From Sports to Leadership: Unlocking High Performance with Justin Jantz

Topics discussed in this episode with time stamps

00:00 – 00:46 “I got offered an opportunity to go and to learn about banking. And I knew nothing about banking at that time. And I’d been recruiting. And I’d built some skills that could potentially come over to banking. Game planning and that kind of strategy and the preparation that goes into a week. A lot of blocking. Blocking and tackling. A lot of fundamental, you know, things that are just, like, good, sound fundamentals are applicable across the board.” — Justin Jantz

00:00 – 01:05 Welcome to Peppershock Media’s Marketing Expedition Podcast

01:04 – 02:19 About Justin

02:20 – 06:51 Marketing Essentials Moment: Business Athlete Coach

06:52 – 11:25 Welcome to the show, Justin!

11:26 – 15:16 Entering the Banking World

15:17 – 16:54 Insights in Banking

16:55 – 18:24 Journey into Leadership Consulting

18:25 – 20:01 The Complete Leader Program

20:02 – 23:44 The Importance of Coaching in Business

23:45 – 24:20 Poderific, baby! Whether you’re looking for a podcast studio to rent or need help with the entire production and distribution of your podcast, we gotcha covered. 

24:21 – 25:10 Marketing Journey with Price Associates

25:11 – 29:21 Building Relationships and Networking

29:22 – 32:07 Success and Fulfillment in Coaching

32:08 – 35:36 Understanding DISC Assessments

35:37 – 39:58 Connecting with Potential Clients

39:59 – 46:06 Strategic Advising

46:07 – 49:24 Reach out to Justin

49:25 – 49:58 Thank you so much, Justin! Share this podcast, give us a review, and enjoy your marketing journey!

49:59 – 50:45 Join the Marketing Expedition Community today!

Like what you hear, but need more information?

Meet with Rhea Allen

————————————————————————————————————————

Full Transcript

Intro: Welcome to the Marketing Expedition podcast, an auditory journey through the latest in marketing, branding, and advertising. Now, here’s your Marketing Expedition guide, Rhea Allen.

Rhea Allen: On this episode of the Marketing Expedition podcast, I get to speak with Justin Jantz. He helps leaders and organizations solve complex challenges, strengthen leadership capacity, and develop new ways of thinking that advance people, culture, and performance.

Throughout his career—spanning commercial banking, coaching, officiating, teaching, and civic and nonprofit governance—Justin has partnered with teams and individuals across sectors to unlock greater impact and outcomes. Today, Justin is transitioning into organizational strategy and leadership consulting, bringing a grounded perspective shaped by real-world execution, intentional leadership, and a people-centered approach.

Justin’s approach aligns with the belief that people development is organizational development, and that sustainable growth requires both strategic insight and relational intelligence. He’s passionate about leveraging assessments, coaching, and collaborative frameworks to help individuals and teams navigate change, strengthen culture, and expand their leadership impact. You’ll see why I call him the business coach and the coach of business.

He’s also in our studio today, so you’ll hear directly from him. But first, it’s time for your Marketing Essentials Moment—the basics you need to build your brand and your bottom line.

Marketing Essentials Moment

Rhea Allen: Today’s topic is something fun that happened while I was interviewing Justin. We accidentally came up with a phrase that fits him perfectly: the business athlete coach.

If you’re running a business, you’re an athlete of sorts. You have to practice, perform, and stay consistent—just like athletes do. And just like athletes have coaches, business leaders need coaches too.

Athletes often have multiple coaches: a skills coach, a fitness coach, a mindset coach. In business, it’s the same. You need support for performance, mindset, leadership, and culture.

From a marketing perspective, think like an athlete:

• Measure your reps and track your progress
• Run the drills consistently
• Reduce emotional whiplash when things don’t go your way
• Learn from setbacks and keep moving forward
• Know your competition and build a strategy to win

Marketing isn’t about quick wins. It’s about conditioning: building capacity, building your brand, building awareness, strengthening your messaging, creating a content library, growing your email list, capturing testimonials, and building case studies.

That’s where Justin comes in. He helps develop teams, leadership, and culture—everything a business athlete needs to perform at a higher level.

With that, let’s get into the interview.

Interview

Rhea Allen: Welcome to the Marketing Expedition podcast. I’m your host, Rhea Allen. I’m the President and CEO of Peppershock Media and the founder of the Marketing Expedition community. Today’s guest is Justin Jantz with Price Associates. Welcome to the Peppershock Poderific podcast recording studio, Justin.

Justin Jantz: Thank you for having me.

Rhea Allen: I’m so happy you’re here. Price Associates has been one of our longest-running clients since we started back in 2003. Isn’t that cool?

Justin Jantz: That’s amazing. That’s 23 years.

Rhea Allen: Over two decades.

Justin Jantz: It’s really cool to hear about that relationship.

Rhea Allen: I’m glad you’re now part of Price Associates. You’ve worked in a few different industries before landing here. Let’s start with your background. You’re a Boise State alum.

Justin Jantz: I am.

Rhea Allen: Go Broncos.

Justin Jantz: Yeah. I went to Boise State and studied accounting. I started in 1998.

Rhea Allen: That 1999 year was probably a memorable one.

Justin Jantz: It was. That year almost cost me college. It took a lot of work to recover from it.

Justin Jantz: I studied accounting because I was following in my dad’s footsteps. He had a successful career as an accountant. But as I got into it, I realized I didn’t enjoy it. I kept going because accountants always seem to have work.

Rhea Allen: I can’t imagine enjoying accounting. No offense to accountants.

Justin Jantz: It’s always interesting when I meet an accountant who loves it. I ask them what they enjoy, and it makes sense—because I don’t enjoy those things. That’s how I knew I made the right decision.

Justin Jantz: The degree has been useful, but I didn’t use it much. I minored in political science, and that helped my GPA. Back then, people would say, “What are you going to do with that?”

Rhea Allen: The classic poli-sci question.

Justin Jantz: Exactly. I worked hard, got my grades up, and met my future wife around sophomore or junior year. That helped me refocus and get out of the environment that caused my GPA dip.

Justin Jantz: After college, I worked for a couple years, but I kept thinking about sports. I’d coached high jump at my high school, coached my then-wife’s younger brothers’ travel basketball team, and coached AAU basketball. I also officiated basketball. Sports were always part of my life.

So I decided to go back to school for sports management. I applied to several schools and got accepted to Northern Colorado in Greeley.

Rhea Allen: Accounting to sports management—much more fun.

Justin Jantz: A lot more enjoyable. My grades reflected that. I was probably the only accounting major in the program.

Justin Jantz: We needed a six-credit internship, and the easiest option was on campus. I got involved with the athletic department at Northern Colorado. A classmate—who’s now coaching football at Southern Illinois—helped me clarify what I wanted to do. That led to a role as Director of Football Operations at Northern Colorado.

Rhea Allen: That explains why you know football. My oldest son used to play.

Justin Jantz: I’ve been around the game a lot. Athletics crosses over into the business world more than people realize.

Rhea Allen: Teamwork, camaraderie, culture—sports and business overlap.

Justin Jantz: Absolutely. As Director of Football Operations, I handled everything off the field: travel, transportation, hotels, meals, camps. But I missed coaching technique and game planning—the X’s and O’s.

So I took a job at Arizona Western, a junior college in Yuma. They no longer play football, and the whole league shut down. It was sad—there was a lot of history there.

That path eventually took me to Montana, where I coached at an NAIA school for four years. We turned the program around and had a lot of success.

Justin Jantz: While I was there, I got offered an opportunity to learn banking. I knew nothing about banking at the time.

Rhea Allen: But you had an accounting degree.

Justin Jantz: Exactly. And I’d been recruiting, building skills that transferred well—game planning, strategy, preparation.

Rhea Allen: Blocking and tackling… just in a different arena.

Justin Jantz: That’s right. A lot of fundamentals apply across the board.

Rhea Allen: And you worked on the commercial banking side, right?

Justin Jantz: Yes. I worked for a family-owned commercial bank in Billings—very competitive and efficient. We were consistently top one or two in Montana on efficiency metrics. I learned from a great banker who I’m still friends with.

Then I had opportunities to come back to Boise and grow my banking career. I spent about 10 years in banking total.

Rhea Allen: Long enough to realize it wasn’t what you wanted forever.

Justin Jantz: The banker’s role felt a lot like being an official. I wanted to be in the game more. Banking gave me a front-row seat to all kinds of businesses—how they make money, what high-performing companies do consistently.

When I left banking, I wasn’t sure what was next. Then I met Ron Price.

Rhea Allen: One of my favorite mentors. We’ve recorded him on the podcast a couple times, too.

Justin Jantz: I didn’t do my homework on that.

Rhea Allen: We’ll find the episodes. They’re some of the top downloaded.

Justin Jantz: I’ve been listening to his Complete Leader podcast—there are about 155 episodes.

Rhea Allen: Brian helped produce that in our studio.

Justin Jantz: I hope he has good memories of it.

Justin Jantz: Ron and I connected in December 2024 and started meeting. We had a great connection and great conversations. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but Ron kept meeting with me and setting follow-ups.

Before that, I knew business consultants existed, but I didn’t really understand what they did. As Ron showed me his work—TTI Insights and the Complete Leader program—I realized it wasn’t just coaching. It was a fundamental way a business can operate.

Rhea Allen: From football coach to business coach.

Justin Jantz: I love that. Coaching has always been in my blood. When I was a kid, those little sports cards would ask what you want to be when you grow up. Mine said “coach” or “teacher.” Maybe I knew and forgot.

Rhea Allen: Now it’s the game of business.

Justin Jantz: Exactly. There’s a lot of crossover. I’m interested in optimization—personal optimization and how it drives performance. I worked with high achievers in banking—people willing to take risks and bet on themselves. I wanted to help them succeed.

Ron was running a business, helping others succeed, and coaching them with many of the same principles we used in athletics. Moving from athletics to finance to leadership made sense.

Rhea Allen: And the Complete Leader approach is holistic. Athletes need coaches for performance, meals, mindset. In business, you’re coaching a different kind of athlete—high performers and business athletes.

Justin Jantz: Exactly. A lot of coaching is mindset. It’s helping people see things they can’t see in themselves. Sometimes that feels good, and sometimes it feels uncomfortable. But it creates self-reflection: “Am I happy doing this? What could I do differently?”

People bring us in for leadership, but they often find we help with things around leadership that increase personal happiness—which improves the experience for employees and teams too.

Rhea Allen: Absolutely.

Ad Read

Want to start a podcast but don’t know where to begin? At Poderific, we don’t just produce podcasts. We help you create auditory experiences that will captivate your audience.

Our state-of-the-art podcast recording studio, powered by Peppershock Media, is designed for creators like you. Record with high-quality equipment supported by our expert team and distribute your podcast across major platforms like Apple and Spotify.

Whether you’re launching your first episode or you’re a seasoned podcaster, we’ve got you covered. Visit Poderific.com today to learn how we can help you produce, record, and share your story with the world. Your podcast deserves to be Poderific.

Back to Interview

Rhea Allen: We’re on a marketing journey together. You started working with Price Associates—how long now?

Justin Jantz: I’ve been working with Ron for 18 months. There have been a few iterations. The company was acquired, and I like our new owner. He’s keeping me on for the Boise market, and I’m still being mentored by Ron.

Rhea Allen: Pam is probably asking if he’ll ever retire.

Justin Jantz: I keep pulling Ron back in. I’m fortunate they both see value in the investment.

Rhea Allen: That’s great.

Justin Jantz: What I’ve learned is I was always doing this. Even in banking, I wanted to help my clients beyond what the bank could do. I had a strong network and brought in experts. But the leadership piece—the psychology and human side—was often missing.

Rhea Allen: That can’t be replaced by AI. You need human intelligence.

Justin Jantz: I hope not. People will need help finding purpose. AI might change jobs, but it can’t replace purpose. If AI replaces someone’s job, they may realize how much they identified with that role and need to rediscover who they are.

Rhea Allen: You’ve been with Price Associates for 18 months. What have you done to get your name out there under the Price Associates umbrella and build relationships?

Justin Jantz: Great question. It was easier to go from coach to banker than banker back to coach. It took time to connect the dots and step into leadership consulting.

In banking, I was on the relationship side—like a point guard: distributing, occasionally shooting. I like that role, and it’s similar here. But I also have to lead. Ron has helped develop those leadership skills and awaken some that were asleep.

Rhea Allen: You get to go through the Complete Leader program with the person who created it.

Justin Jantz: I’m spoiled. And Ron knows I give it back—his influence continues.

Rhea Allen: And he’s built major brand equity. People know Price Associates. You walk into a room with credibility before they even know you.

Justin Jantz: That’s been very helpful as I’ve rebranded myself. I market myself authentically as an introvert. That means I do a lot of one-on-one meetings. I also go to networking events because it’s part of the work.

Rhea Allen: And you’ve come to Word of Mouth Mixers.

Justin Jantz: I have. That’s how I’m here.

Rhea Allen: Ron and Lauren came when Lauren was in town to announce the transition and pass the baton. That was a great breakfast.

Justin Jantz: Yes, that was another tool we’ve used.

Rhea Allen: I’m also part of the TTI Insights group, so I know the lingo—DISC, emotional intelligence, personality gaps. I’m a high I with some D tendencies. Drew is high SC and lower I.

Justin Jantz: That usually makes for a great partnership.

Rhea Allen: It does—yin and yang.

Justin Jantz: Extroverts and introverts process differently. You might make quick decisions. Drew might need a night to sleep on it. Both approaches have value.

Rhea Allen: Sometimes it drives you crazy either way. Quick decisions aren’t always right, and slow decisions can turn into analysis paralysis.

Justin Jantz: Exactly.

Rhea Allen: I have students listening. Can you explain what DISC stands for?

Justin Jantz: Sure.

• D is Dominance—more direct, assertive, fast-paced decision-making.
• I is Influence—more outgoing, social, people-oriented.
• S is Steadiness—more patient, consistent, and process-oriented.
• C is Compliance—more detail-focused, rule- and accuracy-oriented.

We also look at natural style versus adapted style—who you are internally versus how you’ve adapted to the environment. Big life events can shift those scores: career changes, moving, divorce, starting a business, having a baby.

Rhea Allen: And low C doesn’t mean you break laws. It’s more about risk tolerance.

Justin Jantz: Exactly. And when you understand your style, you can protect your energy. As an introvert, I don’t do well in open seating offices or nonstop massive networking events.

Rhea Allen: My battery fills up around people. Drew’s drains. During COVID, introverts were thriving and extroverts were struggling.

Justin Jantz: That’s true.

Rhea Allen: Two things: How can we help you? And how can people reach you?

Justin Jantz: The best way to help me is to listen to your clients and ask deeper questions. Are they thriving? Are they happy? That’s often the indicator that something needs support.

Business owners get stuck doing jobs they didn’t start their business to do—like accounting. They want to sell, design, build, or create. We work with leaders, high achievers, C-suite, upper management, sales teams, and HR. The Complete Leader program integrates well with HR.

It’s a strong fit for companies with at least 10 employees, and even better with 50 or more. It scales up or down depending on the organization.

Rhea Allen: We went through it when we had around 10. It felt a little small because we couldn’t get to everything, but that’s also a pacing issue. I never feel like I have enough time for professional development.

Justin Jantz: There’s value in classroom and group settings, and value in one-on-one coaching and strategic advising. I’ve done both. I also just finished my term as President of the Boise State Alumni Association.

Rhea Allen: That’s what you were talking to me about in my office originally.

Justin Jantz: Yes—let’s solve the world’s problems. Go Broncos.

Rhea Allen: You’re not leaving the board as soon as you rope me in, right?

Justin Jantz: I’m not leaving. As past president, my plan is to support the current president and help prepare the vice president for the role. I prefer coaching leaders and supporting culture and goals.

Rhea Allen: Perfect. How can people reach you?

Justin Jantz: You can find us online. Search “The Complete Leader” to find one of our websites. You can also visit Price-Associates online. I’m on LinkedIn, and my cell phone number is listed there. Text is preferred: 208-861-8622. I’ve had the same number for 25 years.

You can also email me at justin.jantz@price-associates.com. My last name is spelled J-A-N-T-Z.

Rhea Allen: If you text Justin, tell him you heard him on the Marketing Expedition podcast. And if you spell my name R-A-Y, we’ll still figure it out.

Justin Jantz: If you found me through this, say Rhea sent you.

Rhea Allen: Thank you so much for coming by and sharing your journey and insights.

Justin Jantz: Coaching. I’m back.

Rhea Allen: We’re going to work on your elevator pitch to include “business athlete.” You can use it.

Justin Jantz: I’m taking it.

Rhea Allen: Until next time, everybody—enjoy your marketing journey.

Podcast Outro

Thanks for listening to the Marketing Expedition podcast. Want to continue the journey? Don’t miss out on new episodes. Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.