Christian Woman Leadership Podcast with Esther Littlefield & Holly Cain

As leaders ambition is often a trait we come by naturally. The world praises us for getting the job done or for creating jobs or for climbing the success ladder. But is this what God calls us to?

In this episode of the leadership traits series, Holly and I are exploring the concept of what we are calling 'surrendered ambition' and how we can develop this as leaders.

For the full show notes, visit estherlittlefield.com/episode142.

• Why are we talking about surrendered ambition?
• What is ambition?
• The tension between being ambitious and driven versus building God's kingdom
• Why is this idea of surrendered ambition important?
• How to develop the trait of surrendered ambition
• Action step
• Fun question

Connect with Esther and Holly:

• Esther's Website
• The Christian Woman Business Podcast
• Holly's Website
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode142.

Do you ever struggle to get into God's word? Do you find that your full schedule, your work and family commitments, and the distractions of life sometimes make it difficult to spend time reading the Bible?

If we're honest most of us would say yes, that at least at some point in our lives, we have struggled with being consistent about getting into God's word.

Whether or not this is a current challenge for you, I believe you will get great value out of our conversation with Brittany Ann.

Brittany Ann provides us with insights on why it can be a challenge to get into God's word, why we don't have to follow a particular formula or someone else's method, as well as some of the mistakes we sometimes make when approaching Scripture.

What I love about the entire conversation is that it's really filled with grace. This is not about meeting a particular standard in order to please God. It's about falling in love with God's word so that we can experience a deeper relationship with Him and have our lives transformed by Him.

And as leaders, if we are not experiencing this real relationship with Jesus, we are going to struggle to lead others well. Find our more about how to truly fall in love with God's word in this conversation.

For the full show notes for this episode, visit estherlittlefield.com/episode141

• Brittany's life and leadership journey [4:00]
• Leadership lessons as Brittany has grown a large community [8:32]
• Why getting into God's word is difficult for women in leadership [10:15]
  • Busyness
  • Tired
  • Lack of motivation
  • Distracted
  • Forgetfulness
  • Lack of biblical knowledge
  • Lack of intimacy with God
• Do we have to follow a particular formula to get into God's word? [20:45]
• What role does accountability play in getting into God's word? [32:00]
• How do we approach God's word in the right way? [38:59]
• Mistakes to watch out for [45:00]
• Encouragement for a woman who feels discouraged or ashamed about not getting into God's word [51:00]
• Leaders are Learners [57:20]

• "I did not ever set out to become a leader; it was a matter of me wanting this Christian life."
• "We're all on a journey; we all have room for improvement."
• "See individuals as people, as humans."
• "You will make time for the things that are important to you."
• "We have to take the Bible beyond something that we're 'supposed' to do."
• "Getting in the Word of God is one of the main ways that God speaks to us and connects with us."
• "Jesus did not go to Thursday night Bible study."

• Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad by John Eldredge
• Fall in Love with God's Word: Practical Strategies for Busy Women by Brittany Ann

Equipping Godly Women website

Fall in Love with God's Word website

Brittany Ann is an author, speaker, and founder of EquippingGodlyWomen.com, a popular Christian-living website dedicated to helping women be "all in" in faith and family. Brittany is the author of "Fall in Love with God's Word: Practical Strategies for Busy Women" and the creator of the 21-Day Bible Reading Challenge, a free challenge to help Christian women make regular Bible reading a priority.

• Esther's Website
• Holly's Website
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page
• Instagram

Do you have multiple businesses or lots of business ideas? Are you struggling with figuring out how to focus when you are multi-passionate and enjoy many different types of endeavors?

Have you ever gone on a trip and felt like there's no way you could do all the activities you want to do in the time you're there? This is similar to how we often feel as multi-passionate Christian women. We have so many ideas and so much we want to accomplish, and it can be really hard to narrow down and focus on one thing.

In this episode, I want to walk you through a process that I've used for myself to learn how to focus even when you have lots of ideas and passions you could pursue. This will be especially helpful if you are an entrepreneur or if you have business ideas, as I'll be focusing on this from a business angle.

For the full show notes for this episode, go to estherlittlefield.com/episode140.

2 problems with trying to promote multiple businesses:

• It's very challenging to try and build or grow more than one business because it's hard for people to know who to refer to you.
• We can spread ourselves too thin and end up being ineffective leaders.

• Step 1: List out all your ideas
• Step 2: Become self-aware
• Step 3: Put it all before God
• Step 4: Ask yourself: what would you really love to do?
• Step 5: Get input from trusted mentors or advisors
• Step 6: Run your options through the 'ideal business' filter
• Step 7: Decide and take action

Action Step:

Join the free Communicate & Connect Challenge. This challenge will help you to communicate effectively about what you do - your business or your passion project AND connect with the types of people who need to hear what you have to offer.

We'll work through this together so you feel confident when someone asks you what you do, have the words to create curiosity instead of confusion, and can keep the conversation going to lead people down the path of working with you!

• Esther's Website
• The Christian Woman Business Podcast
• Holly's Website
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode140.

Do you want to be a leader who others can rely on? Would you like to be trustworthy and dependable?

One of the best ways to become a trustworthy leader is to be a consistent leader. Consistency is not one of the most exciting traits to talk about, but we want to include it in our leadership traits series because it can have a massive impact on your leadership.

In this conversation, Holly and I will share what consistency looks like, why it's so important and the Biblical perspective on this topic. We'll also share how to develop this trait even if it doesn't come naturally to you.

For the full show notes, visit estherlittlefield.com/episode139.

• What does consistency look like?
• Why is consistency important in leadership?
• A Biblical perspective on consistency
• How to develop consistency (even if it doesn't come naturally):
• Action Step
• Fun question of the day

• Esther's Website
• The Christian Woman Business Podcast
• Holly's Website
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode139.

The church is not immune to the problem of domestic abuse. But what can we do as women and as leaders to recognize and overcome it?

All of us have people in our lives who are experiencing abuse of some kind, whether we recognize it or not. In this episode, I'm talking with Charlene Quint about domestic abuse and how it is happening within the Christian church. Charlene shares her own personal experience of living in an abusive marriage and finally escaping after 20 years.

Charlene provides incredibly valuable insights into what the church can do to more effectively address domestic abuse, including warning signs and practical action steps leaders should take in these situations. One of the most important steps we can take is to educate ourselves on domestic abuse, and this conversation is an excellent way to deepen your understanding of this important issue.

For the full show notes, go to https://estherlittlefield.com/episode138.

• Overcoming the Narcissist, Sociopath, Psychopath, and Other Domestic Abusers: The Comprehensive Handbook to Recognize, Remove, and Recover from Abuse by Charlene Quint
• National Domestic Violence Hotline

Website

Email: [email protected]

Charlene Quint is a family law attorney in Lake County, Illinois, who focuses her practice on helping women overcome domestic abuse. She wrote Overcoming the Narcissist, Sociopath, Psychopath, and Other Domestic Abusers to help victims of domestic abuse become the fearless victors that God designed them to be.

She is the founder of AbuseCare.org, a nondenominational faith-based organization designed to educate and equip churches in caring for victims of domestic abuse and to provide hope and healing to women on their journey from victim to victorious. Quint is co-chair of the Partnership for a Safer Lake County—a network of organizations combating all forms of abuse. She is a Certified Domestic Violence Professional, an advocate for victims of abuse, a facilitator of multiple support groups, and a domestic abuse survivor. She speaks publicly to raise awareness of domestic abuse. Her professional and personal interests are devoted to helping women overcome domestic abuse.

• Esther's Website
• Holly's Website
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page
• Instagram

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode138.

Encouragement is a powerful thing, and it's not really an optional part of life and leadership as a Christian. Scripture shows us that we should be encouraging one another, but what does this look like practically and how can we find our unique ways of offering encouragement?

In this episode, Holly and I speak with Kari Bartkus of Love Does That. Kari shares her leadership journey and how this has shifted from being in ministry to now running her own business.

Kari is passionate about being present and showing up for others who are hurting around her, and this is how her business began. In our conversation, Kari is sharing all about why encouragement is so important, how to go about encouraging others, and even how we as leaders sometimes need to become better at asking for or receiving encouragement.

For full show notes, visit estherlittlefield.com/episode137.

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram

• Esther's Website
• Holly's Website
• Instagram
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode137.

What does it really mean to embrace your gifts? Are we making it harder than it has to be?

The mission of this podcast is to help you embrace your gifts and lead with confidence. But do you know what it looks like to do this?

In this episode, I'm sharing a personal update along with some thoughts on how you can start to truly embrace your own gifts. Often, we overcomplicate this because we think that maybe using our gifts has to be difficult. But many times, embracing our gifts means doing what comes easiest to us.

• Where the phrase "embrace your gifts and lead with confidence" came from [1:00]
• How my journey and study of God's word lead to podcast episodes and the Confident Leader Catalyst [3:25]
• My current journey of learning about using my gifts [4:46]
• The key question that my friend asked me [9:15]
• What it meant for me to truly lean into my gifts [11:00]
• My personal business update [16:55]
• How to consider whether you are fully using your gifts - ask yourself these questions [22:00]
  • Do I know what my gifts are?
  • Do I have clarity around my purpose?
  • Do I know who God has called me to serve with my gifts?
  • Am I walking in confidence and taking courageous action towards these things?
  • Am I being pulled in too many different directions?
  • Am I trying to do too much and therefore not having the impact I could have if I focused more?
  • Am I ignoring the signs from God because I am concerned about what others might think if I stop, shift, or change something?

• Episode 10: Finding Your Purpose
• Confident Leader Catalyst (self-study)
• Christian Woman Business Podcast
• Podcast in a Weekend Mini-course
• Reflection Series
• Episode 19: The Value of Mentoring with Elisa Pulliam
• Christian Woman Business Community (Facebook Group)
• Business Coaching & Mentoring - email esther if you are interested: business (at) estherlittlefield.com. Listen to episode 27 to hear more about this.
• Confident Conversations Mini-course
• Episode 82: Three Shifts You Need to Make as a Christian Leader

• "If I did all the things I had outlined, I was never going to be able to sleep."
• "My friend challenged me to think about where I was most gifted and where I could have the most impact."
• "I needed to lean into these gifts. I needed to truly embrace them and focus on serving my people."
• "Often using your gifts is going to be the thing that comes the easiest to you."
• "When you are fully using the gifts that God has given you and the natural wiring that He has created you with, you are going to be most fully alive and most fully able to make an impact."
• "I cannot continue to do all of these things and do them well."
• "When you operate in your gifts, when your heart is to bring glory to God, and when you focus on serving those God has called you to… you will start to become an incredible leader."
• "There's nothing more painful than being stuck in a season or in a place that you no longer belong." - Jennifer Allwood

• Esther's Website
• Holly's Website
• Instagram
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode136.

The statistics show that a lot of kids leave the Christian faith when they become teens and young adults. Is there anything that adults can do to help change this pattern?

In this episode, our guest Lee Ann Mancini shares with us about her passion for helping parents develop a solid faith foundation in our children. She believes that, when parents begin instilling faith at a young age, that this will help reverse the trend of kids walking away at older ages.

Lee Ann shares tips and ideas for parents who want to do this, as well as ways for churches to be more proactive in this area as well. We also discuss the power that mothers have in this process and how they can still be a strong role model for their kids even if they do not have a believing spouse.

• LeeAnn's life and leadership [3:00]
• Helping kids have a solid faith foundation [6:40]
• The church's responsibility in developing a faith foundation for kids [16:00]
• How parents can approach their church if they feel more should be done [20:00]
• What moms can do if their spouse isn't a believer or isn't leading the family in faith [24:00]
• Leaders are Learners [26:30]

• "Children are getting set to the side with little Biblical doctrine being taught to them."
• "Moms are powerful. I don't think we get enough credit for what we do as moms."
• "Don't wait; start now."
• "If you force a child to do something, then that's not building a heart foundation in Christ."

• Episode 119: How to Thrive While Leading and Parenting Teens with Connie Albers
• Episode 96: Deconstruction, Apologetics, and Discipleship with Alisa Childers
• Episode 59: The Importance of Apologetics in Leadership & Dealing with Doubt with Hillary Morgan Ferrer
• Renew a Nation
• Teach Sunday School
• Legacy Coalition
• The Forgotten Way
• Novel Effect App

• Website
• SeaKids TV

Lee Ann is the host of Raising Christian Kids podcast, which can be found on all major platforms including CounterCultureMom.com, Pray.com, and Edifi.app. Raising Christian Kids is a five to ten-minute podcast that equips and empowers mothers, grandparents, teachers, and all who are raising the next generation, to have a strong foundation in Jesus.

Lee Ann is an award-winning Christian children's author and Executive Producer of the new animation series Sea Kids, which can be seen on Trinity Broadcasting Network, Pure Flix, Right Now Media, and SeaKidsTv.com.

Her God-given mission and desire are to serve all who are raising the next generation of Christians by preparing the soil to be rich from the womb to age three in which to plant the seeds that grow deep roots from ages four to ten.

• Esther's Website
• Holly's Website
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode135.

Good leaders are good communicators. But how can you become a better communicator, and is there one aspect of communication that is vitally important?

As leaders, we can always be learning and growing, and while there may be some innate leadership qualities in some of us, much of leadership is about developing skills. So in this episode of our leadership traits series, we're going to focus on one skill that is essential for leaders: communication.

Specifically, we're diving into how to have more clarity in your communication as a leader. Clarity is important for leadership as it helps people to understand you, your message, and your vision. It helps to attract or repel people, earn trust, avoid confusion, convey love, and more.

It's first essential for you to have clarity around your message--what you want to say to your audience, whether it's one person or 10,000 people.

Ask yourself these 3 questions:

• What do I want to say?
• Why do I want to say it?
• How do I want to say it?

Many times we need an outside perspective… we need to ask someone else to review what we are planning to share and be open to their honest feedback.

It's vital for you to have self-awareness in order to convey your message with clarity. What do you need self-awareness about?

• your strengths and weaknesses as well as sensitive subject or hot topics that cause you to lose your filter or cool
• your motivations and intentions
• your personality
• your world view

It's important to know who you are speaking to, and adapt your message based on this. Make sure that it's clear to this group of people that you are talking to.

3 things you should understand about your audience:

• Culture
• Demographics
• History

Finally, you need to determine the importance of the message and use the appropriate language and mode to convey your message. In other words, prioritize how you communicate.

It's also helpful to identify what you want for a response from your audience. Does your email need a reply? If so, be sure to say that. Do you need participation at an event or help gathering information? Be clear and prioritize what's most important, and then be clear about the response you'd like to see.

Whether you are simply communicating with your family or whether you are communicating to a large team or a huge audience, if you put into practice these 4 things, you will find that you will be more effective.

To review, in order to gain more clarity in your communication, you want to have:

• Clarity about the message itself
• Self-awareness
• Discernment
• Prioritization

Choose which of these 4 keys you need to develop and share with us in the Purposeful Leadership FB group!

• Leadership Traits Series
• Episode 8: The Key to Becoming a Better Leader
• Communication Series

• Esther's Website
• Holly's Website
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode134.

Have you ever struggled to navigate the workplace or even the church as a female in a male-dominated environment?

In this episode, Holly and I chat with Tammy Birklid about her leadership journey and how she transitioned into her role as owner of a construction company. She shares about her experience as a female in the construction industry and how she views equality in the workplace.

Tammy provides many insights into mentoring, leadership transitions, and holding true to your faith and your values in spite of what others may think. Even if you're not working in a primarily male environment, this episode is sure to bring you practical ways you can grow as a leader in your current situation.

• Tammy's background & leadership journey [3:19]
• Working in a male-dominated industry [9:20]
• Leadership transitions [16:35]
• Characteristics of a good leader [21:15]
• Equality in the workplace [29:20]
• How faith impacts the way you do business [32:00]
• Business lessons translating into serving in the church [41:15]
• Encouragement to women who haven't had open doors [47:00]
• Leaders are learners [50:10]
• Key Quotes from the Episode:
• "Innovation is the key to life right now."
• "A legacy is not just about what you've done during your life; it's more about what is carried on in your absence."
• "My empathy is something that is actually an asset, it is not a weakness."
• "You can't control other people's perception but you can control your reaction to it."
• "Be who you say you are."
• "Leadership is something you carry everywhere in your world."
• "I think to be authentic you have to be the same person through and through whether you're at church on Sunday or you're at work on Monday."
• "You always want to stay true to your values."
• "I think it's important in times like this to lead with faith and not fear."

• www.merritnw.com
• Instagram
• Facebook

• Esther's Website
• Holly's Website
• Instagram
• Facebook Group
• Facebook Page

This episode was originally published on January 5, 2021 on estherlittlefield.com/episode133.