What if some of the best leadership lessons come from people you’d never put on a company values poster?

On this episode of The Worst Advice I Ever Got, brought to you by Smith + Howard, Sean and JB sit down with leadership consultant, speaker and author Steve Williams. After more than 45 years in the electronics industry, six books and over 200 articles on leadership, quality and management, Steve has spent a lot of time studying what actually makes people follow someone.

His latest book takes that research into some uncomfortable territory. Steve looks at figures like Blackbeard, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan and Al Capone and asks a question most leadership programs avoid: if these people built loyalty, negotiated effectively, created powerful brands and influenced others, are we really better off pretending they have nothing to teach us?

To be clear, nobody here is endorsing piracy, organized crime or invading a neighboring department. The point is to separate the behavior from the lesson and look honestly at why certain leadership tactics worked.

The conversation gets into trust, challenging the status quo, the danger of insecure leaders, why groupthink makes teams weaker and the four questions Steve uses to expose bad business processes. It’s leadership advice from some very questionable sources, which makes it a pretty natural fit for this show.

• (00:00:00) - The Worst Advice I Ever Got
• (00:00:54) - The Worst Advice I Ever Got
• (00:04:27) - The Notorious: Lessons From History's Most Ruthless
• (00:07:34) - What Is It About These People That Made a Following?
• (00:11:32) - Steve on Going Down The Path
• (00:13:20) - Leaders: Shattering the Status-Quo
• (00:15:53) - Insecure Leadership: The Problem
• (00:20:41) - Thanks for Appearing On The Podcast
• (00:22:31) - Steve on Bad Advice and Leadership
• (00:24:52) - The Worst Advice I Ever Got

“It’s all in your head” isn’t helpful advice. It’s dismissive.

It takes a real struggle and turns it into a personal failure: if nothing’s physically wrong, why can’t you just get over it?

On this episode of The Worst Advice I Ever Got, brought to you by Smith + Howard, Sean and JB are joined by sports psychiatrist Dr. Jimmy Moley to unpack why that phrase can do more harm than people realize, especially for athletes who are already under pressure to look tough, stay focused and keep performing.

Jimmy explains how athletes can internalize that message, blame themselves and start believing that asking for help means they’re weak or not cut out for the sport. The conversation also gets into the other side of the equation: the mental tools athletes are told to ignore can be the same ones that improve confidence, focus and performance.

They also talk about athlete identity, burnout, overtraining, youth sports, early specialization and why parents should probably be just as loud with their support after the strikeout as they are after the home run.

Plus, Sean and JB make enough old baseball references to guarantee at least one dad feels extremely seen.

• (00:00:00) - The Worst Advice I Ever Got
• (00:00:45) - It's All In Your Head
• (00:05:47) - On Athletes' Mental Health
• (00:10:43) - Kobe Bryant on Mental Fitness
• (00:12:06) - How to Help an Athlete Cope With Their Game
• (00:18:02) - What Can Parents Do Better?
• (00:18:42) - Chris Cleveland on Multiple Sports for Kids
• (00:24:14) - Mental health support in sports
• (00:24:55) - Jimmy Kimmel on Helping Athletes Who Are Struggling
• (00:26:42) - The Worst Advice Ever Given To An Athlete

• (00:00:00) - Worst Advice I Ever Got
• (00:00:44) - The Worst Advice You Ever Got
• (00:06:20) - on Working Hard to Get A Degree
• (00:06:44) - In the Elevator With Rich People
• (00:11:55) - What positives came from not pursuing college?
• (00:15:00) - No College Is Necessary For You
• (00:17:38) - Wayne on The Worst Advice I Ever Got