What I Learned Last Week
Steve Maloney, Director of Training
I love the new title of this leadership blog, The Next Shift: Where People and Progress Advance. It emphasizes the point that we need to adapt and grow continually to ensure we get results as new circumstances arise. This requires shifts in our mindset to get meaningful change and action.
I mentioned the abundance mindset in my last post and how MACNY’s Live2Lead event in November 2024 was the catalyst for my shift toward positive thinking and taking the right actions to propel my growth.
Fast forward a year later to November 7, 2025, where I found myself at MACNY’s 10th annual Live2Lead re-broadcast event with over 125 attendees. Based on my experience last year, I came into this year’s retreat with much anticipation. I would have a new perspective and have opportunity to reflect on my journey over the past year. The difference this year was coming into the retreat with an abundance mindset. I showed up expecting to be challenged and intending to find even more opportunities for my personal growth. It was exactly what I needed!
This year had amazing speakers including John Maxwell, Anthony Trucks, Tiffani Bova, and Jesse Cole from The Savannah Bananas. With excitement, I want to share some of my key takeaways from the event (beyond the excellent cookies and popcorn!) to both solidify my personal takeaways and inspire you to think about how you’re shifting and growing along your own path.
This year’s event started with John Maxwell reminding us to be intentional with our attendance at Live2Lead. This is John’s first Law of Growth – the Law of Intentionality. My personal intention for the day was to keep the momentum of my growth and to build on my abundance mindset. I aimed to learn and identify gaps in my growth, with a commitment to act on those learnings after the retreat.
John also shared a wonderful teaching—the 6 Cs of Teamwork. This framework reminds us that if we want better team performance, we better improve our leadership. The 6Cs are as follows:
- Communicate constantly – maintain an “open ear” policy and remember that good leaders ask great questions
- Create an environment for team member growth
- Collaborate and work together
- Concentrate on the strengths of each team member
- Celebrate the wins
- Consecrate myself to do my best – how can I be the lifter of my teammates?
After John, former NFL player turned transformational identity shift coach, Anthony Trucks, shared an inspirational message about personal growth leading to success. Anthony had a very difficult upbringing and was a foster child. He highlighted the challenge of having an identity that was often associated with unfavorable stereotypes. He had to change his mindset, and it took a shift toward action that he terms, “work in the dark to shine in the light.” Do the hard work when no one is around and “make shift happen!”
Next up was Tiffani Bova, Executive Advisor, bestselling author, and keynote speaker. She was also Salesforce’s former Growth and Innovation Evangelist. Tiffani spoke about the importance of how we communicate. She encouraged us to be open, be present and connect. I loved her example of an orchestra as it relates to leading teams. We need to surround ourselves with people that will lift us higher – sometimes you need the drummer, and other times you need the guitar. We are the conductors of our story so what will we do differently?
After a wonderful lunch and recognition of our Transformational Leader Award recipient, Lisa O’Dell from Marquardt Switches, the energy in the room went through the roof! Dave Freund had Sweet Caroline playing and he was throwing bags of Cracker Jack into the audience! “So good, so good, so good” rang out through the room! This was to introduce and try to match the energy of our next speaker, Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas. He really blew me away and now I want to go to one of their games! There was so much content, but he shared his Five Es to get “Raving Fans” of our services and products:
- Eliminate Friction – put yourself in the shoes of the fans and find ways to make things better for them
- Entertain Always – provide enjoyment and make it fun
- Experiment – you need to try stuff to find something great
- Engage Deeply – do for one that you wish you could do for many
- Empower Action – do the right things even when its hard
John Maxwell wrapped up the day with a teaching on abundance. He reminded us that all leaders have something in common – they see more than others see. They see the bigger picture and more quickly. His repeated phrase through the teaching was, “more and before.” The final takeaway from me was his question, “How will I intentionally grow every day, and how far can I go?” I will consider this and share with you in future posts.
Yes, you missed a lot if you didn’t attend Live2Lead this year. However, this year’s content is still available through the end of February. If you would like to host a Live2Lead re-broadcast at your organization, email [email protected] to get the conversation started. I’m also excited to share that next year’s event is already scheduled. We will meet again at The Lodge on November 6, 2026 – save the date for an incredible day dedicated to personal growth!