian Levenson

Chief Melissa Hyatt has blended emotional intelligence with a fierce drive to become one of the highest ranking police officers in Baltimore. Even though she is diminutive in size, she never let that or her gender serve as an excuse for not achieving what she wanted to achieve. She credits valuing empathy and persistence as the reason that she's been able to get to where she is today--the highest ranking female in her agency. Melissa joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1997. Her previous assignments include Chief of Staff to the Police Commissioner, Chief of Patrol, Area Commander, District Commander of the Central District, Executive Officer of the Southeastern District, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), District Patrol (Northwestern, Southwestern, and Northeastern), and Citywide Operations. In her current role as Chief of the Special Operations Division, she commands the Tactical Section, the Communications Section, and Headquarters and City Hall Security. In this conversation we talk about h

Ben Olsen is the head coach of DC United. I have been fortunate to collaborate with Ben and get to know him as a coach, father, and human. He's an amazing guy. Ben is someone who has tremendous emotional intelligence and knows how to bring people with him on a journey. Ben had tremendous success as a player. In 1997, he was named the Soccer Player of the Year for the season he had at University of Virginia. He then went on to have success at the pro level where he played with the team he is currently the coach of (DC United). As a player, he was part of two MLS Cup titles, was a two-time All-Star, was the MLS Cup MVP in 1999, and won the Rookie of the Year. He also earned 37 caps with the US men's national team and played in the 2006 world cup. I have enjoyed getting to know Ben over the years and I know you will enjoy this conversation as well. We get into his upbringing, leadership, humility, culture, and how he used visualization to help him in his career. Thanks so much to Ben for coming on. Also, we

Candace Parker is one of the best basketball players to ever lace up their sneakers. In high school, Candace won the 2003 and 2004 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Following high school, Candace attended powerhouse University Tennessee where she continued to drastically impact women's basketball as the team won back to back championships her Sophomore and Junior year. She won player of the year honors in college before becoming the first pick of the WNBA draft.  Candace continued her elite performance upon getting to the WNBA. She is a 2X WNBA MVP, is a 4X all-star, and helped lead her team to a WNBA champion in 2016 where she was named the Finals MVP. She has won gold medals and has received a number of other accolades. She has also had a lot of success overseas and currently is playing in China.  Ok. So, while her resume is clearly impressive, what I enjoyed most was learning about how reflective Candace is in regard to her own personal growth. In this conversation, she shares how sh

Jon Gordon is a best-selling author and keynote speaker who has impacted some of the most successful organizations in the world.  His principles have been put to the test by numerous Fortune 500 companies, professional and college sports teams, school districts, hospitals, and non-profits. He is the author of 15 books including 5 best-sellers: The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, Training Camp, You Win in the Locker Room First and The Power of Positive Leadership. Jon and his tips have been featured on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, The Golf Channel, Fox and Friends and in numerous magazines and newspapers. His clients include The Los Angeles Dodgers, The Atlanta Falcons, Campbell Soup, Dell, Publix, Southwest Airlines, LA Clippers, Miami Heat, Pittsburgh Pirates, BB&T Bank, Clemson Football, Northwestern Mutual, Bayer, West Point Academy and more. Jon is a passionate guy who was generous enough to chat with a stranger. In this conversation, we talk about his writing process, how he helps organizations cultivate

Elton Brand had an NBA career that spanned 16 1/2 years. During that time, he was a two-time all-star and one of the top power forwards in the league. He entered the league as the first overall pick in 1999 where he became the co-rookie of the year. Before that, he had an illustrious career at Duke University.  In this conversation, we talk about Elton's mindset growing up and how his Mom helped him become the man he is today. We will also get into the weeds on Elton's best year in the NBA and how his mindset helped him average 24.7 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. Elton was obsessed with trying to be the best player he could be and that season was the tipping point for how he thought about his performance. Today, Elton serves as the General Manager of the Delaware 87ers and also works with the Philadelphia 76ers front office.  Elton's a warm guy, who makes people feel important when they talk to him. He's thoughtful, humble, and has a great sense of who he is and who he wants to be. His character

I was introduced to Yael by our previous guest, Joanna Lohman. And I am so happy we were able to connect. Yael is a professional soccer player, about to enter her 10th season as a pro. She's played all around the U.S. and the world and enjoys sharing her journey through the sport as well as encouraging young players to set goals to own their personal development. Yael also played college soccer at University of North Carolina, which is one of the most storied NCAA teams in the country. Yael will talk about her experience at UNC and how it impacted her development as a player. She recently launched Techne Futbol, a training app to help players sharpen their individual skills. Yael is a deep thinker who has used hard work to fulfill her potential. Although I don't think she would ever say that she has fulfilled her potential as she is always focused on constant improvement. That mindset has helped her get to where she is today. You can learn more about her at www.yaelaverbuch.com and Techne Futbol at www.te

Hi All, Excited to share this bonus episode with you on this special holiday!  As you chow down on some delicious food and hopefully watch some great football, we are all reminded to ask the question; what are you grateful for? As we wind down the podcast in 2017, I want to sincerely thank each of you for taking the time to listen!  More to come in 2018! With Love, Brian

Today we chat with Steve Campbell, who is co-founder and CEO of The Ascent. Prior to breaking off on his own, Steve was the 10th employee at Vayner Media where he helped that company grow to what is now a 700 person company. Steve is a personal brand consultant and he helps people build communities. He has also walked the walk, as he has built an only community of over 34,000 people on Medium where people document their personal journeys (stories, experiences, life lessons, etc.). In this episode Steve goes into greater detail about his journey, the lessons he's learned from being around some of the top social media experts in the world, and his decision-making process that led to him taking massive risks in his career. Steve is a caring guy who really values helping people. He wants to make an impact on the world while still cherishing the things he values most. If you didn't know by now, Steve is also very active on social media. http://facebook.com/imstevecampbell, http://instagram.com/imstevecampbel

Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. is co-founder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. He is also co-founder of the Boston University CTE Center and the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, a collaboration with Boston University and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, where he currently serves as the outreach, recruitment, education, and public policy leader. Chris has quite a story to tell. He was an elite athlete in high school, but that certainly was not his only identity. He excelled in the classroom, theater, and also participated in academic competitions.  Excelling in football and school led him to Harvard University where he was an All-Ivy defensive tackle. After college, he tried out and ended up breaking through as a professional wrestler with WWE. It was during his time at the WWE where he experienced a concussion that ended his wrestling career. That concussion sparked his journey into finding out more about concussions and learning everything he could about them. Chris is interested in psychology, sociology, an

Today's intentional performer is Bob Bordone. Bob is the Thaddeus R. Beal Clinical professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Founding Director of the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program. He teaches several courses at Harvard Law School including the school’s flagship Negotiation Workshop. Bob also teaches in the Harvard Negotiation Institute and the Harvard Program on Negotiation’s Senior Executive Education seminars. As a professional facilitator and conflict resolution consultant, Bob works with individual and corporate clients across a spectrum of industries. He specializes in dispute systems design and in assisting individuals and groups seeking to manage conflicts in highly sensitive, emotional, or difficult situations. His corporate clients have included Premera Blue Cross, Health Net, Gap, Inc., Fidelity Investments, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Exelon, and Microsoft. In addition, he has worked on projects with nonprofit, educational, governmental and cultural institution

Today's podcast is rich. Rich in nuance, dialogue, and amazing content. I am so excited to share it with you. Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church, the Topeka, Kansas church known internationally for its daily public protests against members of the LGBT community, Jews, the military, and countless others. As a child, teenager and early 20-something, she participated in the picketing almost daily and pioneered the use of social media in the church. Dialogue with "enemies" online proved instrumental in her de-radicalization, and she left the church and her entire way of life in November 2012. Since then she has become an advocate for people and ideas she was taught to despise -- especially the value of empathy in dialogue with people across ideological lines. In this conversation, we go deep into her story and the challenging decision to leave her family and the church. We also talk about the power of empathy, social media, and how we can get people to change how they see the world. Me