It’s not theory.
It’s deeply personal.
And professionally, it’s personal too: the through line and bottom line of every failure I’ve experienced.
A team stops offering the truth and sharing ideas.
A teenager goes silent, signaling something serious.
A relationship ends, sadly surprising both partners.
I’ve lived all three, and more.
And now I help others avoid my past missteps through one simple-to-learn skill:
Next-Level Listening™.
But it’s not your fault.
Both nature and nurture are to blame.
Research reveals that our brains are wired to hear well, but not to listen well.
Schools teach us many things, but little about listening.
Society and social media aren’t much help either, offering up more diatribe and division than true conversation and community.
As a result, we struggle mightily when it comes to the most crucial component of effective communication and authentic connection: listening.
In a word: everything. Literally everything.
You start listening like your life depends on it.
Because it does. Both at work and at home.
After all, when the stakes are at their highest, we don’t talk or tweet or shout or shoot our way to a better world.
Work with me 1:1 or invite me to speak,
and experience Next-Level Listening™ firsthand.
I was silently heading toward bottom.
Rock bottom.
On the outside, I was quite the shiny penny.
Diplomas from fancy schmancy schools, promotions, results.
On the inside, I was the opposite. Exhausted, depressed, and deeply disconnected from others and myself.
Then life offered me a wake-up call I couldn’t ignore, along with lessons I’m now committed to sharing with others.
This is my story.
I’d love to listen to yours.
With a light-hearted, personal style and hands-on approach, Bradley shares with leaders, sales forces, entrepreneurs, partners, parents, educators, and students about the power of listening and how it can level-up every area of our lives.
From improved sales and team performance at work to deeper intimacy and peace at home, Bradley offers audiences tips, tricks, and strategies proven to have an immediate impact.
Bring Bradley to your event, and give your audience a gift guaranteed to change their lives for the better:
Next-Level Listening™.
Award-winning, best-selling author interested in all things listening, leading, living, and loving, Bradley’s essays, insights, and stories invite laughter, reflection, healing, growth, and grace.
Known for his valiant vulnerability, good humor, and soulful approach to difficult topics, Bradley’s reflections encourage us all to listen more deeply and live more intentionally.
Unlike chartreuse, speedos, and neck tattoos, humility, it turns out, looks great on everyone.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that being humbled by any variety of life’s sucker punches proves a painful teacher. Whether you are navigating middle school or middle age, being brought to one’s knees hurts like hell.
But there’s more good news. Great news, actually.
In what can feel like such a long stretch of time, eventually, the sorrow starts to recede; the embarrassment…
It was my twelfth birthday. I decided to wait up until midnight, hoping he would call. I wanted to give him every last possible moment to remember.
As the clock struck twelve, I sobbed.
Thirty-three years later, on my forty-fifth birthday, I waited up again.
Over the years, he had missed many birthdays, so this year’s omission was no surprise. The surprise was in my response.
There I was, a grown man, crying like a little boy.
Considering the negatives associated with these dysfunctional parenting tropes, it makes sense that educators often decry:
“Don’t be a helicopter parent.”
“Don’t be a bulldozer parent.”
“And please, please, please don’t be a drone parent.”
Lots of don’ts. But what’s a good parent to do?
Do seek to be a lifeguard parent.
(And educators, let’s seek to be lifeguard teachers and lifeguard leaders!)
That night, I remember my mom preparing dinner as I practiced my breakdancing moves. It was the 80s, and Michael Jackson mania had come to suburban Minnesota. While my mom stirred spaghetti sauce, I spun on my back and moonwalked in socks across our kitchen’s linoleum floor. Nearby rested our golden retriever, Taffy.
The night felt calm. Warm. Joyful. Best yet, it felt normal.
At one point, I looked up at her and asked: Mom, if you were granted three wishes, what would you wish for?
Meanwhile, outside in the cold and not unlike me at sunny Stanford, the Tribe of Judah trumpeted their truth.
Inside, with a small candle flickering gently between us, Mary and I sat together with heads bowed. Basking in a warmth where words ceased to be spoken, time fell fallow, and for a brief moment, the now and the forever fused together into one. As two saved souls in the city, our silence rested where the sublime fell short, in a sacred space of answers still waiting to be named and known.
There’s a bigger truth in my friend’s feedback, a lesson for all leaders to learn: none of us are as funny as our teams’ chuckles would suggest. We’ve been duped by courtesy laughs. I’m really not that funny. Nor are you. You’re likely funnier than I am, but you’re not as funny as your employees would have you believe.
But why this disconnect between perception and reality?
Power dynamics inherent to hierarchy are to blame. It’s because you are the boss.
Davies journeyed alongside me during one of the most difficult and challenging phases of my life. Through his questions, listening, and feedback, he helped me find what I was looking for. Davies does an incredible job of creating a safe space to be raw and vulnerable. I am eternally grateful for our relationship and thankful he was there for me when I needed it most.
Fantastic, funny, and so relevant. I was going to skip out early from the conference and am so glad that I stayed.
Self-deprecating and insightful.
Davies' writing is brilliant, courageous, and authentic.
Funny, thought-provoking, and honest.
Davies balances a calm, caring demeanor with questions that consistently get to the heart of the matter. He also combines lots of compassion with good amounts of humor such that I feel safe sharing with him, supported when I do, and stronger after each session...He's humble, hilarious, and super helpful.
Davies' presentation on Next-Level Listening was thoughtful, engaging, and highly relevant. He delivered the content with great insight and enthusiasm, making it an impactful session for all participants. Davies was a pleasure to work with, and his authenticity significantly enhanced the experience.
Davies has a rare talent of using story, personal experience, and learned wisdom to breathe life into others. And he makes us laugh in the process.
Davies has a way of gently unpacking complex challenges to get at the heart of the matter...and the heart and soul of a person. He is a thoughtful, empowering guide for both professional and personal journeys. And he has a wonderful sense of humor!
LOVED this training! So applicable to not only my professional life, but my personal life too.
Fabulous and tangible information!
Profound and deeply thought-provoking.
Davies writes with heart, insight, and wit.
Davies is a grounded and authentic coach who challenged me with just the right amount of compassion and tough love...I owe a great deal of my current trajectory to his willingness to journey with me.
Davies captured the attention of our conference attendees...they experienced ranges of emotions from laughter to tears….A great presentation!
I am drawn to Bradley’s emotional vulnerability.
Raw and honest.
I was able to reach some transformational insights about myself through my work with Davies. He is gracious and encouraging and also doesn't shy away from challenging you...His passion for coaching and guiding comes through in every interaction.
Great content!
Terrific presentation and I absolutely took home things I can use.
Enlightening and empowering!
Honest, heartfelt, and often humorous prose.
Inspiring, vulnerable, entertaining.
Amazing! Davies has the gift to put people at ease and help them to open up. He asks the right questions and helps me come up with insights about myself that I was not conscious about. I absolutely love working with Davies!
We heard such positive feedback from Davies' sessions. Mostly, we appreciate the love and humanity that emanates from his work.
Davies is honest, vulnerable, and shares his own failings with grace and humor in the hopes of helping others learn from his mistakes.
Working with Davies has been indispensable for my leadership development and personal growth. Our sessions are insightful, thoughtful, funny, and I always leave with helpful perspectives. I can’t imagine doing this work without a leadership coach, and I can’t imagine doing it with anyone else.
Loved it!
Loved the storytelling and various listening activities.
Relatable delivery.
Davies’ work is the perfect balance of raw, real, practical and entertaining.
Funny and insightful.
Davies is a great listener, supportive, attentive, extremely helpful, and inspiring.
Wonderfully meaningful and engaging sessions. Davies’ time with us was a huge success.
Davies’ offering of courageous transparency and truth-telling is refreshing.
Davies actively listens, challenges me with alternative ideas, suggests useful approaches/language, and feels very authentic. Coaching with Davies is uniquely insightful and actionable and something I haven't experienced in my career.
Everyone needs this!
A powerful session.
SUCH a fantastic session with really challenging takeaways.
Davies is an incredible writer.
Davies' wisdom and humor fill every page.
Davies is personable, asks great questions, and I always enjoy our time together. He brings great knowledge and a welcomed humility to his work as a coach. I couldn't recommend him more highly.
Davies' presentation style is refreshing. He is authentic and vulnerable. Davies has a gift for making the space intimate, captivating the audience and equipping them with tools they can immediately implement.
Davies’ essays are honest, straight-forward, thoughtful and humorous.
Working with Davies has been a game changer for me, both personally and professionally. I trust him to help me navigate any challenge thrown my way.
The balance of humanity, humor, and serious topics was refreshing and created a safe space for vulnerable conversation.
10/10!!!
Davies’ humor, transparency, and passion make his work a real pleasure to read.
My partnership with Davies is amazing. He helps me break through barriers and get clarity through self-discovery. He creates psychological safety, and every session has proven transformative. Working with Davies has changed me as a leader.
Davies connected with our group right away and was motivational. He was easy to work with prior to his presentation and he customized what he did to fit our needs. I highly recommend Davies and his work.
Davies makes readers feel heard and seen…and makes us laugh too.
Davies writes beautifully and in a way that invites you to keep reading.
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Warning: Side effects will likely include making more money, having better sex, improving your relationships, connecting with your kids, elevating your leadership, winning the next election, and even surviving the zombie apocalypse.