Lessons in Leadership John Fleming

On this episode of Lessons in Leadership, I talk with Mike Slonina, CEO of A Shot for Life.  In 2010, after hearing that his mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Mike set out to raise funds to fight cancer.  in 2011, he turned his love for basketball into a basketball fundraiser by shooting for 24 hours straight.  Since that day, Mike has turned a A Shot for Life into a non-profit organization and created a number of other events to raise money for the Dr. Curry research lab at Mass General.  Mike shares his journey and some advice for people hoping to be involved in non-profits.  

In this episode, I interview Rick Gorman who is the director of the North Andover Youth Center in NA Massachusetts.  This summer, despite the global pandemic, Rick was able to run 8 weeks of summer programming for over 800 kids with 150 staff members and had 0 covid-19 issues.  Rick shares his story and the way they were able to execute their successful summer.  If you are a business owner, administrator, educator, coach, or parent- you will want to listen to his advice on this topic.  If you enjoy this podcast, I encourage you to subscribe and share with others.  Enjoy

In this episode, I interview Center College women's volleyball coach Pat Robidoux.  After his playing career, Pat worked his way up as an assistant coach before taking over his first college coaching position at Southern Vermont College.  In the two seasons prior to Pat arriving at SVC, the team won a total of 5 matches.  Just two years later, the team won 21 matches, made it to the NCAA tournament, and he was named coach of the year in the conference.  The Robo coach, as he is called, is trying to use what he learned at SVC to take similar strides with the Center College program.  We talk about taking over a program, creating a culture, and the current challenges that COVID-19 presents to a college coach.  I think you will enjoy this podcast and if so, please share it with someone you think will benefit from listening.

This episode is an interview with Cory McCarthy who is the Director of Academics and Operations at New Mission High School (MA).  Cory talks about the turnaround of New Mission from being on the brink of shutting down to being named a Blue Ribbon school.  Cory shares some of the things that New Mission did to help build their growth mindset culture.  His passion for his students and their future is abundantly clear from the start.  Cory also discusses some of New Mission's goals for the upcoming year and his hope for what this fall will look like.  

Listen to learn about leadership advice from Kristen McDonnell who is widely considered one of best coaches in Massachusetts.  Recently, the Boston Herald named her the 'Girls basketball coach of the Decade' for her time coaching at Braintree HS.  This winter marked her first season as the boys basketball coach at Norwood HS.  Kristen talks about lessons learned early on as a coach that have shaped her leadership style,  how she teaches leadership to her players, and advice for those looking to build their leadership skills among a number of other topics.  Anyone looking to become a better leader can learn something from Coach McDonnell's leadership talk.

Listen to learn about Kenny Kirunda's journey from growing up in Uganda to becoming the CEO of his own real estate firm in Boston.   Kenny's work ethic and desire to be successful took him from humble beginnings to starting his own company.  Kenny talks about leadership as a CEO, coach, and most importantly as a father.