The Leader's Journey Podcast

In this episode of The Leader's Journey Podcast, Trisha and Jim are reflecting on the past two years, what they've learned, how things have changed, and what they can see differently now from a different vantage point. In part of the episode, Jim and Trisha reflect on a few podcasts and blog posts they shared during the early stages of the pandemic. We wanted to encourage you to review those resources and reflect on the leadership challenges you've faced in the last two years to learn from them and take that learning into the future. Here are a couple of those resources: ​Systems Thinking in Anxious Times​ ​Leading in Uncertain Times (COVID-19)​ ​After the Adrenaline: Self-care in a Time of Crisis​ ​The Big Picture: Pandemic, Anxiety, and Society In our most recent newsletter, Trisha shared three things she hopes people will reflect on as they read and listen to the resources above and this episode of the podcast. After reviewing the resources above and listening to this episode of the podcast, we want to hear from you. What do you notice when you reflect on your role as a leader over the past two years? Conversation Overview: So is the pandemic over? Where are we now? Reflecting on a few of our podcasts and blogs from early stages of the pandemic What do leaders know now that we didn't know before? What systems principles do we need to remember in this time?

To navigate the storms in our systems it is important to be able to notice and identify them as ambient anxiety from a culture in chaos, a crisis eruption, or the conflict that shows up as a symptom of the anxiety in our system. Subscribe to our newsletter! The Leader's Journey Book Series The process of researching, studying, and writing the book The Leader's Journey changed the trajectory of our lives. In this series, we are joined by our co-author Dr. Robert Creech and together we'll be going over some key ideas from the book and the impact those ideas have had and are having on our lives. Conversation Overview The storms that arise in a system: ambient anxiety from a culture in chaos The storms that arise in a system: when crisis erupts, often without warning The storms that arise in a system: the conflict that shows up as a symptom as the system experiences anxiety Tammie Jo Shultz story How the practice of the spiritual disciplines moves us toward transformation Why is a focus on learning so crucial? Thinking systems as a Christian Family Systems and Congregational Life Links: The Leader's Journey Tammie Jo Shults air traffic control audio Dr. Robert Creech on Amazon Family Systems and Congregational Life Edwin Friedman-Generation to Generation and A Failure of Nerve Victoria Harrison Family Systems and Congregational Life Thank you for listening. If you enjoy listening to The Leader's Journey Podcast, the best way to support us is to take just a few seconds and leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes or share it with your friends on Facebook … Thank you!

What does our family of origin or our nuclear family have to do with how we lead? In this episode, we explore that question as we discuss the third section of our book entitled Family Patterns. The process of researching, studying, and writing the book The Leader's Journey changed the trajectory of our lives. In this series, we are joined by our co-author Dr. Robert Creech and together we'll be going over some key ideas from the book and the impact those ideas have had and are having on our lives. Conversation overview: What do you consider to be a connection between your own call to ministry and the family you came from? What is the value of a family diagram? How does working on our emotional maturity within our family system impact us outside of our family system? Links: The Leader's Journey Dr. Robert Creech on Amazon Family Systems and Congregational Life Edwin Friedman-Generation to Generation and A Failure of Nerve Victoria Harrison Flawed Families of the Bible by David and Diana Garland Family Ties That Bind by Ronald Richardson A Family Diagram Workbook by Israel Galindo Extraordinary Relationships: A New Way of Thinking about Human Interactions by Roberta Gilbert

To think systems, we have to give up cause-and-effect thinking. Everyone in a particular system is influencing and being influenced all the time. The process of researching, studying, and writing the book The Leader's Journey changed the trajectory of our lives. In this series, we are joined by our co-author Dr. Robert Creech and together we'll be going over some key ideas from the book and the impact those ideas have had and are having on our lives. Conversation Overview: What is a living system? How does systems thinking differ from other ways of seeing the world? What is the effect of systems thinking on leadership? How can a leader learn to manage self in those predictable triangles? What are some ways we can practice emotional maturity while we're under pressure? Links: The Leader's Journey Dr. Robert Creech on Amazon Family Systems and Congregational Life Thank you for listening. If you enjoy listening to The Leader's Journey Podcast, the best way to support us is to take just a few seconds and leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes or share it with your friends on Facebook … Thank you!

"An effective leader, one who can galvanize individuals and groups and who has the potential to help transform society is a person who has the capacity to know and do the right thing." – The Leader's Journey The process of researching, studying, and writing the book The Leader's Journey changed the trajectory of our lives. In this series, we are joined by our co-author Dr. Robert Creech and together we'll be going over some key ideas from the book and the impact those ideas have had and are having on our lives. Conversation Overview What does it mean to be a leader who has the capacity to know and do the right thing? What are living systems? How does looking at living systems change our thinking about leadership? What do we believe about how change takes place in a person's life? What have we learned about this in our own lives? How does Jesus serve as a mentor for us as we grow our capacity to "know and do the right things?" What can we see in Jesus' life about how to show up in the systems we are part of? How can listeners/readers use this book? Links: The Leader's Journey Dr. Robert Creech on Amazon Family Systems and Congregational Life

How can leaders use the power they have on behalf of others and share their power with others in order to create a more just and more equitable community? We are joined by Dr. D. Z. Cofield and Deborah Pulis for this conversation. In this series, we are exploring the inherent connection between leadership and power. We hope to help leaders better understand the dynamics of power in their organizations and in themselves and develop some principles and practices that help them use their own power wisely. Conversation overview Dr. D.Z. Cofield, Pastor of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church Deborah Pulis, Executive Director of Body Oak Cliff Sometimes, our intentions may not be as good as we think they are Learning to recognize your power "True power is given to you, it's not taken from them." – Dr. D.Z. Cofield "Live boldly and clean up your messes as you go along." – Deborah Pulis Being stingy with power "I wonder what would happen if everyone in this country that had a spare bedroom used it to house someone" – Deborah Pulis Learning to be sensitive to how I apply power in different contexts The story of The Well Using power FOR vs. WITH others Stories about sharing power Entrusting others with power prematurely The role of mentoring in sharing power "Trust that something bigger can come out of divergent voices." – Deborah Pulis About our guests: Dr. D.Z. Cofield is Senior Pastor of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Houston's Third Ward. He has a Master's Degree in Theology at the Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry Degree at Faith Evangelical Seminary in Tacoma, Washington. You can read his full bio here . Deborah Pulis is the Executive Director of Body Oak Cliff where they work to see the Body of Christ united and working together. She and her husband Joel live in community with a very diverse group of people and have been key leaders at The Well in Dallas, a community for adults who struggle with severe and chronic mental illness. Links: Faithwalking The Well Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church Body Oak Cliff

In this episode, we explore how trustworthy and transformative leaders carefully balance authority and vulnerability to create space for flourishing. Conversation overview What comes to mind when you think about authority? What comes to mind when you think about vulnerability? The vulnerability to tell the truth Having conviction and humility The importance of loving the people that we serve What might it look like to be out of balance? Listener question: what do forgiveness and reconciliation look like when we're thinking about using power wisely? The skill of holding tension When is the right place and who are the right people to be vulnerable with? How can we learn to balance authority and vulnerability, to hold the tension? Links: When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse by Chuck DeGroat Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brene Brown The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing by Andy Crouch Dr. James Furr Psalm 8

A conversation about leadership is inherently a conversation about power, and a conversation about power is inherently a conversation about conflict. In this episode, we explore how trustworthy and transformative leaders understand how power dynamics are always present in conflict and how they can be navigated wisely, creating the results we want. Thanks for listening! Summary: Assumptions about power Having power exposes our values Power determines the terms of a conflict Power as dominance Hidden expressions of power When powerful people feel powerless Passive Aggressive power How conflict helps us reach our goals Links: 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni Explore the various forms of power in this download from Brene Brown Giving & Receiving Feedback Effective and Empowering Accountability How did Jesus deal with Conflict? Dare to Lead by Brene Brown Defined and Connected Applying Systems Thinking Bowen Family Systems Theory Series Spiritual Practices That Lead To Breakthrough The Importance of Emotional Intelligence Quit Getting In Your Own Way

Trustworthy and transformative leaders understand the dynamics of power in their organizations and in themselves and they have developed principles and practices that help them use their own power wisely. "Power is the ability to achieve purpose, power is the ability to effect change, and we need power." – Martin Luther King Jr. Leaders will too often use their power in ways that produce outcomes counter to their stated vision or goals Misusing and not exercising power Power is neutral Power dynamics exist regardless of whether we intend to use them or not Dare to lead by Brene Brown Power over or positions of power Power with or the power to collaborate Power to or the power to accomplish and take action Power dynamics are both subjective and objective

It's the new year and some of us have been planning our new year's resolutions for months, some of us haven't and feel guilty about it, and some of us very strictly don't do resolutions. Our culture is very keen on goal-setting and yet, we wonder how effective that is. In this episode, we got our whole team together to have a conversation about goals, when they work for us, and when they dont. - Tying goals to guiding principles and core principles - 12-week or quarterly goals - Setting goals out of a false self - Can goals be too specific? - "If goals are tied to my worth, then I'm going to be in trouble." - Setting goals around roles and goals. - Begin with the end in mind and plan backward - Daily to-dos focused on making progress toward long-term goals - Tying goals to my dreams for my life - Framing goals for learning and not achievement - Recognizing underlying systemic obstacles - Being goals and doing goals - Extrinsic and intrinsic - Goals as a practice References Click here to check out our team 12-week year Atomic habits Your Theme by CGP Grey Doing the Math of mission 7 Habits by Stephen Covey Goals: It's Complicated - The Leader's Journey Setting Goals that Disrupt Habits and Utilize Systems - The Leader's Journey