L3 Leadership Podcast

If you've listened to the past two episodes, you've heard my republished conversations with two great leaders who both passed recently: Tunch Ilkin and Jay Passavant. These interviews have had me reflecting on what it means to leave a legacy, particularly as a leader.Today, I talk about why it’s important to leave a legacy. I share some questions everyone should ask themselves, and I emphasize the importance of recognizing and accepting that you will die. I share a collection of Biblical and non-Biblical quotes on death, and I note that no one is promised tomorrow. I call you to stop taking life and leadership for granted, and I note that there are no do-overs in life. I stress the importance of living intentionally, and I note that people and relationships are what really matter in the end. I talk about how to create a life plan and the power of being honest with yourself, and I note that God’s plan for you is better than any plan you could come up with on your own."It's only when you rec

Jay Passavant was the founder of North Way Christian Community in Pittsburgh. The impact of his obedience to God’s call in his life to plant that church cannot be understated. He transformed our city, but his impact goes far beyond the walls of Pittsburgh as well. At Jay’s memorial service, my pastor said of him that he could have easily been a successful elected official or a CEO of a major corporation, and instead he chose to go all in on God’s call for him to start North Way, and that decision changed the world for so many people.Today, you’ll hear a throwback conversation I had with Jay in 2013. In it, we talk about life and leadership. He shares his story and discusses the lessons he has learned from it, emphasizing the importance of family and legacy. He defines leadership and notes what it means to have a natural talent for it, additionally explaining why everybody has what it takes to be a leader, to an extent. He talks about his experience as Student Body President in college and shares what he learn

Tunch Ilkin played football for the Pittsburgh Steelers for many seasons before becoming a broadcaster for the team for the rest of his career. He spent 35 years serving homeless men, women, and children of Pittsburgh at Light of Life Rescue Mission. He was also on staff at the Bible Chapel, where he made a significant impact on countless men’s lives by leading their men’s retreat. He also raised an incredible family. Tunch’s top priority in life was fulfilling the plan that God had for him. It was the center of everything that he did, and through this mission, he impacted thousands upon thousands of people with his life. He lived an extraordinary life and has left behind an incredible legacy. Once you met and interacted with Tunch Ilkin, your life was never the same.Today’s episode is a throwback to a conversation I had with Tunch in 2013. In it, Tunch shares his story, his thoughts on leadership, and a lot more. He talks about what it means to be a mentor and a servant leader and notes the role of humility

Like many leaders, you may think that you can get along fine without being part of a mastermind group. But the truth is, on your own, you’ll only last for so long. In this episode, I talk about why you need a mastermind group and what being in one can do for you.Today, I explain what mastermind groups are and share why they’re so powerful. I note that every leader needs to be in one, and I talk about what your life could look like after being in one for a year. I share the four ways that we at L3 Leadership work to gather and connect leaders, and I talk about how I learned about mastermind groups. I explain why our mastermind group will help you to be fully known, fully loved, and fully challenged. I share four reasons to join a mastermind group and talk about the results of being in one.“Sometimes it’s not the lesson that you need; it’s the lives of leaders that you need.”- Doug smithKey Takeaways this week on the L3 Leadership Podcast:●       Every leader needs to be in a mastermind group●       The purpose

Phil and Diane Comer are the parents of John Mark Comer, author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. Together, they wrote Raising Passionate Jesus Followers, in which they share the practical parenting wisdom they have gained from raising four children, all of whom are looking for God and making a difference in the world. They have been married for 41 years and have been in ministry together for all of it.Today, Phil and Diane join me to talk about their book and share their best parenting lessons. They talk about the importance of beginning intentional parenting as early as possible and take me through the different stages of parenting a child as he or she grows. We discuss the importance of family in the kingdom of God. They note the importance of discipline and communication, and they make a distinction between discipline and punishment. They stress the importance of parenting your children as God parents us.“You want to raise your kids to know that following Jesus doesn’t mean everything is gonna go perf

Kim Scott is the author of several books including Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity and Just Work: Get Sh*t Done, Fast & Fair. She has held management positions at both Apple and Twitter, and she is the co-founder of Radical Candor, LLC.Today, Kim joins me to talk about the power and meaning of just leadership. She notes the power of feedback and how to respond to it. She talks about the need to recognize failure and the power of the default. She defines just work and notes the difference between bias, prejudice, and bullying. She talks about the power of common language and shares how to write and use a code of conduct. She distinguishes between It, I, and You statements and explains when to use each. She shares some practical steps to address injustice in the workplace and offers her take on alcohol in the office. She also notes the need for boundaries between your work life and your non-work life.“Managing a restaurant or managing a small business, people are people.”- Kim

We live in a culture where people spend their health trying to make money, and then they spend all their money that they earned trying to buy back their health - and it’s not working. It’s hard to prioritize your health and fitness, but it’s necessary - not just for you but for all of the people who need your leadership.Today, I talk about the importance of health and fitness. I talk about why it matters and I share the story of my personal journey. I share the practical things that I’ve implemented in my life that I think you’ll find helpful. I share my definitions of health and fitness, I talk about the importance of focusing on what’s in your control (thereby reducing the risk of contracting health problems that are out of your control), and I offer four key takeaways.“If you don’t start where you are, you’re gonna stay where you are.” - Doug SmithKey Takeaways this week on the L3 Leadership Podcast:●       You have to get a personal vision for your health and fitness.●       You have to discover the price

Benjamin Hardy lives in Orlando with his wife and six kids, three of whom are adopted. He is an organizational psychologist with a Ph.D. in the subject from Clemson University. Benjamin writes on psychological self-improvement and entrepreneurial-related topics. Among his books are Will Power Doesn’t Work, Personality Isn’t Permanent, and Who Not How (co-written with Dan Sullivan).Today, Benjamin joins me to share his story. He talks about how he got started writing and tells all about the process. He shares what publishers are looking for and gives his tips for the writing process. He shares the three things you have to be clear on before sitting down to write a book, and he notes the importance of investing in yourself. He also shares his reflections on fostering, adopting, and raising children.“Your identity is your story, your narrative about yourself, and really, it’s up to all of us to decide what...our narrative is.”- Benjamin HardyKey Takeaways this week on the L3 Leadership Podcast:●       The power

L3L280 L3 Leadership How to Overcome the Wounds in Your Leadership JourneyHave you ever been wounded in your leadership journey? Did it hold you back from what you should have been going for in that season? How long did it hold you back?These are important questions to ask and important questions to answer. Today, I offer some insight on beginning to address them, giving you eight practical tips for acknowledging, healing from, and moving past your wounds.“If we don’t learn how to properly address our wounds, we will never be able to move into the future that God has for us.”- Doug SmithKey Takeaways this week on the L3 Leadership Podcast: ●      If you’ve been wounded, you’re not alone●      Your future’s not over, even if it seems like it is●      You are not who other people have said that you are●      You don’t have to carry the pain that comes with your wounds everywhere that you go for the rest of your life●      Your wounds can be healed●      Your wounds can become a part of your story and your testi

In the latest episode of the L3 Leadership podcast, Doug Smith speaks with Ryan Hawk about his advice in the corporate world, experience in football, his recent book, Welcome To Management: How To Grow From Top Performer To Excellent Leader, his show, The Learning Leader Show, and more. Check it out on any major podcasting platform!Key Take-Aways From Episode 279:While you have to be excellent at your current job, on the side, you have to be working on developing the skills to be excellent at the next job.Develop a relationship with those who are in decision-making roles early on in your career.Leaders are about people choosing to commit to you rather than committing to someone else.Commitment is a choice.The excellent leaders in the world are the ones who live in a way where they inspire others to choose to commit to them versus complying to whatever they say because they don’t want to get fired.Ryan Hawk shares his definition of a good day and operating framework:Fuel your intake engineBe a doer; experiment

In this episode of the L3 Leadership podcast, you’ll hear Doug share a lesson entitled, “Life at 36.” Each year, around his birthday, Doug spends some time reflecting on where he is and what he’s learning at that age and then he shares his takeaways with you. Regardless of your ages, we’d encourage you to do the same exercise. Remember, the best experience isn’t experience, it’s evaluated experience. ABOUT DOUG SMITH:Doug is the Director of Development at Light of Life Rescue Mission and Founder and CEO of L3 Leadership. He is the author of his eBook, “Making the Most of Mentoring”, a step by step guide to help you build and cultivate relationships with mentors. He is the host of the L3 Leadership podcast and he is a sought after public speaker.  He is married to his high school sweetheart, Laura, who currently works as the Head of Manufacturing at Ivalua. Together, they love family, personal growth, travel, working out, and serving others.CONNECT WITH DOUG:FacebookTwitterYouTubeLinkedInKey Take-Aways From Ep

In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith interviews Daniel Harkavy, best-selling author and Founder & CEO of Building Champions, an international life and leadership coaching company that serves some of the world's greatest organizations.About Daniel Harkavy:As a coach to some of the country's highest-profile executives, Daniel Harkavy has witnessed the transformation--both professional and personal--that comes when leaders utilize coaching to turn their paycheck-driven teams into vibrant and successful growth cultures. Since founding his company in 1996, Harkavy and his team have coached thousands and shared their knowledge by certifying coaching leaders across the country. Now, in this strategic and thought-provoking guide, he shares his proven strategy for improving your team's performance while raising quality of life inside and outside of the office. You'll learn the core four foundations to every coaching strategy, the most powerful leadership tools you can and sh

In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith shares how he and Laura are leading their family team. ABOUT DOUG SMITH:Doug is the Director of Development at Light of Life Rescue Mission and Founder and CEO of L3 Leadership. He is the author of his eBook, “Making the Most of Mentoring”, a step by step guide to help you build and cultivate relationships with mentors. He blogs at dougsmithlive.com, he is the host of the L3 Leadership podcast, and he is sought after public speaker.  He is married to his high school sweetheart, Laura, who currently works as an Account Executive at Ivalua. Together, they love family, personal growth, travel, working out, and serving others.CONNECT WITH DOUG:FacebookTwitterYouTubeLinkedIn 6 Key Take-Aways From Episode 276.Doug shares the concept of the Family Team. We Find our identity in our family team first. Everything we do contributes to the family team. We’re a family team on Mission… we want to have generations of Family Teams that live for God and make a differenc

Episode SummaryIn this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith interviews John Mark Comer, Author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon. In the episode, you’ll hear Doug and John Mark discuss the importance of the sabbath, how to work from rest, and having a proper view of success. 6 Key Takes From Episode 275John Mark discusses “pleasure-stacking” on the Sabbath and his journey toward making the weekly sabbath a lifestyle.Comer talks about how painful it was for him to live the life of hurry.The levels of belief:What we say we believeWhat we think we believeWhat we really believe (Our true/core beliefs)Proper decision-making: Don’t make decisions from exhaustion, but with much rest and waiting. Comer also discuss how decisions should be made in community.John Mark shares his thoughts on success - what it looks like.In the digital age, we have to take digital Sabbath very seriously.About John Mark ComerAuthor John Mark Comer lives, works, and writes

In this episode, you'll hear Doug share lessons that he has learned in 10 years of working at Light of Life Rescue Mission, a non-profit that serves homeless men, women, and children in Pittsburgh, PA. The topics you'll hear covered are: FundraisingWhy you should care about those in need. How to get promoted Leadership Learning how to have hard conversations How to build a culture of community Go here for our shownotes: http://www.l3leadership.org/274 

In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith interviews Jesse Cole, Founder of Fans First Entertainment and Owner of the Savannah Bananas. You are in for a treat with this power-packed episode. Enjoy!About Jesse ColeJesse Cole is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and owner of the Savannah Bananas.His teams have welcomed more than one million fans to their ballparks and have been featured on MSNBC, CNN, ESPN and in Entrepreneur Magazine.The Bananas have been awarded Organization of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Business of the Year and won the CPL Championship in their first year. Fans First Entertainment has been featured on the INC 5000 lists as one of the fastest growing companies in America.The Savannah Bananas currently have sold out every game since their first season and have a waiting list in the thousands for tickets.Jesse released his first book “Find Your Yellow Tux – How to Be Successful by Standing Out” in January of 2018 with a World Book Tour…at Epcot.Cole has been featur

In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith continues to share his top lessons learned in 2020. In part 2, you'll hear Doug share what he’s learned about family, personal branding, self-awareness, and more.Key Take-AwaysManaging/Firing - It’s the most painful part of leadership. Leaders are willing to do what others are not. The moment you feel like you have to manage someone, you’ve made a hiring mistake. -Jim Collins Lessons from letting people go:Self-Awareness: Get clear on who you are and who you want to be.What Roles do you want to fulfill?Personal Branding is overrated! If God wants to make you a name, let Him do that. “Being #1 has never been on my bucket list. Focusing on being the best that I can be has always been on my bucket list.” -John Maxwell Racial Reconciliation + Diversity & Inclusion: Leaders we need to listen like we’ve never listened before. Resources: The Third Option by Miles Mcpherson, Oneness Embraced by Tony Evans, and Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison As a Nat

In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith interview Denny Pattyn, Founder and President of Silver Ring Thing. Denny has been fighting an incurable cancer diagnosis for the last 5 years. Sixteen operations later, and a loss of 90 pounds, Denny is still continuing to lead strong. In this moving and incredibly inspiring episode, Denny shares what will truly matter at the end of your leadership journey.6 Key Takeaways1. Talks about how his time with the Lord is richer knowing that he’s going to be meeting the Lord in a matter of months, or possibly even weeks. 2. Denny talks about the new vision that God gave him for The Family Wins. The family is the number one group of people who evangelizes. Parently are the world’s largest evangelists. “The way a family wins is when the mother and father spend personal time with the Lord every day”... Because God’s word does not return void.  3. Denny Talks about how to discern God-given vision from what might be your own vision.I’m always very very careful to

In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, as part of a two-part teaching, Doug Smith shares his top lessons in learned in 2020.Key Take-Aways From Episode 270.1. Life is Hard, Don’t Quit Doug shares 5 Truths: You are going to die, Life is hard, You are not that important, You are not in control, Your life is not about you -  You must experience your own powerlessness before a true spiritual journey can begin. 2. Learn to Rest and Recover...or you’ll be forced to. "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." -Dallas Willard "If you don’t have plenty of time to do what I called you to do, you’re wasting time." -Keith Moore "The world aches for the generosity of a well-rested people." -Wayne Muller "Rest is an act of faith." -Dallas Willard 3. Doug shares what God taught him most in 2020. “Doug, what if you’d knew it’d all happen. You know it will. Think back to all the stress you put on yourself trying to make it happen. You can’t make anything happen. Let me surprise

In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith interviews Wayne Cordeiro, Founding Pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii with over 11,500 in weekend attendance. In the episode, Doug and Wayne discuss leading on empty and the effects of burnout.Wayne has led New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii for 36 years and has planted 162 churches. His passion is raising up emerging leaders.Key TakeawaysWayne and Doug discuss the importance of focusing on discipleship in ministry leadership. Church planting and success in the ministry is a result of proper discipleship. Character-development is crucial. Wayne talks about burnout and the telltale signs of depression in leadership. It’s not something that you can plan for. Burnout is restored by healing, adjustment, and rescheduling.There’s a difference between tiredness and burnout. Tiredness is resolved by better sleeping habits, burnout is not.Wayne discusses solitude’s importance to our mental and spiritual health. Solitude i