Linch With A Leader

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 importance of stewardship through a biblical perspective.  He also helps them to understand that stewardship extends from not only finances but to other important roles such as marriages and parenting.  He also has a podcast entitled Life Money Hope with Chris Brown.In this episode, Mike Linch talks with Chris about not only his background, but the role he plays with the Dave Ramsey team, the importance of stewardship in our personal lives, and the role his spiritual walk plays in the entire journey.

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 audiences. She also hosts the weekly podcast entitled That Sounds Fun Podcast where she sits down with a wide variety of well-known guests.In this episode, Mike Linch talks with Annie about her upbringing, how the doors opened for her to begin writing and speaking, the passion and vision behind some of her books and the lessons God has taught her through them, learning how to deal with the tough moments of life, and the books right now that are helping her grow as a leader.

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 the industry such as: Oscar Meyer Company, Sara Lee Corporation, and King & Prince Seafood Corporation as well as others. John Flood received his degree from Michigan State University with a degree in marketing. In this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike and John Flood dive into not only lessons learned from the business world, but also how John’s relationship with the Lord influenced decisions that he made and how it guided him throughout his career.

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 the ranks as a scout in professional baseball. Since then he has been the one to draft a multitude of current and former players who spent time in the major leagues.In this episode, our host, Mike Linch, has a conversation with Kevin Burrell about not only his playing career, but the tools needed to be a great scout, the role character plays in the development of an athlete, some of the players he has had a role in drafting, and how his faith plays a vital role in all that he does; including living out what God is calling him to do.

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-American Bible College. Dr. Chand has also gone on to become a leadership consultant to pastors and business leaders, and he has authored eleven books along the way. His expertise and background in the world of leadership has him at the forefront of the community at this time.In this episode, our host, Mike Linch, has a conversation with Dr. Sam Chand about his background in leadership, the leadership style of Jesus, leadership styles he sees in church and in business, and the vision he had as he authored some of his latest books.

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 client representation for sports and entertainment agency CSE, Molly negotiated well over $500 million in contracts for her clients.  She’s been noted for her work by ESPN, Fast Company, Forbes, and Sports Illustrated.  Her success in the industry allowed opportunities for her to not only become a published author, but also a motivational speaker, reaching people all across the world.  Today, she is the CEO of the Molly Fletcher Company, which has the goal of “helping leaders, teams, and organizations get unstuck from whatever it is that is blocking you from reaching your full potential.”In this episode, our host, Mike Linch, has a great discussion with Molly Fletcher about the obstacles on the road to success, her lessons from the world of sports, and the role her faith has played in getting her to where she is today.

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 Basketball Coach at Bethel College, where in 11 seasons, he helped led them to three NAIA National Championships. In 2009, he founded Kardia Transformation Group, which was built to help audiences motivate and transform their lives. Shortly after, Todd, authored LEAD… for God’s Sake! which has gone on to sell thousands and thousands of copies. Today, Todd not only authors, but speaks to audiences all over the United States.Today, our host, Mike Linch, discusses with Todd Gongwer the inspiration and vision for LEAD… for God’s Sake!, the leadership roles he has assumed throughout his career, his faith journey, common things that leaders face, the important attributes of leaders.

This month’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. However, Chris felt the call to do more than sit behind his desk, and watch clients struggle with their finances. Shortly thereafter, he connected with Dave Ramsey and a new career opportunity emerged. Now, Chris helps spread the message of financial hope to audiences all over the country. He is an expert on subjects like mortgages, healthcare, and investing. Chris Hogan is also considered one of America’s leading voices regarding retirement, and has authored the book Retire Inspired.In this episode, our host, Mike Linch, has a discussion with Chris Hogan about the leadership lessons he took away from his time playing collegiate football, his incredible story that led to meeting Dave Ramsey, the lessons America needs to learn about retirement, and the correlation he sees between financial freedom and spiritual leadership.

This month’s podcast features the founder of the L.E.A.D. Academy in Atlanta, CJ Stewart.Stewart was born and raised right in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia. Baseball became a part of his story early on in life, and was an outlet that led to the career path he would one day follow. He had the opportunity to play competitively in high school, which eventually lead to a scholarship to play at Georgia State University. After his time as a Panther, CJ was drafted by the Chicago Cubs giving him a chance at professional baseball. Once his playing career ended, it did not end his influence and involvement in the game of baseball. After serving a short time as an area scout, he became the founder and CEO of Diamond Directors. In his years in player development, he has worked with players such as Jason Heyward, Dexter Fowler, and Andrew McCutchen. Stewart is also the founder of a non-profit called L.E.A.D. (Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct). He and his wife, Kelli, have the goal of creating positive outcomes for inner-city youth by engaging the relationships between education, athletics, and service. To date, 100% of L.E.A.D.’s Ambassador Student-Athletes have graduated from high school and enrolled in college, while 92% have received baseball scholarship opportunities. In this episode, our host, Mike Linch, has a deep discussion with CJ Stewart, not only about player development and his passion with L.E.A.D, but the role that race has in it, all from a spiritual context.

This extra podcast features the Head Baseball Coach of Sam Houston State University, Matt Deggs.On top of being a highly successful baseball coach, Deggs’ has also authored a book and frequently speaks in the off-season. He has worked his way up the coaching ranks, finding success at about every stop from Northwestern State to Texas A&M University. Deggs’ teams are known for a ‘Pack’ philosophy that focuses on creating a positive and transformational culture within a team. Most recently, Matt Deggs has helped lead Sam Houston to back-to-back 40-win seasons, and the first ever NCAA Super Regional birth in 2017. Deggs’ has also authored a book entitled 15 to 28, which highlights his journey and the work that the Lord has done in life.In this interview, Mike and Matt Deggs dive into what it’s like to have your identity wrapped up in baseball, the difference between transactional and transformational leadership, the difficulties of dealing with addiction, and how Jesus overcame it all in his life.