Leadership in the Valley

In this episode, Josh and Justin discuss what is one of the most widely felt experiences in 2020: isolation. All of us have experienced some level of isolation this year, and that may have some serious consequences for us as human beings and for us as leaders. Tune in this week to hear how isolation kills collaboration in our leadership, and how God’s nearness can change that.

In this episode, Justin and Josh discuss shame and leadership. As human beings, we are all storied-creatures, which means we live and thrive off of story. And shame actually is a story, though a deeply destructive one. As destructive as this story is, there is still hope in the grace of God. Tune in this week to hear how shame kills creativity in leadership, and how the grace of God can interrupt the narrative of shame.

In this episode, Justin and Josh pick up our first topic for the series: anxiety. To some degree, everyone experiences anxiety. But leaders have a unique danger when we allow anxiety to take root in our lives: it kills our vision. The ability to have a creative vision for our groups, church, or organization is killed when we “dress-rehearse” the unfaithfulness of God. And so, Josh and Justin discuss how God is faithful, and what that means as we move from anxiety to trust.

In this episode, Justin brings on our Spiritual Formation Director, Josh Sercey, to discuss mental and emotional health. Specifically, this season we want to discuss the ways in which our mental and emotional unhealth affects our leadership, and how God’s character matters for such struggles. For this episode, Justin and Josh discuss the false ideas we have about leadership that would keep us from being honest in this conversation.

In the final episode of the season, Ilona and Justin close by discussing how to get our organizations ready for whatever we’re trying to accomplish this fall. Using a framework of process and product, they discuss how we can evaluate organizational products and processes in light of our goals.

In this episode, Ilona and Justin pivot to discuss our organizations. Reminding us that we should be assessing health regardless of whether the world’s in a global pandemic, they use a classic business school assessment tool as a framework to assess whether your organization, be it a community group, church, or company, is healthy. How can you leverage your organizational “superpower” as you anticipate the future? What hard facts do you need to face? How can you prepare to take advantage of opportunities and protect yourself from organizational threats?

In this episode, Ilona and Justin offer an assessment to determine whether your team is ready to engage what’s waiting for you in the new reality of life, business, and church during a pandemic. We can’t wait around for “normal” – leaders need to determine a strategy for how they will lead their teams. Are your vision, strategy, and tactics appropriate to life in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? Do you have the right people in the right positions? As the leader, what can you do to equip and resource your team for what is to come?

In this episode, Ilona and Justin explore how we can assess whether our teams, groups, and people are healthy. Using Patrick Lencioni’s leadership fable, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, they offer a framework to identify potential relational and team dysfunctions. Does your team have the trust necessary to tackle the obstacles that await you in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic? Are your people willing to engage in hard conversations? What’s a stake if you don’t learn to hold one another accountable?

In this episode, Ilona and Justin discuss how we assess our individual readiness as leaders for what’s coming in the next phase of life in the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, part of our responsibility as leaders is considering what our teams and organizations need, but first we need to do our individual work of preparation. This episode explores three categories of readiness and how those will align with the work waiting for us in the coming season.

In this episode, Ilona and Justin kick off Season 3 talking about reentry in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reality is, by the time reentry and reopening starts to happen, it’s too late to prepare. So how can we leverage the time we have now to get ourselves ready to lead our people in the midst of social upheaval and organizational transition? How can we assess our individual health and properly address unhealth so we can lead our teams well?