Lead With More: Character-Driven Leadership for Today's Leaders

About Lead With More: Character-Driven Leadership for Today's Leaders

Leadership isn't just about what you produce — it's about who you're becoming in the process. Lead With More is a practical leadership development podcast for today's emerging and established leaders who want to learn to lead with character and intention, while building a culture that people choose. Each episode — whether a solo teaching or a conversation with a guest leader, coach, or expert — delivers honest insight and actionable steps you can apply immediately at work, with your team, and in life. Because the best leadership always starts from the inside out.

Publisher

Tom DeBell

Category

business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Nov 2025

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

46 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

   Would You Rather Think or Know? Leading From Awareness with Steve Barton

   Episode 45 Would you rather think, or would you rather know? Executive coach Steve Barton says most leaders lead with thought, and that thought is what blocks their awareness. Steve Barton is an executive coach, author, and creator of The Game of Ten®, a powerful awareness-based framework helping leaders operate at their highest level of clarity, confidence, and performance. Steve has over 47 years of real-world business experience, having grown a company from $200K to $2 million in annual revenue. His work blends practical business strategy with deep insight into human awareness, decision-making, and emotional intelligence. Steve is the co-author of The Father, The Son, and The Aha Moment, and is currently writing his next book focused on helping leaders and professionals develop the mindset, emotional clarity, and inner alignment needed to succeed in both business and life. Through The Game of Ten®, Steve teaches that when we understand how the mind works and learn how to let go of limiting thought patterns, we unlock a level of effectiveness, fulfillment, and leadership that many people spend their entire lives searching for. Connect with Steve Barton: https://www.stevebartoncoaching.com/ (https://www.stevebartoncoaching.com/) Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Welcome Steve Barton to Lead With More 02:07 Why Awareness Is Critical for Leadership 02:57 Would You Rather Think or Know? 05:01 Boundaries, Respect, and Love in Leadership 06:57 Overthinking vs. Intuition: Letting Go to Expand Awareness 09:39 Negativity, the News Cycle, and Our Addiction to Drama 12:32 You Are Not Your Thoughts: Ego and the Inner Child 14:56 Can You Convince Someone They Need Self-Awareness? 17:12 Overwhelm vs. "Whelm" and Why You Can't Think Your Way to Ten 18:36 Common Sense, Intuition, and Knowing Your Culture 21:11 The 1-10 Check: Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, Healed, and Whole 23:51 The Game of 10: Six Phrases 25:02 The Universal Quantity: "Enough" 27:39 Scarcity, Wealth, and the Awareness to Manage It 30:11 What Leaders Are Really Looking For: Inner Peace 32:04 Steve's Message: Common-Sense Spirituality in Business 34:07 "Tencare": Caring Without Attachment 36:05 Problems vs. Situations: Leading From Awareness 38:08 Committing to Happiness Through Tough Times 38:54 Growing Pains: Turning Fear Into Excitement 40:25 Keep the Conversation Open: Weed Your Garden of Thoughts 43:40 Closing Thoughts and Thanks ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Tom DeBell is the founder and president of Modern Leadership Solutions, a Certified Maxwell Coach/Speaker/Trainer/Consultant, a Full Focus Certified Pro, and a Certified Facilitator in the Six Types of Working Genius. Learn more about Tom and Modern Leadership Solutions here: https://www.modernleadershipsolutions.com (http://www.modernleadershipsolutions.com/) ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Podcast guests are managed through PodMatch. If you’re a podcast guest or host (or both!), I would encourage you to check it out: https://www.podmatch.com/member/tomdebell (https://www.podmatch.com/member/tomdebell) (affiliate link). #PodMatch ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻MUSIC & MEDIA⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ With permission from: Music by HitsLab (https://www.youtube.com/@hitslabmusic (https://www.youtube.com/@hitslabmusic)) from Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/ (https://pixabay.com/))

2. 

   28 Sept 2026

   I Coach This. I Still Fell For It

   Episode 44 In this episode, Tom shares two back-to-back moments that revealed his own comfort zone: unexplained stress over routine travel, and unease about a speaking topic outside his usual lane. One simple question cracked open the real answer: it was never the logistics. It was the comfort he didn't want to give up. Tom breaks down why avoidance rarely looks like avoidance — it looks like preference, prudence, or preparation — and why the small discomforts you sidestep today (a routine, an unfamiliar task) can train you to avoid the bigger ones tomorrow, including the difficult conversations your leadership can't afford to skip. A short, direct episode on catching your own blind spots before they compound. Timestamps: 00:00 I Coach This, I Still Fell For It 00:26 The Backstory: Two Stressful Events 00:54 Why the Travel Stress Didn't Add Up 01:30 The Speaking Opportunity Outside My Lane 01:58 The Question That Changed Everything 02:22 The Real Reason: I Didn't Want to Leave Home 03:00 Admitting I Broke My Own "No Pain, No Gain" Rule 03:57 How Small Discomforts Become Big Avoidance 04:32 What I Did Next: Moving Through It 05:20 The Payoff: What The Discomfort Revealed 05:42 What You Should Take Away 06:15 Closing Thoughts & What's Coming Next 06:42 Conclusion and Call to Action ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Tom DeBell is the founder and president of Modern Leadership Solutions, a Certified Maxwell Coach/Speaker/Trainer/Consultant, a Full Focus Certified Pro, and a Certified Facilitator in the Six Types of Working Genius. Learn more about Tom and Modern Leadership Solutions here: https://www.modernleadershipsolutions.com (http://www.modernleadershipsolutions.com/) ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Thumbnail created using ThumbnailCreator https://thumbnailcreator.com?atp=BXnO05 (https://thumbnailcreator.com?atp=BXnO05) ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻MUSIC & MEDIA⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ With permission from: Music by HitsLab (https://www.youtube.com/@hitslabmusic (https://www.youtube.com/@hitslabmusic)) from Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/ (https://pixabay.com/))

3. 

   21 Sept 2026

   Leadership Lessons Hidden in Tragedy

   Episode 43 What can a funeral director teach you about integrity? In this episode, Tom sits down with Jay Jacobson — business owner, consultant, author of Lead by Legendary Example — for a conversation that started as an extension of integrity and opened into something bigger. Jay shares how leading the response to the United Flight 232 crash in Sioux City, Iowa, and later testifying before the U.S. Senate on funeral ethics, shaped his understanding that integrity isn't a single trait — it's built in the small decisions nobody sees. The conversation moves from trust and presence to why the next generation struggles with eye contact, and why rest isn't optional for leaders who want to stay whole. Connect with Jay at JacobsonProStaff.com (http://JacobsonProStaff.com) and find Lead by Legendary Example on Amazon and Apple Books, in print and audio. Timestamps: 00:27 Welcome & Meet Jay Jacobson 01:35 45 Years in Funeral Service: Disasters, Senate Testimony & Mentorship 03:35 Sioux City: Servant Leadership Under Pressure 04:43 Lead By Legendary Example: Stories Over Frameworks 06:27 The Six Pillars of Leadership 10:20 Testifying Before the Senate on Funeral Ethics 12:46 The Reagan Quote: Solving Problems Without Needing Credit 13:34 Why Integrity Isn't Static - It Grows 14:21 Integrity Doesn't Erode, It Leaks 16:56 From Integrity to Presence: Jay's Post-Sioux City Story 19:18 Rest, Burnout & Integrity 21:15 Why These Principles Transcend Every Industry 25:33 Presence in the Age of Screens (The Anxious Generation) 27:20 Eye Contact: The First Sign of Integrity 30:00 Connect with Jay & His Book 32:34 Final Takeaway: "Be Where Your Feet Are" ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Tom DeBell is the founder and president of Modern Leadership Solutions, a Certified Maxwell Coach/Speaker/Trainer, a Full Focus Certified Pro, and a Certified Facilitator in the Six Types of Working Genius. Learn more about Tom and Modern Leadership Solutions here: https://www.modernleadershipsolutions.com (https://www.modernleadershipsolutions.com) ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Podcast guests are managed through PodMatch. If you’re a podcast guest or host (or both!), I would encourage you to check it out: https://www.podmatch.com/member/tomdebell (https://www.podmatch.com/member/tomdebell) (affiliate link). #PodMatch ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻MUSIC & MEDIA⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ With permission from: Music by HitsLab (https://www.youtube.com/@hitslabmusic (https://www.youtube.com/@hitslabmusic)) from Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/ (https://pixabay.com/))

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Apple Podcasts (US)

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3 ratings

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