Hey Leader Friends! Today, Dave Kountz is on the podcast! Dave is our good friend and mentor who teaches leaders, companies, nonprofits, etc. the power of identifying and utilizing their unique leadership voice. This is REALLY good stuff! Dave walks us through each of the 5 Voices including what they are, how to use it, and my personal favorite: the pitfalls your voice typically falls into. This is a fun conversation so jump in with us!
On the podcast, Dave mentions the link to a free assessment to identify your leadership Voice. Here’s the link:
https://g1solutions.giantos.com/users/sign_up
I think it’s safe to say that if you are in Christ Jesus, you hear from God. Right? I also think it’s safe to say that women struggle to hear from God. And when they do, they frequently doubt they’ve heard God. So, what’s the deal? How do we know if it’s God? What are women getting tangled up in that makes them feel inadequate to hear from God? And what are some guardrails to hearing from God without going off the deep end? All this and more are what Katie Marstin and I are talking about today on the podcast!
For anyone who has ever led you know that change just goes with the territory. But HOW you do the change and WHY you make a change, well, that’s a different story. On this episode of the Leader Lab podcast, Melissa Dunn and I talk about the (stupid) changes we’ve made, where we went wrong, and a thing or two we’ve learned along the way. Take a listen; it’s gonna be fun!
This week’s podcast was super fun to make! I asked Melissa Dunn to join me for a conversation about being creative. Before you skip this episode thinking, “Well, I’m not a creative so….” hold on!
Melissa and I talk about how we have BECOME creative - slowly, over time as we’ve stepped out in gifting. Then we talk about the struggle to communicate our creativity in a way others can understand and how vulnerable that communication is. There’s lots more practical stuff, too.
Let's talk about sleepwalking. Because I think when we can wrap our heads around the actual, physical behavior of sleepwalking, it might shed some light on the spiritual behavior - spiritual sleepwalking. In this episode, Melissa and I have a conversation about something that can sound a little woo-woo: being spiritually asleep. So here's the question we wrestle with: What is spiritual sleepwalking and how does it impact us today? Take a listen to an honest conversation and see what you think.
Have you ever interacted with someone who was sleepwalking? I have, and it's really interesting. Sleepwalkers do typical activities, yet they aren't awake; they look engaged and present, yet they are ASLEEP. I think many, many women in the Church today are doing the same thing.... just sleepwalking through life and in their relationships with God. But here's the crazy part. They don't know it! So let's talk about 3 characteristics of women who are spiritually sleepwalking.
Ohhhhh, today’s podcast is going to get interesting! I found this recent data set comparing what men and women think about women in leadership. Let me just say, the results are surprising. In a nutshell, men are generally okay with women leaders. But here’s the kicker… women have some pretty tough (and inaccurate!) views about what others think of them. So let’s talk about what women think about how they’re perceived, what those perceptions might indicate, and what to do about it.
I don't know about you, but I've always been taught that if I really loved God, I would read the Word of God. Cool, I'm on board with that. But there was another message I received about said Bible time: it should be done alone. So that's what I did for decades; I read the Word of God by myself, in my room, alone. And I regularly wondered why I wasn't getting more out of it. Or if I was doing it right. Today on the podcast, my super good friend Melissa Dunn and I have a conversation about studying the Bible with other people. Yup, you read that right: STUDYING the Bible - going deep in God's Word - with others. Is this possible? How do you do this? Why on earth would we do this? All this and more on today's podcast episode!
We know that faith develops gradually, over time. But what happens when people get “stuck” in their faith and they stop growing? What’s up with that? That’s exactly what we’re talking about today! And as leaders, understand where WE are and where those we love and lead are, well, it really matters. Because we don’t want to damage or hinder someone’s faith development. Take a listen to this podcast episode to understand more about faith development, what to watch out for, and how to move deeper into faith.
We've all seen it. The woman we've invested in stalls out in her spiritual growth. Or disappears altogether. Or panics when, after a long season of intense and enjoyable spiritual growth, suddenly comes to an end. Why faith doesn’t seem to stick for some people? In today's episode, we're talking about spiritual growth. This stuff is so important because, as leaders, we see the problems, but if don’t know what’s causing them, we won't be helpful in solving them. So let's talk about a really helpful filter to understand spiritual growth, then let's get practical about what this means for the women we serve, and for what this means for us as leaders.
I know you’ve been there. You are leading with men - you’re in meetings, you are a supervisor, you implement the vision of the guy at the top, you collaborate with guys - whatever it looks like, it’s pretty inevitable that you do or will lead with men. So, as women who love Jesus, what’s the deal? How do we do this?
For the last month I’ve been chewing on some stuff and I’m thrilled to share it with you because there are so many implications for us as women leaders. So here’s our plan. Let’s spend a few minutes talking about what we know about Phoebe from the Bible. Even though there are only 2 verses, we can learn or at least infer a lot. Then, I want to look at 3 or 4 really interesting words that Paul uses to describe or refer to her. Whoa! This is where this stuff gets juicy! I don’t know about you, but I’m all jazzed up about this.
You know the group you lead or are a part of that doesn't seem to catch traction? Or that relationship that isn't cutting it? Let's talk about 3 SIMPLE ways to open your mouth and invite others into the process. These 3 SIPMLE things are my go-to when it comes to leadership. And over the years as I've taught them to friends and leaders, their stories of group shift are the proof in the pudding. Join the conversation!
As a leader, I need to be able to lead myself, not just other people. And we all know leading ourselves requires discipline, planning, follow through, integrity, etc. But catch this. If we struggle to lead ourselves - i.e. we don’t follow through on personal goals, we’re struggling to read Scripture, there’s a gap in how we behave at home and at church - we will struggle with impostor syndrome. You know what I mean by that, don’t you? Impostor syndrome is a mindset that says, “I’m a fraud. I can’t really do this. If people knew what I was really like… I shouldn’t be here.” Here’s the thing about imposter syndrome. Women who love Jesus really struggle with this. And then the internal dialogue really goes sideways: “I can’t do what God asks.” This is big stuff, my friends! So yeah, being women who finish what they start really matters. So let’s talk about personal momentum because when you know how to leverage it in your personal disciples and your new thing for the year, you don’t have to work so hard.
Today we’re talking about what you can do when you experience a tension that creates anxiety. For me, when I experience anxiety, my default is to disappear from people. Today on the podcast I’m sharing 5 experiments, a metaphor, and some ideas on how to overcome disappearing/taking steps back. Let’s do this!
It’s a new year, which means most people have a new goal they are working toward. Bad news: stats say less than 10% of those who start a new thing won’t finish it. But not me. I’ve learned through lots and lots of failures, and a good handful of successes how to finish personal goals. On today’s episode I’m sharing a few principles on starting something new/changing something and the 5 steps I use to implement a change. Because learning how to cross the finish line on the small things matters.
Okay my friend, confession time. Every year I do this weird and annoying thing right after Thanksgiving. I put a lot of pressure on myself to REALLY experience Jesus during Christmas time. The problem is, it never quite works out, leaving me feeling guilty and bummed. BUT…. this year, I’m having a BLAST engaging with the nativity story, doing new spiritual reflections, all the while having a great time. So, take a listen to Andy’s version of the 12 Days of Christmas - which by the way has nothing to do with the song - that has been a game changer.
Hey gang. So it’s Christmas time right now which means my family and I are doing all our favorite traditions, and just to warn you - we have a lot of them. And I bet you do too. This episode is filled with practicals to incorporate when your family/team/friends/etc. do your fun and meaningful traditions. So let's talk about what makes traditions work, why they matter, what kills traditions, and how to start them.