Forge Your
Leadership Edge

Collection of podcast episode covers from 'Tales of Leadership' featuring headshots of various speakers, each with a black and gold logo and episode number.
Collection of podcast episode covers from 'Tales of Leadership' featuring headshots of various speakers, each with a black and gold logo and episode number.
A family of five enjoying a fall day outdoors on a paved path surrounded by trees with colorful autumn leaves. The two children are playing and running, while the parents smile and watch.

Explore podcasts, articles, and practical leadership resources designed to help you grow into a more Purposeful, Accountable Leader.

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We want to hear from you! Submit your question below for a chance to have it featured during our “Ask a Leader” segment on a future episode of Tales of Leadership. Your question may be answered in real time by host Joshua McMillion or one of our featured guests.

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Do you have a story worth sharing? We are looking for leaders, innovators, and everyday people making an inspired impact. No matter your background, if you are leading with purpose, overcoming challenges, or serving others, we want to hear from you.

Click the link below and fill out the guest submission form to be considered for a future episode.

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Explore the Leadership Armory

podcast Joshua K. McMillion podcast Joshua K. McMillion

#125: Jason “Buzz” Lewis - Formation-Based Leadership

Jason “Buzz” Lewis is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, coach, mentor, and leadership practitioner with more than 26 years of experience developing people and leading organizations. Today, he serves through youth sports, faith-based leadership development, and business consulting while co-founding Home Team Standard alongside his wife, Des. His passion is helping strengthen the homes, teams, and relationships that shape future leaders.

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#121: Jason Sharp — Learning to Suffer, Learning to Lead

ason Lee Sharp’s story is one of hardship, discipline, service, and transformation. Raised in Chicago amid drugs, homelessness, and the pull of the streets, Jason learned early that suffering could either break him or build him. Today, he is a businessman, author, soldier, mentor, and leader dedicated to helping others turn adversity into strength.

In this episode, Jason shares how his challenging childhood shaped his mindset, how military school redirected his life, and how leadership became the throughline of his journey. From founding Sharp Leader and Sherris Lounge to serving as an infantry company commander in the Kansas Army National Guard, Jason’s path reveals what it means to stay alert, endure pain with purpose, and grow through discomfort.

We also dive into his book, Eyes Wide Open: Learning to Suffer, his work with youth through gritKC, and the lessons he has learned about mentorship, resilience, and choosing growth when life gets hard.

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#114 Robert Yarnall - From Battlefield Lessons to Everyday Leadership

Robert Yarnall is the VP of Development & Impact at the Robert Irvine Foundation. A retired Master Gunnery Sergeant with 25 years of service in the USMC, Robert also spent 20 years as a civics teacher and coach. In addition to his military and teaching career, he is a community leader, involved in local government and charitable organizations, and a small business owner.

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#113 Isaac Lee - From Cockpit to Corporate: A Marine's Leadership Journey

Isaac G. Lee, a native of Lubbock, Texas, is a graduate of Texas Tech University and a retired Marine Corps officer and aviator. Over his two decades of service, Isaac completed seven overseas deployments, including four combat tours in the Middle East. He served as the Commanding Officer of an operational CH-53E squadron before retiring in 2017. Now residing in San Diego, California, Isaac works as an operations executive and dedicates his free time to volunteering for fellow veterans and enjoying time with his family. A fan of baseball and football, Isaac is also the author of HANGAR 4, his first book.

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#112 Dave Rosenberg - How Leaders Remove Obstacles and Create Success

Dave Rosenberg, a former F-14 naval officer and founder of Locked on Leadership, is a top authority on radical accountability. As the premier expert in this field, he equips military-minded leaders with tactical strategies to build high-performance teams that exceed expectations. His approach goes beyond transforming individuals into self-directed achievers; it fosters a culture of excellence that remains mission-ready long after motivation fades.

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#110 Robert Roy - Leadership Under Fire: Insights from a Navy SEAL Veteran

Rob Roy is a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, with 21 years of service in the SEAL teams, including over a decade with the elite SEAL Team Six. After retiring, he transitioned to entrepreneurship, founding Trident Coaching and Consulting to deliver transformative leadership programs. Rob is an award-winning executive coach, a sought-after public speaker, and the author of Leadership Lessons of the Navy SEALs: The Art of War. His leadership training programs, including "Leadership Under Fire" and "Battlefield to the Boardroom," have received accolades, including multiple YPO-WPO BEST of the BEST awards. Rob's insights on leadership, resilience, and team-building have been featured on Bloomberg TV, Fox News, and NBC.

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#109 Michael Brabner - From Infantry to Innovation

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Brabner’s journey from infantry combat leader to military robotics innovator shows how leadership can transform even the largest organizations. In this episode, he shares raw lessons from combat, where the absence of simple tools like soldier-borne sensors cost lives, and how those experiences fueled his drive to reshape the military’s approach to unmanned systems. Brabner reveals how visionary leadership—rooted in Boy Scout values, hardened in Ranger School, and tested in combat—has turned fragile, expensive assets into modular, mission-ready tools that give soldiers a decisive edge. His story is a powerful reminder that disruptive change requires both innovation and leaders willing to challenge the status quo.

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#104 Derik Kearns - Army Infantry SGM

SGM Derek Kearns shares hard-won lessons from over two decades in the Army—covering attention to detail, adaptive leadership, and investing in people. From combat zones to Ranger School, this episode unpacks what it really means to lead with purpose under pressure.

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#103 Joseph Polanin - U.S. Navy retired and CEO

What makes a truly exceptional leader?


Is it position, authority, or something deeper? In this profound conversation with Joseph Polanin, retired Navy Captain and award-winning CEO, we uncover leadership wisdom forged through 30 years of leading elite teams in high-risk environments across more than 1,000 combat missions.

Joe reframes leadership in a way that will transform how you view your role: "Leadership is not a position, rank, or title. It's a process of learning, growing, and caring about other people." This powerful perspective has guided his journey from Naval Academy graduate to commanding EOD units worldwide, where the ethos of "quiet professionalism" – doing what's right regardless of who gets credit – became his north star.

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