Ready for a deep dive into the gritty art of leadership?
Of course you are.
Because growing as a bold leader means tapping into something deeper than recycled leadership quotes on landscapes and academic LinkedIn infographics. There are already literally THOUSANDS of podcasts recycling these platitudes every day. It's Leadership 101.
I thought I'd dig a little deeper with No Clichés to bring you stories and interviews from the arena - tales of inspiration, perspiration and trepidation.
Subscribe, ring the bell and let's tackle the hard stuff together.
cover photo credit: Rachel DeLira/StyleFW
Some leaders make their mark by following the system — and others change the system for the good of everyone who comes after them. My US Naval Academy classmate Dr. John Cordle is one of those rare leaders. Long before the Navy was ready to talk about the impact of fatigue and poor sleep on readiness and safety, John was the commanding officer willing to put his reputation on the line to get the truth heard. His work — captured in Going Circadian — has literally changed how the Navy operates and saved lives in the process. Now he’s turning that same honesty inward with his upcoming book, Letters to Myself, a collection of life lessons written with humility, courage, and the hard-earned wisdom of a leader who’s walked the walk. On this episode of No Clichés, TD sits down with his US Naval Academy classmate Captain John Cordle to explore a legacy still shaping the fleet — and the leaders in it.
26 Nov 2025
Brotherhood is a VERB! with Samson J. DeSessa
The word brotherhood gets tossed around a lot.
In locker rooms. In firehouses. In club houses. In boardrooms. But much of the time, it’s just talk.
Samson DeSessa lives the word.
A career firefighter, EOD technician, combat veteran, keynote speaker, and now author of the bold new book Brotherhood is a VERB, Sam calls out what happens when “know your people” comes off as a slogan instead of a standard.
He’s here to remind us that brotherhood—real brotherhood—isn’t about matching shirts or shared hashtags. It’s about sweat, trust, and climbing into the arena yourself.
So if you’re tired of leadership lip service, buckle up.
Because in this episode we’re cutting through the smoke to talk about what happens when leaders turn nouns into action—and why Brotherhood is a VERB.
11 Nov 2025
Lessons from the Admiral with Mark Fava
Few people manage to navigate as many worlds — and lead in all of them — as my lifelong friend Mark Fava. He’s a world-renowned expert in aviation law, a senior officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve, and an elected official who brings integrity and discipline to every role he serves. Now, he’s sharing the wisdom he’s gathered from the cockpit, the courtroom, and the quarterdeck in his new book, Lessons from the Admiral: Naval Wisdom and Sea Stories for Leaders. It’s a masterclass in leadership you’ll both apply and enjoy. On this episode of No Clichés, we set sail with Mark Fava to explore what true command — and humility — look like in action.
29 Oct 2025
Navigating Feedback with Brian Byrd M.D.
Some leaders make an impact in one sector — others leave their mark across many. Dr. Brian Byrd has done it all: physician, city councilmember, author, and executive leader who knows how to bring people together for real, lasting change. I saw that firsthand when he and I worked side-by-side to create LVTRise, the urban revitalization initiative that transformed Fort Worth’s Las Vegas Trail community into a model of collaboration and hope. Now, Dr. Byrd’s taking that same spirit of honest connection to a broader audience with his new book, Navigating Feedback at Work, Home, and Everywhere Else. In this episode of No Clichés, we’re unpacking what it really takes to lead — and listen — like he does.
15 Oct 2025
The Unity Blueprint with Jeff Williams
The Dallas Cowboys don’t play football in Dallas. They play in Arlington — the same city where the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers play baseball. None of that happened by accident.
Behind Arlington’s rise as a world-class hub for sports, entertainment, and innovation is a visionary leader who built unity into the city’s blueprint. Former Mayor W. Jeff Williams (https://www.linkedin.com/in/w-jeff-williams-a00048b/) turned collaboration into a superpower — and now he’s sharing that formula in his new book, The Unity Blueprint.
17 Sept 2023
Your Leadership Legacy with Oak McCulloch
Oak McCulloch knows leadership - how to do it and how to pass it down - after a lifetime of service in the US Army, on college campuses and in the social sector.
… and he knows discipline. The man has kept a personal journal since he was in fifth grade.
Someone with that level of sustained focus is just the right guy to collect a lifetime of practical, useful leadership advice.
You can read a lot about leadership today. It’s the #1 topic for newly published books. In fact, you could read them all - if you had the time - and still not be an effective leader. Sure, you would know a lot of leadership stuff, but you could feasibly be left without the practical examples and useful tools that would transform you into the leader you were meant to be.
If you’re lucky, though. One of these books might have been Oak McCulloch’s Your Leadership Legacy - Becoming The Leader You Were Meant To Be (https://www.amazon.com/Your-Leadership-Legacy-Becoming-Leader/dp/1952037107/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=).
Oak joins me on No Clichés to share some of the leadership gold in his book. Tune in to start the journey to leaving your leadership legacy.
18 Apr 2023
Face To Face with Cheryl Lynn Mobley
Face To Face (https://www.recalibrate.today/face-to-face) is a leadership book, but one unlike anything you’ve ever read - in both format and content.
Career healthcare executive, hospital president, international performance consultant and author Cheryl Lynn Mobley (https://www.linkedin.com/in/recalibratetoday/) was inspired to write Face To Face (https://www.recalibrate.today/face-to-face) by the intersection of trust, disruption and uncertainty and her experiences on an African horse safari - where she and her group came face to face with threats that could end their lives. ‘Doesn’t get much bolder than that!
Cheryl joins me on No Clichés to talk about what inspired the book, the application of some of its lessons and the unique way she turned a book into a living project to keep the journey alive.
4 Aug 2022
Striking Terror with Tim White
In your worst nightmares, you’ll likely never have to defend your office against an armed terrorist. Tim White, however, had to do exactly that on July 16th, 2015.
It was the last full day of Ramadan when terrorist Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez rammed his vehicle through the gate of Chattanooga’s Navy Operational Support Center and approached the headquarters building with an AK74 semi-automatic rifle. Inside, the Center’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Tim White rose from his desk, reached into a drawer for his personal sidearm, and fired on Abdulazeez from the window. The first to engage the terrorist, White’s gunfire alerted those inside the Center to the impending danger, giving most the opportunity to escape unharmed.
White was a hero to many, but his Navy career from that point forward was anything but guaranteed. Navy regulations prohibited personal firearms on installations; but White, recognizing an imminent threat to his team that the chain of command failed to address, reached outside the rule book to display bold leadership that saved lives.
10 Jul 2022
Tango 5
When something goes wrong in Navy aviation, it’s called a “mishap”. When it goes tragically wrong - the kind of wrong that leaves someone dead or strikes an entire aircraft from the Navy’s inventory - it’s called a “Class A mishap”. It didn’t take the Navy Safety Center long to determine the Tango 5 fire to be a Class A mishap.
Had we caused the fire? Had we contributed to it?
10 Jun 2022
The 80s Called ... They Want Their Top-Down Leadership Back!
The 2022 cohort of Leadership Fort Worth (https://leadershipfortworth.org/)'s CEO-level program, LeaderPrime (https://leadershipfortworth.org/join-leaderprime-2022/), recently graduated. To kick off the commencement, TD Smyers (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tdsmyers/) moderated a panel of respected leadership academicians discussing engagement of today's workforce and the new irrelevance of command & control leadership. What you thought you knew about leading our Millennial and GenZ workforce is about to get reset.
From the University of Texas at Arlington (https://www.uta.edu/) - Dr. David Mack (https://www.uta.edu/academics/faculty/profile?username=davemack); from Texas Wesleyan University (https://txwes.edu/) - Dr. Tommy Nichols (https://txwes.edu/academics/business-administration/undergraduate-majors/management/faculty--staff/tommy-nichols/); and from Texas Christian University (https://www.tcu.edu/) - Professor Tracey Rockett (https://calendar.tcu.edu/event/graduate_programs_faculty_spotlight_series_with_tracey_rockett#.YqOvwqjMJEY).
9 Apr 2022
The Arsonist in the Office with Pete Havel
If you've ever had to endure a dysfunctional workplace culture or tiptoe around a supposed teammate who's looking for a reason to lodge a new complaint against somebody, you may think you know toxic. Well, I'm here to tell you - Pete Havel (https://www.linkedin.com/in/petehavel/) knows toxic.
A former lobbyist for some of the biggest, most powerful organizations in the US, Pete’s shocking corporate experience was the inspiration for his book The Arsonist in the Office: Fireproofing Your Life Against Toxic Coworkers, Bosses, Employees and Cultures (https://petehavel.com/the-arsonist-in-the-office/).
As a leader, you owe it to yourself to heed Pete's advice on how to avoid toxicity, and what to do WHEN you encounter it - because there are those who have and those who will.
23 Mar 2022
Out of Your Mind and Irresponsible with Dan Pallotta
If you google Dan Pallotta, he comes up identified as an "American Entrepreneur". While true enough, this description is really only part of the story. Dan is a visionary, a development economics guru with a Harvard sheepskin, a social sector champion and a bold leader. You may already know of of him, since he's been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Forbes magazine, among others. Or you may have already seen him, since he's appeared on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, American Public Media’s Marketplace, the TED Radio Hour, the BBC's Business Matters, and on numerous NPR stations, among others.
In fact, if you haven't seen his viral TED Talk "The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong" on YouTube, go there as soon as you finish listening to this episode. It'll change your whole worldview. There's a link at a aboldleader.com (http://aboldleader.com/) to help you get there.
25 Jan 2022
The Anthrax Crucible
Leading boldly isn’t always about breaking the rules. A bold leader’s best moments often come from navigating a group through unknown territory, a threatening situation, or even an unpopular requirement. This story features all three. Although these events took place at the very end of the 20th Century, my story opens up with a topic that is very contemporary and very controversial – mandatory vaccinations.
9 Jan 2022
Beyond the Rules
Operating under the rules is safe, but exploration beyond them is where all discovery originates. A bold leader's goal should be to lead like my wife Barbara cooks - understanding the recipe well enough to know when and how to depart from it.
Also available to read at aboldleader.com
9 Jan 2022
A Recipe for Bold
Bold isn't fearless. Fearless doesn't exist in the sane, rational leader. Courage certainly does, but courage is different. Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the conquest of it.
In fact, in my experience bold isn't homogenous at all. It's a complex mix of sometimes competing traits. A good analogy this time of year is to think of bold as a kind of stew. A hearty recipe with just a few key ingredients.
Also available to read at aboldleader.com
8 Jan 2022
No Clichés - the podcast from A Bold Leader
Love the gritty art of leadership, but feel the need to dig deeper than the repetitive memes and simplistic advice that make up the online leadership conversation? Yeah, me too. That's why I record stories and interviews about tough leadership situations on No Clichés.
6 Dec 2021
Welcome aboard A Bold Leader!
Welcome to No Clichas, the podcast from A Bold Leader, coaching and leadership blog by TD Smyers.
Also available to read at aboldleader.com
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