Bad Days Leadership

Episode 6 - I Doubled Down When I Should Have Shut My Mouth w/Stuart Deming

Stuart Deming — co-founder of XPLR.NASH, serial entrepreneur, and content creator with sixty jobs since age six — joins Dr. Matt Paden on the Bad Days Leadership podcast. Stewart shares the story of getting physically abused by a football coach for underperforming, only to find out he had a disease that required a back brace for two years. He talks about walking into a pitch meeting, misreading every signal, and doubling down on a proposal when he should have stopped talking — a mistake that permanently damaged the relationship. He gets raw about the loneliness of entrepreneurship, having $100K in contracts cancelled in a single month while $60K in invoices went unpaid, and the pastor who taught him "the sharpest knives are in the friendliest hands" before putting one in his back. Plus — the six-month prayer that reshaped how he thinks about fame, success, and wealth.

Episode 5 - "A Boss Banned Talking and Replaced It With Red Solo Cups. It Got Worse." w/Amanda Box

Amanda Box — founder of Box Communications, communication evangelist, and the "Unleasher of the Awesome" — joins Dr. Matt Paden on the Bad Days Leadership podcast. Amanda shares the jaw-dropping story of a coach who opened the season by handing out "100 Ways to Have a Losing Season," a boss who banned talking in a call center and replaced it with red solo cups on filing cabinets (productivity dropped by a LOT), and the client relationship that stressed her into cold sores because she couldn't figure out why nothing she delivered was good enough. She breaks down why defensiveness is the red flag she spots fastest in leaders, how a simple pocket phrase can save you from blowing up a conversation, and why failure is just information — not identity. Plus, the retirement story about Joe that proves your leadership brand is the stories other people tell about you.

Episode 4 - "I Spent Years Repeating The Same Mistake Because I Wouldn't Accept The Data Right In Front Of Me" w/Will Acuff

Will Acuff — social entrepreneur, author of No Elevator to Everest, and co-founder of Corner to Corner — joins Dr. Matt Paden on the Bad Days Leadership podcast. Will gets honest about moving into a low-income Nashville neighborhood with a million wrong ideas about poverty, spending years repeating the same mistake because he refused to accept the data right in front of him, and how his passion kept showing up as impatience and anger early in his career. He breaks down why overconfidence gets confused for great leadership, why unteachable people won't last on his team, and the blank sheet of paper exercise he recommends for processing failure without letting emotion drive your next decision. Plus — why tying your self-worth to your outcomes puts you on the world's worst roller coaster, and why he refuses to believe the lie that life just has to suck.

Episode 3 - "I Walked In Like A Superhero And Forgot To Honor Who Came Before Me" w/Dr. Darwin Mason, Jr.

Dr. Darwin Mason Jr. — educator, minister, consultant, and community leader — joins Dr. Matt Paden on the Bad Days Leadership podcast. Darwin opens up about walking into a turnaround school with a superhero complex, only to learn the staff was still grieving the leader he replaced. He shares how a bad hire derailed two and a half years of progress because he wasn't courageous enough to have the hard conversation soon enough, why loving the idea of leadership without loving the people is a recipe for disconnection, and how leading 700 kids also meant leading every parent and stakeholder attached to the building. From kindergarten bags that couldn't be changed to body language red flags he watches for in every room, Darwin brings real talk on humility, trust, and why failure isn't the end of the road — it's part of the process.

Episode 2 - "I Was Texting Under The Table Because I Didn't Know The Words" w/Dr. John Delony

Dr. John Delony joins Dr. Matt Paden on Bad Days Leadership. In this episode, John shares the story of getting publicly exposed for pretending to understand a $20M financial decision, why he spent 15 years thinking "never say I don't know" was good leadership, and the hiring blind spot he still can't fix. They also break down what real crisis leadership looks like (from a bus wreck that sent students to five hospitals), why feedback only works inside relationship, and the three phrases John uses daily to stay regulated as a leader.