A full-day virtual leadership calibration for first-level team leaders.
Lead Small, Win Big!
You were promoted because you were good at the work.
Now you’re responsible for the people doing it...
BUT...
Small teams don’t hide leadership gaps. They expose them.
Join us virtually on Feb 28 2026
A focused Saturday to reduce leadership friction every week that follows.
Learn from John Maxwell and World-Class Leaders to Elevate Your Impact
This event is ideal for:
First-time managers
Recently promoted supervisors
IT team leads
Healthcare and Nursing team leads
High-performing contributors preparing for leadership (because they know AI is coming for their job anyway!)
If Leadership is already your responsibility or will be soon; this day is for YOU!
You'll walk away with:
Clearer leadership identity beyond individual contribution
Greater confidence in accountability conversations
Stronger delegation clarity (learning how to give work to others)
Practical methods to reduce team friction
Steadier leadership under pressure
You'll learn to lead better than your boss!
Meet This Year's Speakers
Live2Lead Virtual Experience lets you hear from some of today’s highest-caliber business leaders, and enjoy breakout sessions with other attendees (something that didn't happen live!) - all from the comfort of your home or office!
Because these are exclusively licensed replay sessions - we can start them when we feel ready. If there's a great discussion going - we wait. You can't do that at a live event! Imagine telling John Maxwell to hold on a few more minutes before he goes on stage... this is YOUR event, after all!
Every session offers practical tools to help leaders grow and thrive in today’s ever-changing landscape.
John C. Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, speaker, coach, and leadership expert whose work has transformed millions. He has sold over 34 million books, published in more than 50 languages, and authored over 70 titles, including The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 5 Levels of Leadership. His books are regarded as essential resources for personal growth and leadership development.
Jesse Cole, also known as “the guy in the yellow tuxedo,” is the founder of Fans First Entertainment and the owner of the world-famous Savannah Bananas, as well as the Party Animals, Firefighters, and Texas Tailgaters. With the mantra “Fans First. Entertain Always,” the Bananas are on a mission to Make Baseball Fun by creating the Greatest Show in Sports.
Tiffani Bova is a two-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author and one of today’s most sought-after thought leaders on business growth, innovation, and customer experience. She has spent over two decades guiding Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups through the complex challenges of driving top-line results while keeping customers and employees at the center.
Anthony Trucks is a former foster child, NFL football player, competitor on American Ninja Warrior, author, and Identity Shift Coach. From foster care to the NFL and successful business ownership, Anthony has accomplished what statistics would say is impossible.
Mark Cole serves as the CEO of Maxwell Leadership enterprises and has more than 25 years of leadership and team development experience, which uniquely qualifies him to have an integral role and be the champion of the John C. Maxwell legacy.
Valorie Burton, a life strategist and international speaker, is CEO of the Coaching and Positive Psychology (CaPP) Institute. Her life-changing message has an intriguing, research-based emphasis in the pioneering field of applied positive psychology – the study of what happens when things go right with us.
Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of Life Church, an innovative multi-site church and creators of the free YouVersion Family of Bible Apps. He’s a New York Times bestselling author and has written 20 books, including his most recent, The Benefit of Doubt: How Confronting Your Deepest Questions Can Lead to a Richer Faith (February 2025).
D.J. merges over 28 years of IT experience with the leadership methodologies of John Maxwell's Team. He is the founder of Lead Small, Win Big and the upcoming Latchkey Leadership brands. D.J. is the author of several books, and has traveled extensively both as a consultant and speaker. He resides in Middle Tennessee with his wife and two cats - Thor and Loki.
Andrew Biernat is a strategic business consultant and team dynamics specialist who equips leadership teams and managers with practical frameworks to transform workplace engagement and enable cross-functional collaboration. Drawing on his diverse business background across sales, marketing, account management, and project management, he helps teams identify hidden talent patterns and redesign work processes to align with natural strengths. Leaders appreciate his business-minded approach to people development, while individual contributors value the immediate applicability of his methods that improve both job satisfaction and team effectiveness.
The Shift No One Prepared You For
Most first-level leaders were promoted for performance.
Few were prepared for:
Leading former peers
Difficult performance conversations
Delegating without micromanaging
Building accountability
Reducing small-team friction
Leadership confidence does not appear magically.
It develops through preparation.
This day is designed to raise that level.
Travel Budget: $0
Network online from home with like-minded business leaders and professionals. Live2Lead provides an empowering atmosphere to all who are willing to grow; this event requires no travel!
A Saturday Event?
Leadership inspiration and training rarely fit into a normal workweek.
This focused Saturday gives uninterrupted time to recalibrate how you lead... so Monday through Friday runs with less friction.
One intentional day now can strengthen every week that follows.
World-Class Content
You'll learn from respected speakers with insights you can immediately turn into real-world application.
With energetic content from innovators like Jesse Cole - you'll be charged up and ready to take on next week!
Conference Host
D.J. Eshelman
Leadership Coach, Trainer, & Speaker
D.J. Eshelman is a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Speaker. He currently operates as an Independent Executive Director/Corporate Facilitator with Maxwell Leadership.
He is certified as a DISC Consultant and Trainer.
He is the Founder of Thrive-IT.com and host of the associated YouTube and Podcast channels.
He is the author of two books and a decorated Citrix Consultant known worldwide, having served dozens of Fortune 500 companies since 1999.
D.J. merges over 20 years of IT Consulting with Leadership Development from his own and other leading methodologies. He specializes in empowering people and organizations to reach their full potential, using expert coaching and proven, research-based strategies to increase effectiveness in each person.
Your Admission Includes...
9 World Class Sessions
An All-Day Event Plus Bonus sessions and materials
worth over $499
Pre-Launch Membership
Exclusive Access to the first 6 months of the Lead Small, Win Big Leadership Development program...
Valued at over $1194!!
Private Online Community and Group Coaching
The fun doesn't end at the event! As part of your 6 months access, you'll be getting access to a community of other growing leaders as well as exclusive group coaching!
Book Mastermind and Lunch and Learns
You'll be eligible to join our new book study masterminds, as well as attend private Lunch and Learn sessions - worth over $600!
A Value of over $2500 - for the cost of a single dinner for two!
Frequent Asked Questions
HOW WILL I BENEFIT FROM ATTENDING LIVE2LEAD?
Attending this event will provide you with a number of key benefits. You will:
✔ Gain powerful, fresh insights from world-renowned leaders, including John Maxwell, Jesse Cole, Tiffani Bova, and Anthony Trucks.
✔ Learn practical strategies to lead yourself and others more effectively.
✔ Have the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals and grow your leadership circle through transformative networking.
✔ Develop a new vision for your personal and professional growth.
ARE THE SPEAKERS APPEARING LIVE ON SATURDAY?
If that were the case, tickets would be a LOT more expensive ;-)
The content has been licensed to D.J. exclusively to create a delayed 'simulcast' event, which means while the sessions were recorded in August 2025 - we host up to three events in the 'Live2Lead Season' of which this is the final event of the season!
This also means that recordings are NOT made available to you as part of this event. On March 1st, the files are DELETED and cannot be used again. So while they're not live - this broadcast really is your last opportunity to experience them.
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WHAT IS THE AGENDA FOR THE DAY?
The agenda will likely change in nuance - the idea is to have everyone there all day to participate in discussions (this is not meant to be a passive event!) but we'll send out updates a little before the event with updates to the overall intended schedule.
Keep in mind - the idea with this more personalized event is that we be flexible enough to make sure YOU are getting what you need out of it. If a discussion is going longer and we want to delay a speaker's video... we delay it! This is the power of this event.
-You'll be sent a few pre-event videos that you can either watch on your own - or we'll broadcast them starting at 8 am Central US time.
-Our Interactive sessions begin at 9:00 am Central Time. After a formal welcome from D.J. about leading small teams in 2026, you'll get to hear from John Maxwell. You'll EXPERIENCE our favorite session from the super-energetic Jesse Cole, and get a beyond the business lesson from Tiffani Bova.
-We'll have an hour break at Noon Central with an interactive "Lunch and Learn" session to learn more about the Lead Small, Win Big Pre-Launch.
-At about 1 pm we'll continue with a knockout session from Anthony Trucks, a heart-lifting message from Mark Cole, and an amazing session on Resilience from Valorie Burton! We'll formally conclude around 3 pm... however -
-There's some bonus material that you can either stick around for or we'll have for you later including Life Church founder Craig Groeschel who gave a truly though-provoking talk that invites conversation! In this optional session we'll talk more about the implications of leadership and personal belief, and we'll stay live for as long as people want to chat. This will be your opportunity to ask DJ any questions, or just hang out with him and other emerging leaders!
WHAT IS LEAD SMALL, WIN BIG?
Lead Small = A focus on Smaller, Tactical Teams.
Win Big = A much, MUCH higher return on investment for Team Leaders that are largely NOT being invested in today, versus investments at "the top" that see improvement - but at a much lower rate of return as the impact is not as great.
Lead Small, Win Big is an emerging (not yet fully created) program from D.J. Eshelman working with Maxwell Leadership for much of the content. The goal is to provide skill development both for individuals and corporate teams. This will take on several forms in due time, but will begin with an online membership forum with resources and group coaching. Over time, Mastermind book studies, activities, and group coaching will be added.
The idea here is to make Team Leadership Development available to both corporately billed and privately invested options.
...but it has to be validated first, and that's our goal for 2026: to create programs that will be of so much value, saying 'no' would feel foolish!
In order to do that, we're recruiting people that are serious about giving feedback, reviews, and wanting to grow in their leadership. That's worth US investing in, so that's why we're including 6 months as part of your Live2Lead bonuses. Our hope is that you'll see so much value in it that you will work with us to convince your leadership that all of the leaders in your organization need this as well!
If you have additional questions - After Craig talks about small tactical teams, DJ will open it up for questions about this emerging program and even ask for your ideas about how to make it great!
WHAT’S YOUR RETURN POLICY?
Live2Lead is content we license for each event only. All ticket sales are final. There are no returns or refunds... however - if life comes up and you cannot attend, we'll work with you to apply credit toward other event or product as we can, and you'll still have access to the bonuses!
