Retired Lieutenant Colonel and former Green Beret Scott Mann spent his career building trust in places where trust was scarce. Today he's an author, playwright, and actor who brings all of his humanity to help us find—and lead with—ours.

In this episode, you'll hear the gut-wrenching story that inspired Mann's latest book, Nobody is Coming to Save You. You'll also get a sneak peek into the upcoming premiere of his play, 11 Days: The Story of Operation Pineapple Express.

Join us for this episode of the Be Worth* Following podcast as Scott Mann guides us through leadership lessons from the battlefields of Afghanistan to the battlefields within our own minds and hearts.

Click HERE to explore additional episode details, including show notes, time-stamped chapters, and resources to help you dive deeper into our conversation.

David Mead — Leading with un(Common) Sense

We all know the leaders we love to follow—and the ones we simply have to. What's the difference?

In this conversation, we sit down with speaker and author David Mead to dig into the human qualities that set great leaders apart. David introduces the simple yet transformative framework at the heart of his new book, Lead with (un)Common Sense, offering practical ways to lead with honesty, humility, and humanity every day.

This episode is an invitation to lead from who you are, not just what you do.

Click here to visit our website page for David Mead's episode. There you'll find show notes, time-stamped chapters, and additional resources to help you explore the ideas from our conversation more deeply. You can also learn more about David's work, writing, and leadership insights featured in his upcoming book, Lead with (un)Common Sense, releasing soon.

Mike Matheny — Seeing Leadership as a Gift

He caught thousands of pitches over 13 Major League seasons and went on to manage both the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.

Today, Mike Matheny is an author and executive coach helping leaders thrive in business.

In this episode of the Be Worth* Following podcast, Mike and host Tim Spiker talk about the connection between leadership in the clubhouse, in the boardroom, and in life.

🎧 Listen now to hear insights from a leader who knows what it means to build trust, handle pressure, and lead with perspective. Click here for additonal resources on our website page.

Colonel Art Athens joins the Be Worth* Following podcast to share his insights on all things leadership, especially the cultivation of talent. And to be sure, he's sharing with us from a wealth of experience.

Over the course of more than 30 years in the Marine Corps, Colonel Athens held command and staff assignments across all four Marine Aircraft Wings. He also served as an instructor and Academic Dean for the Marine Corps' equivalent to the Navy's "Top Gun" school. Following his military career, he became the Naval Academy's first Distinguished Military Professor of Leadership and later served for over a decade as the Director of the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership. He also served as Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and was selected as a White House Fellow under President Ronald Reagan.

In this episode, you'll discover why Colonel Athens talks about Dixie cups and crystal glasses in relation to leading well. You'll see how attending a rainy high school soccer game significantly shifted one of his relationships up the chain of command. And you'll hear why benches and bullpens are important concepts in how we think about developing those we lead.

Notable links:

Guest: Colonel Art Athens: https://www.linkedin.com/in/art-athens-b210559/

Host: Tim Spiker: https://www.theaperio.com/tim-spiker

The Only Leaders Worth* Following video series on Right Now Media: https://www.theaperio.com/right-now-media-series

The Only Leaders Worth* Following book https://tinyurl.com/TOLWFbook

The Only Leaders Worth Following book Discussion Guide: https://www.theaperio.com/discussion-guide-the-only-leaders-worth-following

The Aperio: https://www.theaperio.com/

Every year in March, the Be Worth* Following podcast gets its leadership lessons from the world of college basketball. And boy do we have a great one for you this year. Purdue University's Matt Painter joins us to talk about his leadership of one the nation's most successful men's basketball programs. When you look at the success Matt and Purdue have had, you might be tempted to think he has always confidently trusted his instincts. And you'd be wrong. Join us for a behind the scenes conversation with one of the nation's best coaches.

In this episode of Be Worth* Following, Will Graham takes us inside a reality many leaders wrestle with but few openly discuss—workplace dysfunction. Once a sharp critic of workplace culture, Will unexpectedly found himself in a leadership role, facing the very challenges he had spent years analyzing. That experience, along with a near-burnout moment, reshaped his understanding of leadership, productivity, and the power of aligning people with the work that fuels them. His journey—from frustration to insight—offers a compelling look at what it really takes to make work better.

Click Here for a Free Copy (+ shipping) of Will Graham's book, Make Work Better

We've added to our subscriber list over the past two years. That means there are some great episodes that some of you have missed. So to finish up 2024 on the Be Worth* Following podcast, we are doing a throwback episode from October 2022. That's when we got to visit with Tria Deibert.

As the Vice President of Culture at Hackensack Meridian Health, Tria says that her job sets her soul on fire, and that she's using the position to help others find the same excitement. Tria never expected to end up in the culture field. Her background is in marketing, but a leader saw potential in her, and she decided to take a big, bold leap.

In this episode, Tria shares how her marketing experience enables her to use meaningful messaging to engage and inspire people in her organization. Listen in to learn more about how to elicit authentic buy-in and hear how that strengthens an organization from the inside out.

When people genuinely love their work, they are able to achieve more and help businesses grow. How do we know this? Just give Tria a listen.

In this episode of the Be Worth* Following Podcast, host Tim Spiker welcomes back for his second appearance on the show psychologist Jason Cochran. Together they take a deep dive into Jason's original work on the four principles of connection in the workplace. This thoughtful discussion explores the strategic advantages of connection at work and includes practical applications that leaders can engage in immediately to increase connection at work for everyone they lead.