Lead Together

This is one of our favorite formats: real questions from real people, answered without filler. In this Office Hours episode, Nick and Kim tackle five questions covering some of the most common and costly relational mistakes leaders make at work and at home.

In this episode:

• How to build self-awareness that lets you receive hard feedback, even from people you do not trust
• What to actually do when a marriage has developed damaging patterns over years
• What works in the first 90 days of leading a new team, and what most leaders get wrong
• Why most leaders undercommunicate, and a practical framework for fixing it
• How to grieve the life you expected without losing hope for the one ahead

Referenced: The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins, Atomic Habits by James Clear, The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis.

Submit your question for a future episode at relationalleadership.co/leadtogether.

Book a strategy call: relationalleadership.co

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

Growth is worth celebrating. But no one talks about what it actually costs.

In this episode, Nick and Kim Bogardus get honest about what happens when organizations, churches, and families grow faster than their systems can keep pace — and why even healthy cultures can fracture under the pressure.

Drawn from real client work and personal experience, this conversation gives you language for what you're feeling and a practical framework for navigating it well.

What you'll walk away with:

• The four specific challenges every growth season creates
• Why culture doesn't scale automatically and what to do about it
• The right person / right seat problem, and how to spot it early
• A simple question to ask yourself before your next season of growth

Resources mentioned:

• Strategy call with Relational Leadership: relationalleadership.co
• MinistryEngine consulting for churches: ministryengine.com
• Follow us: @RelationalLeadership

Lead Together is for Christian men and women who want to lead better at work and at home. New episodes drop weekly.

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

In this episode of Lead Together, we sit down with Scottie Parker, former athletic trainer with the Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Atlanta Hawks, to unpack what elite sports taught him about leadership, identity, and calling.

You’ll learn:

• Why his “dream job” nearly crushed him
• What he learned about the disconnect between stated values and lived reality
• How Scottie rebuilt his leadership on faith, relationships, and clarity

This episode is for every high-achieving Christian professional who’s tired of leading from a place of pressure instead of presence.

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

In this episode of Lead Together, filmmaker and faith-driven creative Anders Lindwall shares how storytelling can transform your grind into purpose. Anders is the director of Green and Gold, starring Craig T. Nelson, which premiered nationally and is now streaming on Amazon Prime and Angel Studios.

You’ll learn:

• Why every leader needs a “cathedral vision”
• The story that reframes ditch-digging as holy work
• How to cast vision that fuels both your team and your family

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

In this episode Nick and Kim reflect on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and what it reveals about leadership, formation, and family in today’s digital world.

This isn’t about politics—it’s about the spiritual and emotional exhaustion of living in a world where evil is unavoidable and moral clarity is rare.

They then share and comment on a few resources they've been reading lately that turn out to be related to current events.

You’ll learn:

• Why “witnessing evil on repeat” is damaging your soul (and what to do about it)
• How to raise kids with anchored convictions in an age of online indoctrination
• The hidden danger of becoming a “grievance collector”—and how that mindset sabotages marriages, teams, and parenting
• Why Christian leaders must pursue grace + truth with humility
• How forgiveness frees us from the cycle of revenge

Whether you’re leading a team, a church, or just trying to show up better at home—this episode will equip you with practical tools and Christian perspective.

Resources Mentioned:

• "Strong and Weak" by Andy Crouch
• "After Humanity: A Guide to CS Lewis' Abolition of Man" by Michael Ward
• Modern Wisdom podcast with James Kimmel Jr.

Connect with us: RelationalLeadership.co | Book a strategy call to explore leadership coaching

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

Feeling like you're spinning your wheels despite being busier than ever? You're not alone. Most productivity advice treats you like a machine that needs optimization, but you're a person created for relationship.

In this episode, Nick and Kim break down the four core productivity challenges keeping Christian leaders overwhelmed and unfulfilled:

• Time awareness gaps - not knowing where your hours actually go
• Prioritization traps - spending more time on urgent than important tasks
• System shortages - constantly reacting instead of being proactive
• Focus fallacies - getting distracted from meaningful work

Discover the urgent vs. important matrix that will transform your decision-making and learn why productivity isn't optimization—it's stewardship of the gifts God has given you.

Resources:

• Michael Hyatt Focus Planner
• Asana, Jira, Pomodoro Timer
• Book a strategy call: relationalleadership.co/contact

Connect: relationalleadership.co | @relationalleadership

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

In this Situational Awareness episode, three seemingly unrelated stories reveal a crucial truth: how you handle what you don't choose reveals your character—and character determines outcomes more than talent or intelligence.

Nick and Kim connect Kirk Cousins' graceful response to being benched, the resilience themes in Angel Studios' Sketch, and alarming new research showing declining conscientiousness among younger generations.

Key Topics:

• Why conscientiousness predicts career success better than IQ or background
• The Kirk Cousins framework for handling setbacks with grace
• How to build character in team members who struggle with follow-through
• Practical strategies for raising resilient kids in a culture that celebrates quitting
• The hidden opportunity for leaders of Gen-Z in a declining-character culture

Key Takeaways:

• Character is revealed in how you handle what you don't choose
• Conscientiousness can be developed but requires intentional structure
• Leaders who model emotional regulation become incredibly valuable
• Family is where character gets formed first

Resources Mentioned:

• "I Love You And You're Alright" by Citizens 
• Netflix Quarterback Season 2
• Angel Studios Sketch movie
• Financial Times conscientiousness research
• Edwin Friedman's A Failure of Nerve
• Jonathan Haidt's work on digital media and teens

Perfect for Christian professionals leading teams and families who want practical frameworks for building character and resilience.

Connect with Relational Leadership: 

Strategy Call: relationalleadership.co/contact

Enneagram Assessment: relationalenneagram.com

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

You're drowning in your own success. Your team comes to you for every decision. You stay late finishing work "only you can do." Sound familiar?

In this episode, Nick and Kim Bogardus break down why the best leaders aren't afraid to delegate their most important work—and why your resistance to delegation might be sabotaging your team and your family.

You'll discover:

• The biblical foundation for delegation (Moses, the disciples, and Jesus all did this)
• Why perfectionism, speed, and control are killing your leadership effectiveness
• The DELEGATE framework: 8 practical steps for empowering others without losing quality
• How to identify who gets what responsibility (the A, B, C player system)
• Real examples of delegation wins at work AND at home
• The "80% rule" that will change how you think about standards

Key Quote: "If you're the bottleneck in your organization, you're not leading—you're limiting."

Whether you're leading a team of 50 or a family of 5, these principles will help you multiply your impact by developing others.

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

Most Christian professionals have put significant effort into plans but lack compelling vision—and it's costing them clarity, unity, and resilience when circumstances change (and they inevitably do).

Key takeaway: The quality of your life and leadership depends on the quality of your relationships—and the quality of your relationships depends on having shared vision for where you're going together.

You'll discover:

• Why confusing goals with vision is a trap that keeps leaders stuck
• The 3 characteristics every effective vision must have
• Why most leaders skip vision development (and pay the price)
• How to identify and overcome the 3 biggest "vision killers"
• Real examples of vision statements that actually work for families and teams
• The integration challenge that separates great leaders from good ones
• Why vision development requires intentional process, not weekend retreats

Resources mentioned:

• Complete vision development framework: relationalleadership.co/vision
• Book a strategy call: relationalleadership.co/call
• Take the Relational Enneagram: relationalenneagram.com

Perfect for Christian professionals who want to lead effectively without compartmentalizing their faith, work, and family life.

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.

Feedback doesn't have to be painful—when done right, it's one of the most powerful tools for building trust and driving growth. In this episode, Nick and Kim reveal the QBIQ method, a simple framework that makes feedback conversations productive whether you're leading a team or raising confident kids.

You'll discover:

• Why most feedback fails (and the four fatal mistakes to avoid)
• The QBIQ method for giving feedback that actually works
• How to receive feedback without getting defensive
• Real examples from workplace meetings to bedtime routines
• Strategies for building a feedback culture at work and home

Plus, Kim shares a real-time example of using the QBIQ method with a car dealership service manager—and why asking permission first changes everything.

If you've been avoiding difficult conversations or your feedback isn't creating the change you want, this episode gives you the exact tools to turn feedback from dreaded confrontation into relationship-building opportunity.

Resources mentioned:

• The Leader Lab book
• Relational Leadership coaching services
• Take the Relational Enneagram assessment

Submit your questions for upcoming Q&A episodes at relationalleadership.co/together

How you can support us:
• Leave us a 5-star review on iTunes or Spotify
• Share this episode with a friend
• Send a question for a future Office Hours episode

You can work with us at Relational Leadership.