The Global Leadership Podcast

What does it truly mean to be resilient? In this episode, GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft interviews top management thinker, organizational psychologist and self-awareness expert Dr. Tasha Eurich. Together they unpack Tasha's latest book, Shatterproof, and discuss how leaders today—she calls them “stressed-out strivers”—can move beyond mere resilience and learn to thrive in our modern world.

A quick survey of Jo Saxton's life would tell you that she is deeply passionate about developing leaders. Whether it's through speaking, her leadership of the Ezer Collective and Bethel University's “The 25,” her podcast or her books, her mission is easy to see. Fresh off the stage at the 2024 Global Leadership Summit, she sat down with Jason Jaggard to talk about her work, and shared wisdom on what young leaders bring to the workplace and how seasoned leaders can engage this emerging generation.

Recorded live at last year's Global Leadership Summit, Erwin Raphael McManus sat down to interview Harvard Business School Professor Arthur C. Brooks. Arthur takes us on a deep dive of science and physiology of happiness and gives us an introduction on how to leverage meta-cognition to start becoming happier people. As Erwin mentions in the interview, Arthur is a firehose of information, and you will definitely want to take notes as you listen in to this conversation.

How can leaders stay holistically healthy amidst demands for high-performance and the constant chaos of the modern world? GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft sits down with Whitney Putnam to share his thoughts on what leaders can do to care for themselves so they can stay in the game for the long haul. 

Stephanie Chung spent her career in the aviation industry, rising from being a baggage handler to eventually making history as the first African American and second female president of a major private aviation company. During that rise, she was a top sales executive, generating $1B in revenue annually. Stephanie is now a highly sought-after speaker, and her most recent book, Ally Leadership: How to Lead People Who Are Not Like You, was released in 2024. In this conversation with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft, Stephanie shares about her leadership journey, and how all leaders of all kinds can learn to be allies of the individuals on their teams.

Dan Owolabi is a CEO, a sought-after speaker and an author. He founded Branches Worldwide based on the belief that faith-fueled entrepreneurs can transform communities. Branches Worldwide works diligently to raise up entrepreneurs around the world and to connect them with resources, mentors and community. At the 2024 Global Leadership Summit, Dan sat down with Jason Jaggard, CEO of Novus Global and Global Leadership Podcast team member, to talk about why entrepreneurship is so critical to local communities, and the importance of being an authentic leader.

At the 2025 Global Leadership Summit GLN President and CEO, David Ashcraft interviewed Joni Eareckson Tada—an internationally recognized speaker, author, and advocate who has spent decades leading with grace, resilience, and faith. After a diving accident left her quadriplegic at 17, Joni turned her pain into purpose, founding Joni and Friends, a global ministry serving people with disabilities. Her journey is a powerful testament to the kind of leadership that transcends circumstances—one marked by courage, service, and unwavering hope.   In this episode, we'll dive into Joni's journey to become the leader she is today, how leaders can better steward suffering, and other priceless pieces of wisdom from her life. Whether you're leading in business, ministry, or everyday life, Joni's wisdom will challenge and encourage you.

This month, our focus at the GLN is on leaving a leadership legacy and today podcast host (and GLN VP of Marketing), Whitney Putnam interviews GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft on his experience with organizational transitions and successions. David shares gems from his 30 years of local church leadership, including how to get started planning a legacy, and the one thing that can absolutely derail a positive transition. Every leader should be thinking about what (or who) will follow them, and this episode is a great starting point for your plans. 

A healthy and effective team culture is essential to organizational success, but building a culture of excellence is not automatic. Today's episode is a live recording of a workshop led by GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft. In the workshop, David shares how to establish team culture in a practical and effective way and explains how values and behaviors help drive successful outcomes for a team. In addition, David also runs through some of the specific values and behaviors that currently define the culture at the GLN.

In this special live recording of the podcast, Craig Groeschel interviews former Duke University men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (“Coach K”): a Naismith Hall of Fame coach, five-time national champion at Duke, and six-time gold medalist as head Coach of the US Men's National Team. Coach K shares essential ingredients that helped produce his extraordinary career, including how to keep leadership current and how to respond to unexpected challenges. Regardless of where you are in your leadership journey, this episode is a can't-miss opportunity to learn from a master of longevity and excellence.

Today's episode draws on the wealth of experience of GLN President and CEO, David Ashcraft, as he and GLN VP of Marketing Whitney Putnam cover a variety of topics related to working with teams. This conversation ranges from values, to empowerment, to conflict, and is absolutely full of practical leadership gems.  

“Love” and “work” are not words that are usually thought of in the same context. For today's guest, however, “love” has a measurable and positive impact on the metrics of work. Marcus Buckingham is known for starting the “Strengths Revolution.” He is also a global researcher and New York Times bestselling author, and he recently joined the GLN's David Ashcraft for a conversation about the role that love plays—or should play—in our work. Whether you are a leader who wants to know how to bring the absolute best out of those you lead, or you are curious how to discover the things you truly love (and why they matter at work), we invite you to listen to this episode.  

Paula Faris joins the podcast today to talk about the different ways leaders can “lead with heart.” Paula is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, podcast host and the founder of CARRY Media, and she sat down for this conversation with Global Leadership Network President and CEO David Ashcraft. Together they explore the roles that intuition and passion have had in Paula's life, how leaders can protect themselves while practicing openness and authenticity and how leading with heart informs and shapes Paula's leadership today.

This month's theme at the Global Leadership Network is “leading with heart,” and in this episode of the Global Leadership Podcast, Whitney Putnam sits down with GLN president and CEO David Ashcraft. Together, they explore what it means to lead with heart and examine practical ways that leaders can begin to lead with openness and authenticity. David and Whitney also discuss how to avoid some potential pitfalls that can occur as leaders begin to open up to those around them.

As leaders, we understand that purpose and calling play critical roles in achieving our goals. This week's guest highlights the potential pitfall of focusing solely on achievement. In this episode, former top sports agent Molly Fletcher shares how long-term joy and happiness come not from achievement but from daily improvement and fulfillment. At the 2024 Global Leadership Summit, she discussed key concepts from her book, Dynamic Drive: The Purpose-Fueled Formula for Sustainable Success, in a live interview with Jason Jaggard.

One aspect of purpose and calling is being willing to live it out with freedom and joy. But what do you do if your purpose is highly visible and involves frequent accolades and applause? In this episode, author and speaker Megan Fate Marshman sits down with Jason Jaggard to share about how private disciplines help balance her public call. Together they explore the importance of slowing down, the importance of grounding your identity in Christ and how emotions like anger and anxiety can be signposts for us as leaders. If you've ever wondered how to stay rooted while maintaining a public ministry, this is a great episode to check out!

“Vision leaks” is a well-known leadership axiom, and to kick off January's theme of being a “purposeful leader,” Whitney Putnam sits down with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft. In this conversation, they explore the role purpose and mission has in David's life and leadership. We'll also hear about some common pitfalls that leaders can face regarding purpose, and how he has learned to guard against them.     

Our topic for December is “conflict,” and GLN President and CEO gets us started with this conversation with Whitney Putnam. We invite you to listen as David shares how his approach to conflict has evolved and some of the practical lessons he's learned over time. Conflict is inevitable, but it does not have to result in negative consequences; it can actually improve our relationships and our work together.

It's difficult to keep our cool when disagreements and tension crop up in our relationships. Yet, this is the moment when we most need to be calm and curious. Is there a way that we can start to move beyond reacting impulsively and start to become curious about what is truly going on behind the conflict we are experiencing? Comedic thought leader, author and actor Michael Jr. sat down with Craig Groeschel at the 2024 Global Leadership Summit and shared what we often get wrong about conflict.  He unpacked how becoming internally curious is a key tool to unlock the true gift that disagreements can bring to our lives. This episode is for anyone who is looking for practical ways to reframe conflict in any area of your life.

How do you react when you fail? Have you ever wished that you could learn more quickly from your failures and move on? In this episode, GLS Executive Producer Lori Hermann sits down with CEO, executive coach and best-selling author Ryan Leak to hear how he learned more from his failures than he ever did from his successes. In their conversation, they discuss his documentary, “Chasing Failure,” and how failure became the best teacher throughout his life. 

Are you a leader who wants to help your team learn to risk more and fail well? In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Amy C. Edmondson sits down with our Jason Jaggard to unpack her research behind her latest book, The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well. Their conversation includes the difference between a mistake and a failure, the 3 categories of failures, and how to encourage a team to experiment and learn quickly.

For leaders, there's no avoiding failure; it just comes with the territory. However, how leaders respond when things don't go as planned—how they lead through failure—is absolutely critical. This month, we are going to focus on ways that leaders can lead through failure and turn potential disappointment into powerful lessons for growth and renewal. In this episode, GLN President and CEO, David Ashcraft, shares stories of times when things did not go as planned, and how he has learned to “fail well” over time.

Hospitality is one of the most powerful differentiators that an organization possesses, but it can be challenging to create and sustain it across an entire culture. In this episode, cofounder and former president of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Horst Schulze, shares hospitality insights from a legendary career with GLN President and CEO, David Ashcraft. If you're a leader who is interested in creating a culture of excellence and customer-focused hospitality, we invite you listen in to this rich conversation!   

It's not often that you get to listen to someone who has literally been rated the best in the world in their craft, but that is exactly what this episode is about. Under Will Guidara's Leadership, Eleven Madison Park (EMP) received 3 Michelin Stars, and was rated the #1 restaurant in the world.  In this conversation with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft, recorded live at the Global Leadership Summit, Will shares about the power of hospitality for all businesses and organizations. He also shares some of the leadership principles that created a winning culture at EMP. If you have ever wanted to learn from someone operating at the peak of their profession, this episode is just right for you. 

What should leaders know about hospitality? What does it mean to be welcoming? Whitney Putnam (GLN VP of Marketing and Global Leadership Podcast Host) and David Ashcraft (GLN President and CEO) kick off this month's focus with a focus on the importance of hospitality. In the conversation, David reflects on the impact hospitality can have on guests and/or customers, and how showing unreasonable hospitality to others can positively impact a team.

What's your story? More specifically, is the story that you tell yourself releasing you to live your best life, or is it holding you back? In this episode, Global Leadership Summit Executive Producer Lori Hermann sits down with storytelling expert and author Kindra Hall to explore why story has such extraordinary power and to share some steps we all can take to make sure our inner stories are not undermining our deepest dreams.

Have you ever wished you could learn from someone at the absolute top of their craft? In this episode of the Global Leadership Podcast, you get to listen in as GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft speaks with author, entrepreneur, and master communicator Erwin McManus about his concept of seven frequencies of communication. If you are curious about how communicating—both speaking and listening—can be used to remove barriers from your life and unlock hidden potential in others, we invite you to join us for this powerful and engaging conversation.

Effective communication is a critical, but sometimes overlooked, aspect of leadership. Used correctly, effective and clear communication ensures that our messages get heard, our vision gets communicated, and our people feel seen and heard. Recently, podcast host and GLN VP of Marketing Whitney Putnam sat down with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft to introduce this month's theme of effective communication, and to hear about his own best practices around communication from over 30 years of strategic leadership.

In this second episode about the 2024 Global Leadership Summit, GLN VP of Marketing and podcast host Whitney Putnam talks with Craig Groeschel and Jo Saxton about how they were personally impacted by this year's Summit. We invite you to listen in as Craig and Jo share their highlights and challenges that they heard and also some of the ideas and actions that they are implementing immediately on their teams.  

As the 2024 Global Leadership Summit wrapped up, we sat down with David Ashcraft, President and CEO of the Global Leadership Network. In this conversation with Whitney Putnam (GLN VP of Marketing), David shares some of his highlights and takeaways from this year's Summit, and looks forward to GLS2025.

Our world has never been more in need of healthy, growing leaders. In a world of tension and anxiety, we need men and women who have the courage to respond to the call to lead and who impact their communities positively by diligently using their influence to make things better. The Global Leadership Podcast hopes to educate and inspire growing leaders in our world, and to inspire everyone to “lead where they are at.” In this special episode of the Global Leadership Podcast, Whitney Putnam (VP of Marketing, GLN) talks with David Ashcraft (President and CEO, GLN) about some exciting changes coming for Season 8 of the Global Leadership Podcast.   

Over an astonishing 45 years, Fred Martin, Founder and CEO of Objective Measure, built a career marked by consistent success and a commitment to leadership. In this conversation with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft, Fred shares about how his faith affects his ability to lead, how he strives to continue growing as a leader, and how his vision for how to help everyday people learn to ask fruitful questions about investing and managing their money.

Initially, Megan Tamte did not think of herself as an entrepreneur, but after a disappointing shopping experience triggered a patient and faith-filled journey, she and her husband Mike launched—and now are Co-CEOs of—EVEREVE, a national chain of over 100 stores and a thriving ecommerce site as well. Recently, Megan sat down with GLS Executive Producer Lori Hermann to talk about her journey to launch EVEREVE, how she co-leads with her husband, and how she leverages her strengths as a learning leader to keep EVEREVE moving forward.  We hope you enjoy this engaging conversation.

Global Leadership Podcast team members Eric Case and Aubrey Wentz recently sat down with Julie Baumgardner, Senior Director of WinShape Marriage, to discuss the relationship between the health of our home and relational worlds and our work performance.  Julie has spent over 20 years working—first as a counselor and now as an executive-level leader—to build healthy families, and in this conversation with Eric and Aubrey she shares how work life can be impacted by challenges at home and offers some practical tips for starting healthy conversations that can lead to healing.

Recently, GLN CEO & President David Ashcraft sat down with Cliff Robinson, Executive VP and “Chief People Person” at Chick-fil-A. If you've ever wondered what it's like to sit in a room with an experienced, high-level leader and listen to them share practical experience and wisdom, this is a great episode to dive into!  Cliff discusses how the Chick-fil-A is able to place such a high value on people while simultaneously maintaining a high standard of product and customer service. Cliff also shares about the role of innovation at Chick-fil-A, and some techniques he personally leverages to maintain his effectiveness as he leads.

This episode is a special broadcast of Erwin Raphael McManus' talk from GLS 2023, “Mind Shift.” Erwin is a Los Angeles-based author and artist who is obsessed with helping people identify and eliminate the self-imposed, internal barriers that keep them from realizing their unique genius.

Fernando Carillo is an Anglican priest, entrepreneur and leadership coach based in London, England, and recently sat down with podcast team member Jason Jaggard at the 2023 Global Leadership Summit. In this episode, Jason and Fernando discuss his upbringing, the extraordinary life change he went through, as well as the role leadership plays in helping individuals step into their calling and purpose.

We invite you to join us for this episode as Global Leadership Podcast Co-Producers Eric Case and Aubrey Wentz sit down with Rebecca Taguma, Executive Director of the Trauma Healing Institute) to discuss how the effects of unresolved trauma on individuals, and some practical steps that leaders can take to get help for those affected in their churches and on their teams.  

CEO, executive coach and bestselling author Ryan Leak shares how chasing failure has taken him much farther in his life than safety and security. Global Leadership Podcast team member Lori Hermann explores Ryan's upbringing, the significant events that have defined his leadership, and how following through change can be just as challenging as leading through change.

In this episode, Global Leadership Podcast interviewer Jason Jaggard sits down with Chris McChesney, co-author of The Four Disciplines of Execution, to revisit the book and to explore how the four disciplines can impact our lives outside the business world.   IN THIS EPISODE: -       What is a basic overview of the “Four Disciplines of Execution”? -       How can you learn to focus what is most important, but is not necessarily the most urgent? -       What “levers” can you affect that make it seem like your intended result is a winnable game? -       What has being a parent taught Chris about leadership, and how can the four disciplines be applied to a family?    LISTEN Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube    STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS -       It's better to fall in love with a problem than it is to fall in love with a solution. -       All of the “have tos” in our life is called “The Whirlwind.” The “One” is the strategic result in your life that is going to require disproportionate effort. -       Human beings have the capacity to handle “the whirlwind plus one.” -       It's best to not give your frontline teams the answers; get their commitment and engagement by making them a part of the process. -       The Four Disciplines can actually be a way to protect the entrepreneurial spirit of a organization. -       If you want to see the highest level of engagement a human being is capable of, watch them in a game. -       The strategic result you're looking for should feel like both a high-stakes game and a winnable game. -       Progress and purpose are the most important things that drive employee engagement. This fact also has profound implications for how leaders address remote work. -       The whole purpose of The Four Disciplines is to achieve goals that do not feel as important as “the day job.” -       If kids have one anchor of self-esteem in their life, they are able to handle the whirlwind and drama of life much more effectively. -       The enemy of the human soul is not work; it's futility. -       The struggle is that as you become more successful as a company, the whirlwind grows and requires more and more. -       People don't fear change; they fear uncertainty. -       Most success comes from putting huge energy into small wins. -       The most significant jump is moving from leading a team to leading leaders.   LINKS MENTIONED -       Website: Chris McChesney -       Book: The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Revised and Updated: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals -       Added Value: Tim Harford: Trial, error and the God complex (TEDTalk via YouTube) -       Added Value: “Leaders Concerned About Remote Work Should Be Looking at This Metric” -       Podcast: 2018 Global Leadership Podcast -       Book: The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery (Patrick Lencioni)   -       Website: Global Leadership Network   THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY:  -        World Vision

Comedian and author Michael Jr. talks with Global Leadership Podcast team member Jason Jaggard about how moving from an attitude of “what can I get from an audience” to “what can I give to an audience” changed everything for him.     IN THIS EPISODE: -       When did Michael Jr. realize he was funny?  -       How did “Funny For the Forgotten” get started?  -       How did he get started in his CAREER in comedy?  -       What kept Michael Jr. going when things were really challenging?  -       How did he come to faith?  -       How did his tour with his wife come about and what do they hope to accomplish?   -       What's next for Michael Jr.?     LISTEN Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube   STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS -       Everything changes when you make the shift from asking, “what can I GET from people” to, “what can I GIVE to people.” -       When you have a gift, your job is solely to present the gift. You cannot control with how the gift is received. -       As a leader, your job is to “listen in between the gaps” so you can really know where people are at. -       Whatever you're doing, you need to get your reps in. -       If you quit something, you are practicing quitting. -       The only reason you do anything in life is to either avoid pain or to gain pleasure. -       Without conflict there's no revelation. -       Comedy is NOT the destination; it's only the vehicle; there's a bigger purpose.   -       If you make a wrong turn, God doesn't abandon you and where you're supposed to go. He just recalculates. It may take you longer to get there, but there are still directions to follow.     LINKS MENTIONED  -       Website: Michael Jr.'s Website -       Website: Funny How Marriage Works -       Book: Funny How Life Works -       Website: Selfie Dad -       Website: Funny for the Forgotten -       Added Value: George Wallace -       Podcast: Funny How Life Works -       Website: Jason Jaggard on LinkedIn -       Website: Novus Global -       Website: Meta Performance Institute   -       Website: Global Leadership Network     THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY:  -        Belay Solutions

Entrepreneur and former CEO Jamie Kern Lima talks with Global Leadership Podcast team member Jason Jaggard about how healthy self-worth is “the one thing that changes everything.”

SUMMARY Global Leadership Podcast interviewer Jason Jaggard interviews innovation expert Dr. Vijay Govindarajan on how generative AI and datagraphs impacts organizational strategy, and how leaders can continue to innovate in a rapidly changing context.    IN THIS EPISODE: -       How did VG's grandfather influence his understanding of innovation? -       What is the “Three Box Solution,” and how does it affect strategy and innovation? -        What role does imagination play in innovation?  -       What is the basic premise of “fusion strategy?” -       What is the difference between “digitals” and “industrials”? -       What is the basic meaning of the terms “datagraphs,” “digital twins” and “tripartite”?  -       How do fusion strategy concepts translate from industrial and manufacturing sectors to social and/or service sectors?   -       How willing does VG think people might be to volunteer their data in faith communities?   LISTEN Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube   STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS -       The only competition that matters is self-competition; self-competition is about achieving true potential; and to achieve true potential you have to innovate. -       VG does not consider himself a professor; he is “in the impact business.” -       The “Three Boxes”: (1) manage the present; (2) selectively abandon the past; and (3) create the future. -       Companies think that they are “doing strategy” by working in Box 1, but strategy must also include the other two boxes. -       While you must always work in all three boxes, all three boxes require different mindsets and capabilities. -       Box Two is always the most difficult to work in for corporations, but is really the most important for creating the future. -       Another way to think about strategy is to imagine the future, then “fold the future back to the present,” and then take actions today to create that future. -       What companies tend to do for strategy is to simply push the present forward. -       The premise of VG's Fusion Strategy goes back to the 1980s and the question, “How will information technology affect the world of business and the discipline of management?” -       Even the though the technology has changed, the essential question is the same. -       “Datagraphs” track product in use (as opposed to product sold). -       A “digital twin” is a digital replica of your product (or process). -       “Tripartite digital twins” integrates three essential digital twins: design, process, and product-as-used. -       The integration of these tripartite digital twins allow companies to diagnose root causes of problems much faster than traditional companies. -       VG suggests that “augmented” intelligence is a better term than “artificial” intelligence. -       Faith communities should thoughtfully consider their goal, and then they should ask themselves whether or not data or AI achieve the goal even more efficiently. -       Because of their facility with digital technology, the church can serve younger generations very differently. -       Showing value is the key to motivating people to share their data. -       Asking great questions is a key leadership trait, and is essentially human.     LINKS MENTIONED -       Website: Vijay on LinkedIn -       Book: Fusion Strategy: How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future (Pre-Order; Amazon) -       Added Value: Vijay's Seminars on Fusion Strategy (Feb 6, 7, and 8) -       Book: The Three-Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation -       Book: Vijay's Amazon Page -       Website: Jason Jaggard on LinkedIn -       Website: Novus Global -       Website: Meta Performance Institute -       Book: Beyond High Performance: What Great Coaches Know About How the Best Get Better   -       Website: Global Leadership Network

In this episode, Paula Faris talks with pastor and theologian Krish Kandiah about his passion for hospitality and his work with the foster system and refugees in the UK. Krish shares about how he moves quickly from idea to action, some of the ups and downs of his own journey, and how he lives out “Heart Leadership.”

In this episode, Paula Faris sits down with Juliet Funt to talk about the ongoing need for white space in organizations, the challenge of how best to return to the office, and important first step that organizations need to take before they attempt to “prioritize” goals and activities.

In this episode, the Global Leadership Podcast Team sits down with Global Leadership Summit Executive Producer (and podcast interviewer) Lori Hermann to reflect on some of our favorite episodes from 2023, and to talk a little bit about what we're excited about for 2024. We had some great moments together, and we hope that you've been able to put into practice some of the great content from the last 12 months. We also hope you have a great Christmas and joyous (and restful!) holiday; we will see you back here in January, 2024!

“Culture” is everywhere: in our countries and communities, in our organizations, and in our teams. Moreover, culture is simultaneously extremely powerful and affected by those within it. To be blunt, effective leaders know how to respect culture, and also how to leverage it for team performance. INSEAD Professor Erin Meyer is an expert in business and organizational culture, and in this conversation with interviewer Jason Jaggard, she offers up valuable insights about culture, including how to work with international teams, how to hire to maximize creative culture, and how low performers can dramatically impact team culture. This is a fascinating listen for anyone leading teams.

There aren't many individuals who can honestly say that they helped invent such everyday technology as USB, Wi-Fi, the Cloud, and multiple generations of Intel processors. However, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger did just that during a decades-long career as an engineer. Moreover, Pat rose from being an engineer to senior leadership at Intel, and, after a painful detour, eventually into the role of. In this conversation with Global Leadership Summit Producer Lori Hermann, Pat shares some of his leadership learnings from the front line of technology, including the importance of mentors, of ongoing curiosity, and some lessons he learned from seasons of disappointment. If you've ever wondered what it takes to lead one of the premier technology companies in the world, we invite you to tune in!

What does leading through grief really look like for leaders? How do leaders balance practically the demands of leadership with obligations to family and friends? In 2021, the world of teaching pastor and leader Megan Marshman was turned upside down when her husband Randy passed away suddenly. In this very real, gut-level conversation with GLS host Paula Faris, Megan shares her hard-won learnings from tragedy, including how she weighs new commitments and invitations, how to foster a supportive community in her time of need, and how she continues to lead even as she continues to heal.

What if, as a leader, you had access to a tool that could easily identify productivity strengths and weaknesses for your team? After years as a pioneer in the field of organizational health, speaker, consultant, and best-selling author Patrick Lencioni has developed “Working Genius,” which can help leaders quickly and clearly identify how individual team members are wired to work naturally. In addition, Working Genius can also be used to easily map an entire team's strengths and weaknesses. In this episode, Patrick and Global Leadership Podcast team member Jason Jaggard explore how Patrick approaches public speaking, how Working Genius came about, and how leaders can use it to increase productivity and happiness of their individuals and teams.   KEY MOMENTS IN THIS EPISODE  04:44    CREATING CONNECTION THROUGH ON-STAGE VULNERABILITY. As a speaker, Patrick intentionally breaks down barriers between himself and his audience by owning his vulnerabilities and bringing the audience into the experience with him.  14:32    SIX DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES ARE REQUIRED TO DO ANY KIND OF WORK (AND INDIVIDUALS ARE ONLY GREAT AT TWO OF THEM): 1.     Wonder 2.     Invention 3.     Discernment 4.     Galvanizing 5.     Enablement 6.     Tenacity  17:24    UNDERSTAND YOUR UNIQUE “WORKING GENIUS” IN A TEAM CONTEXT. Understanding how your particular “genius” interacts and compensates for others on your team can significantly increase collective productivity and job satisfaction. It can also reveal where teams may lack a particular working genius.   25:52    DIFFERENT MEETINGS REQUIRE DIFFERENT GENIUSES. Be aware of whether you need a meeting to be a brainstorming meeting (as opposed to say, an, “operations” meeting) so that you can make sure the right individuals/geniuses are available to contribute.  29:37    BEING AWARE OF OTHERS' GENIUS UNLOCKS OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRAISE. You can love and honor people effectively when you know what their genius is.   37:20    Host reflection and takeaways.    RELEVANT RESOURCES / LINKS  Table Group Working Genius The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team (on Amazon)  Global Leadership Network   QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION Go further with this episode by discussing the following questions with your team, or engaging in some personal reflection:  Patrick talks about how working inside your “Working Genius” increases personal performance and job satisfaction, and that if teams allow people to work within their genius, the same holds true for team performance. Have you ever been on a team where you or someone else was working outside of their genius (or natural aptitude)? What was the effect on team performance?    Moving Forward: What could you do differently as a result of this podcast?  

Erwin Raphael McManus is passionate about unlocking the spiritual and creative potential of human beings. Whether it's his work as a pastor, author, speaker, coach, or designer, Erwin constantly demonstrates the capacity for growth, change, and ability to impact the world around him. In this conversation with CEO, writer, and executive coach (and a long-time friend) Jason Jaggard, Erwin shares the relationship between our mental structures and our behaviors, why talent can actually be a curse, and even a creative response to the challenge of Artificial Intelligence. Whether you consider yourself a leader, a creative, a spiritual seeker, or something else (or all of these), this conversation will give you insights for how to grow into your own genius.