September 26, 2025
S4:E81 LIVE with CAPT (SEL) Desmond Walker, USN
Leadership and Success with Coach BZAbout this episode
S4:E81 🎙️LIVE with CAPT (SEL) Desmond Walker, USN Mark your calendars: The Leadership & Success Podcast with Coach BZ 🎙️ is going LIVE with CAPT (Select) Desmond Walker, U.S. Navy — a decorated leader, thought-provoking author, and mentor shaping the future of naval leadership and beyond. 🔗 LinkedIn: Desmond Walker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/desmond-walker-navy/) 📅 Date: Friday, September 26, 2025 ⏰ Time: 3 PM PT (San Francisco, CA) | 6 PM ET (Washington, D.C.) 📍 LIVE on LinkedIn → [RSVP & Join the Discussion] 🌍 Your Turn: 🗺️ Where are you tuning in from? Drop your city, region, or country in the comments! 🙏🏽 What is one thing you are grateful for today? 💬 Got leadership questions for CAPT Walker? Post them below — we’ll answer LIVE on air! 🎯 After the show: ➡️ Share your three takeaways from the episode ➡️ Tell us one leadership insight you’re applying this week ⚓ CAPT Walker’s journey — from enlisted Sailor to Commanding Officer and now CAPT (SEL) — is packed with lessons on resilience, mentorship, inclusion, and excellence. You don’t want to miss this one! 🌟 What You’ll Learn from CAPT Walker ✨ From Deckplates to Command How a Sailor from Hollandale, Mississippi rose from E-1 to CAPT (SEL) through grit, education, and relentless commitment. You will hear how enlisted beginnings shaped his servant leadership philosophy. ✨ Resilience in the Face of Failure CAPT Walker openly shares how early struggles (like nearly failing to qualify as a SWO/OOD) taught him to reset, focus on controllables, and come back stronger. You will learn how to reframe setbacks as steppingstones. ✨ Building Resilient Teams As Commanding Officer of USS Stout (DDG-55), he led through high-stakes missions, earning the Battle “E” and Combat Action Ribbon. He’ll discuss how to cultivate trust, inclusion, and warfighting excellence in any team. ✨ The Power of Writing & Speaking Up Through U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings articles like “The Burden of a Black Naval Officer” and “The Board Process Is Not the Problem,” he’s influenced conversations on equity, inclusion, and Navy promotion systems. You will learn the impact of courageous thought leadership. ✨ Lessons from Loss & Legacy He honors LTJG Asante McCalla—“lost at sea but not lost in our hearts”—and shares what that tragedy taught him about leadership, remembrance, and caring for your people. ✨ Mentorship & Coaching As a certified resilience-building leader trainer and founder of DDBMC LLC, CAPT Walker equips others with tools to thrive. Expect actionable advice for Naval junior officers and Silicon Valley professionals stepping into leadership. ✨ Leadership Mantras that Last Quotes like “Wake up. Grind. Sleep. Repeat.” and “Focus on what you can control” resonate not just in the wardroom but in boardrooms and startups alike. 👉 Bottom Line: You will walk away inspired, equipped with practical leadership takeaways, and reminded that resilience, inclusion, and integrity are timeless anchors for any leader—whether standing watch at sea or leading in tech. 👉 Tag a colleague, junior officer, or teammate who would benefit from this conversation ❤️🙏🏾 LinkedIn Replay: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7372872509811204096/ #Leadership #Success #Podcast #NavyLeadership #ServantLeadership #CoachBZ