Linch with a Leader

None of us signed up for the school of adversity. So why does God walk us through it?

In this Inside Out episode, Mike Linch builds on his recent conversation with Dr. Harv Powers, licensed clinical psychologist and author of Redemptive Leadership, to explore a powerful idea: God wastes none of it.

James 1:2-4 tells us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance, and that perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete. That doesn't make hard seasons easier, but it does make them purposeful.

Mike unpacks why trials come dressed differently in every season of life, what perseverance really is, and how the endurance God builds in you today becomes the strength you use to help someone else tomorrow.

Whether your trial is at work, in your marriage, in your finances, or in your family, the question is the same:

Will you let God finish His work in you?

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Inside Out takes a spiritual truth or theme from Mike's latest Linch with a Leader conversation and explores what Scripture has to say about it.

Why do most leaders think competency is the finish line, when it's actually just the beginning?

In this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike Linch sits down with Dr. Harv Powers, licensed clinical psychologist, pastor, and author of Redemptive Leadership, to explore the five stages every leader moves through on the way to genuine influence.

Drawing from over 40 years working with leaders in crisis, Harv explains why most leaders don't fail because they lack skill or knowledge — they fail at the level of character. He shares the darkest season of his own life, when his marriage ended and he resigned from his job feeling like a complete failure, and how that exact crucible became the foundation for everything he now does helping leaders navigate their own breaking points.

Mike and Harv unpack Harv's Redemptive Leadership framework, including the stages of Competency, Intelligence, Character, Transformation and Redemption, and explore why emotional intelligence is the number one predictor of success in any field. Harv explains why our shadows never fully disappear and must instead be stewarded, why every leader eventually faces their own "well of Midian" moment, and why the leaders who resist their crucible season often stall out right where they are.

They also discuss one of the most freeing truths in leadership: God doesn't use us in spite of our brokenness. He uses us because of it.

And for leaders in the middle of their own crisis, Harv offers a powerful reframe:

Name it. Own it. Steward it.

Dr. Harv Powers is a licensed clinical psychologist, ordained minister, and president of The Redimere Group, a faith-based nonprofit focused on leadership development for faith-based leaders and organizations. He is the author of Redemptive Leadership and has spent over 40 years working with leaders in crisis around the world.

Read 'Redemptive Leadership': https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998789690?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Every leader carries weight, but Jesus never meant for you to carry it alone.

In this Inside Out episode, Mike builds on his conversation with Dr. Barry Corey, president of Biola University and co-author of Necessary Burdens, to unpack Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Mike breaks down the difference between the burdens we take on ourselves and the ones placed on us by others' expectations, and why Jesus didn't come to help us manage those burdens better. He came to carry them for us. The question every leader has to answer isn't whether they'll carry burdens. It's whether they'll carry them alone, or hand them to the people around them and the Savior above them.

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

You can crumble, or you can crumple. One is destruction. The other is something you can still open back up and straighten out.

In this episode, Mike sits down with Dr. Barry Corey, president of Biola University and co-author (with Dr. John Townsend) of the new book Necessary Burdens, to talk honestly about the weight every leader carries, and why almost no one talks about it.

Barry explains why the person at the top of any organization carries burdens no one else fully understands: the isolation of having no true peer, the criticism that comes with embodying an entire institution, the pull of unchecked temptation, the discipline of discretion, and the quiet fear of becoming irrelevant. Left unaddressed, these burdens can crumble a leader. Rightly carried, they can be the very thing that builds one.

Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30) and this conversation is about what it actually looks like to carry leadership's weight in a way that strengthens you rather than breaks you.

Do you see what's coming before it happens or only after it's a crisis?

In this Inside Out episode, Mike Linch builds on his recent conversation with pattern-recognition expert and bestselling author Les McKeown to explore a powerful idea: every organization, church, and team moves through a predictable life cycle, and the leaders who thrive are the ones who can see the shift coming before everyone else does.

1 Chronicles 12:32 tells us about the sons of Issachar, 200 leaders who "understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take." That kind of discernment isn't just business instinct — it's a spiritual gift God gives leaders who walk closely with Him.

Mike unpacks what it means to lead from the inside out, how staying close to the Lord sharpens our ability to recognize warning signs before they become disasters, and why King Saul lost that gift while King David gained it.

Whether you're leading a business, a church, a team, or a family, the question is the same:

Are you seeing what's ahead, or only reacting to what's already happened?

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 12:32

Inside Out takes a spiritual truth or theme from Mike's latest Linch with a Leader conversation and explores what Scripture has to say about it.

Why does an organization often start feeling harder to lead just as it becomes more successful?

In this episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike Linch sits down with bestselling author and Predictable Success founder Les McKeown to explore the predictable stages that businesses, churches, nonprofits and teams experience as they grow.

Drawing from decades of experience building, advising and studying organizations, Les explains why growth inevitably creates complexity—and why the leadership practices that helped an organization succeed early can eventually begin holding it back.

Mike and Les unpack Les’s Predictable Success framework, including Early Struggle, Fun, Whitewater and Predictable Success, and explore the leadership roles of the Visionary, Operator, Processor and Synergist. Les explains why Visionaries need Operators, why organizations begin dropping the ball as complexity increases, why systems become necessary, and why too much process can eventually become its own problem.  

They also discuss one of the most difficult realities of organizational growth: sometimes the people who helped build an organization aren’t the people who can take it into its next stage.

And for visionary leaders, Les offers a powerful challenge:

Do only what only you can do.

If you lead a business, church, nonprofit, ministry or team, and growth has made your organization feel more complicated instead of less, this conversation will help you identify where you are, why you’re experiencing it and what your leadership may need next.

Les McKeown is the Founder and CEO of Predictable Success and the bestselling author of Predictable Success, The Synergist, Do Lead and Do Scale. His work focuses on helping leaders build scalable, sustainable organizations and high-performing leadership teams.

Why did God give you the gifts, talents, and abilities you have?

In this Inside Out episode, Mike Linch builds on his recent conversation with bestselling author and communication expert Nancy Duarte to explore a powerful idea: stewardship.

First Peter 4:10 tells us that God has given each of us gifts and calls us to use them to serve one another. That means your gifts aren’t ultimately just about what you’re good at, what you can accomplish, or how successful you can become. God gave you your gifts for the benefit of other people and for His glory.

Mike unpacks what it means to steward something that ultimately belongs to God, how our natural talents and spiritual gifts can work together, and why failing to use what God has entrusted to us affects more than just ourselves.

Whether your gift is speaking, serving, encouraging, leading, helping, discerning, or something else, the question is the same:

Are you using what God gave you for the purpose He gave it to you?

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10–11

Inside Out takes a spiritual truth or theme from Mike’s latest Linch with a Leader conversation and explores what Scripture has to say about it.

What separates a good communicator from one who can actually move people to action?

Mike Linch sits down with bestselling author, communication expert, and Duarte, Inc. CEO Nancy Duarte to explore how the world’s most effective leaders communicate with clarity, empathy, conviction, and story. Nancy shares what she’s learned studying communicators like Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jesus, including her fascinating analysis of the Sermon on the Mount, and explains why your audience should always be the hero of the story.

You’ll learn how to use Nancy’s “What Is / What Could Be” framework, why great leaders prepare more than people realize, how introverts can become powerful communicators, and why communication is ultimately about serving the people entrusted to your leadership.

To watch the episode visit: https://www.youtube.com/@linchwithaleader

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What actually happens when you give your life to Jesus? 2nd Corinthians 5:17 tells us that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. But becoming a new creation doesn’t only change where you’ll spend eternity, it changes your identity, your purpose, your calling, and the way you live right now.

In this Inside Out episode of Linch with a Leader, Mike Linch reflects on his conversation with author and CEO Charlie Watkins and unpacks 2 Corinthians 5:17–18.

Paul tells us that when we are reconciled to God through Christ, we’re also given something extraordinary: the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, Christians aren’t only called to know Jesus. We’re called to make Jesus known.

Mike explores what it means to:

- Find your identity in Christ

- Become a new creation

- Understand God’s purpose for your life

- Live out the ministry of reconciliation

- Use your gifts and influence for God’s purposes

- Make Jesus known wherever God has placed you

- Lead people instead of simply managing positions

- Whether you’re leading a business, church, team, classroom, family, or organization, your purpose is bigger than your position.

Know Him. Make Him known.

📖 SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 5:17–18

Charlie Watkins has led companies, survived cancer and open-heart surgery, experienced business successes and failures, and spent decades mentoring Christian men and leaders. But his definition of success is not built around a position, income, accomplishment, or title.

In this conversation, Charlie joins Mike Linch to explain why a leader’s title is temporary, how to build an identity rooted in Christ, and what it means to discover God’s will and calling for your life.

Charlie shares the story of meeting Jesus aboard a nuclear-powered Navy cruiser after encountering a ship’s doctor whose integrity and compassion looked like Christ. He also discusses waiting on God, healing through suffering, creating sacred daily rhythms, stewarding time and money, leading through influence, loving your family well, and building a spiritual legacy that changes generations.

Charlie and Mike discuss:

• Why your leadership title can never sustain your identity

• How to ground your identity in what God says about you

• Why “Jesus moves at the speed of healing”

• The difference between waiting and waiting on the Lord

• How suffering prepares leaders to handle prosperity

• Why Christian leaders need sacred morning rhythms

• Bringing Jesus into meetings and business decisions

• Stewarding your time, money, talents, and relationships

• Leading with strength without becoming hard

• How one faithful Christian can change a family’s trajectory

• Becoming the husband, father, grandfather, and leader God has called you to be

• Building a spiritual legacy that reaches future generations

Charlie reminds us that biblical success is not ultimately about reaching the highest position. It is about discovering and walking faithfully in the will of God for your life.