• Leadership dies from self-inflicted wounds. Your unhealthy response to conflict and challenges creates a downward spiral of guilt and shame.
• You need to cover your bases. The Five Factors framework helps you build the resilience, endurance, presence, hope and ambition you need to thrive as a leader.
• New year, next step. The change you need will be achieved one step at a time. Clarify where you need to grow, simplify your plan and focus on the next right thing.

The Five Factors Framework is designed to take the guesswork out of what matters most. If you want to thrive as a leader, invest in these five areas of personal health.

To help you clarify and manage the change you need to make in your life and leadership, we created a FREE guide to help you take clear next steps. This simple three-step process will give you a simple way to find clarity, gain momentum and produce results that lead to freedom. Taking 10 seconds to download the guide will set you up for success!

• The external challenges that pastors and ministry leaders face
• The real reason pastors don't grow or last as leaders
• How the Five Factors framework helps you lead well and live well
• What the people you lead need most from you right now

• FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/freedom
• GET HELP - Ask Matt and Tal a Question
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group
• FOLLOW: Matt (twitter.com/mattadair) and Tal (twitter.com/talprince)

• You can't hide from politics. Social media and a 24/7 news cycle make political news and opinion impossible to avoid. In a hyper-partisan political culture, no wonder we are exhausted and cynical.
• Your vote is not an expression of your identity. For Christians, we vote as an act of loving our neighbor. Rather than focusing on single issues, we vote for the candidate whose policies will be most conducive to a biblical vision of human flourishing.
• Find moments of possibility in your community. Churches influence policy, not by a preoccupation with national and international affairs. Instead, we pay attention to what God is already doing around us and point people to the hope that God is not done yet.

If you are politically active, this conversation will challenge long-held assumptions. And if you have avoided politics,

The Five Factors Podcast exists to help leaders thrive. By focusing on their personal development, leaders give themselves the best opportunity to lead well for a long time. If we helped you today, will you leave a rating and review of the podcast? This small investment of time on your part will let other leaders know that we are here to help them.

• Why Michael doesn't make New Year's Resolutions
• How the message of Michael's book changed with the election of President Trump
• Why Democrats and Republicans vilify each other
• How pro-life voters and vote for pro-choice candidates with a clear conscience
• What hope looks like in 2018 and how church leaders can help reclaim hope in politics

• BOOK - Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About The Future of Faith in America by Michael Wear
• ARTICLE - "Pro-Life Voters and Pro-Choice Politicians" by Michael Wear
• GET HELP - Ask Matt and Tal a Question
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group

• How well do I know myself? The Enneagram is a self-diagnostic tool. Without a basic level of self-awareness, I leave myself open to blind spots in my choice of type.
• How well do I handle complexity? While the Enneagram's number system is simple to understand, it is a rather sophisticated tool. Some personality types thrive in exploration; others need results with fewer variables.
• What do I hope to learn from the Enneagram? Because the Enneagram is multi-faceted, it is easy to find the answers you are looking for only to lose yourself as other avenues of exploration present themselves.

If the Enneagram is clicking for you, then go with it. Just remember, wisdom comes from a multitude of counselors. The best personality system for you is the one that works for you.

The Enneagram may or may not be right for you. Not all systems are created equal and no single system is right for everyone. To find out which system is best for you, here's a simple diagnostic tool you can use to quit guessing and make a fully informed decision.

• What National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation teaches us about self-awareness
• The stress of stupid Christmas gift-giving traditions
• What is the Enneagram?
• Why is the Enneagram so popular?
• How to determine if the Enneagram is right for you.

• FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/personality
• GET HELP - Ask Matt and Tal a Question
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group

• Know your role. When conflict erupts, are you the perpetrator or victim? And if you aren't directly part of the conflict, help the people involved to understand their roles.
• Take a step forward. Both the victim and perpetrator need to clarify how old they feel during the conflict and take a physical step towards responsibility.
• Decide on a better future. Once apologies have been made and tensions have de-escalated, brainstorm options together. Then negotiate and work with each other until you decide how to move forward.

Leaders don't wait for the drama to go away. That's the secret we want to share with you as a leader. Take the initiative to identify the emotional regression in your family or team members. Help everyone involved take ownership of their part of the conflict. Create an environment where everyone feels heard.

The Drama Triangle helps you visualize what is happening when tensions flare and take steps towards resolving the conflict. Grab the FREE resource we've created to walk you step-by-step through a simple way to use the Drama Triangle to lead yourself, your family and the team you lead at work.

• Matt learns a new word and Tal discovers Encyclopedia Brown
• Two reasons feelings get hurt at Christmas
• The role-switching game we play when we disagree with each other
• The reason why people act immature in the midst of conflict
• The active practice that breaks the cycle of gridlock in conflict
• The highest priority for leaders when consensus can't be found in making a decision

• FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/drama
• GET HELP - Ask Matt and Tal a Question
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group

• Develop a vision for healthy sexuality in your church. Clarify the expectations we should have in our relationships. Repent whenever and wherever sexuality devolves into selfishness and self-centeredness. Rebuild wise boundaries in the places God puts you.
• Don't reduce sexuality to sexual activity. "Spirituality is how we connect with God; sexuality is how we connect with each other."
• When you commit sexual sin, take action. Don't fool yourself into thinking your habits are going to change on their own. Repent, believe the gospel and get help.

Every church is filled with sexual sinners. That not only refers to our sin and sinfulness related to sexual activity, it encompasses any and every self-centered thought, feeling or behavior. If you want to create a sexually healthy culture in your church, prioritize healthy relationships and don't get hung up on sexual activity (but leave some room to talk about that, too!).

The Five Factors Podcast exists to help leaders thrive. By focusing on their personal development, leaders give themselves the best opportunity to lead well for a long time. If we helped you today, will you leave a rating and review of the podcast? This small investment of time on your part will let other leaders know that we are here to help them.

• Why is there a growing list of well-known men accused of sexual assault?
• What causes - both inside and outside the Church - the lack of respect and dignity shown to other people?
• How to create a sexually healthy culture in your church
• What church leaders should do to ensure their church is a safe space for everyone
• How a church leader should take action if their sexual sin seems impossible to defeat

• GET HELP - Ask Matt and Tal a Question
• FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/overview
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group

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• Leadership is an act of love. 'Leadership is about loving and serving others well and drawing out the best from them and aligning them on a mission together.'
• Leaders are not well-rounded. Each of us naturally leads from our heart, soul, mind or strength. But healthy leaders develop ways to lead with awareness of the value of each perspective.
• We need more women leaders. Women leaders struggle with insecurity and a lack of opportunities. Men can be sensitive to the struggles of potential women leaders and be patient as you persist in inviting women into leadership.

The Church and our culture are at a crossroads when it comes to the role of women in leadership. Let's fight for clarity about what the Scriptures teach, recognize the complementary gifts of men and women, and be aggressive to raise up women leaders within the boundaries of our complementarianism.

The Five Factors Podcast exists to help leaders thrive. By focusing on their personal development, leaders give themselves the best opportunity to lead well for a long time. If you have been helped by our conversation with Jenni, will you leave a rating and review of the podcast? This small investment of time on your part will let other leaders know that we are here to help them.

• Matt gripes about churches (sort of) who play the Advent card and ignore the rest of the Church calendar
• Tal shares how he avoids the "Merry Christmas" police
• The importance of focusing on incremental growth in multiple areas as a leader
• Why Jenni hosts coaching groups in her home
• The surprising area of growth for Jenni as a leader, and the lesson learned for every leader
• The challenges and opportunities men and women face in developing women leaders in the church
• Jenni's thoughts on Heather Larson's promotion to lead pastor of Willow Creek
• How to treat people we disagree with
• Four simple steps you should take to develop yourself into an extraordinary leader

• BOOK - The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership
• FREE Resource - The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership Guide
• WEBSITE - jennicatron.com or get4sight.com
• FOLLOW - Jenni Catron on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
• FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/overview
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group

• Take time to evaluate and plan for the year ahead. You don't have time to spend the next month only thinking about next year. But it's a smart play to take an hour, a half-day, or a full day to look back and look ahead.
• Set expectations with your family and employees. Don't assume that everyone understands and agrees with your work plans. I'm sure you have great reasons behind your schedule; make sure the people that matter most are on the same page with you.
• Prioritize self-care during the holiday season. There's a reason bears hibernate in the winter! Use the shorter days and longer nights to prioritize rest and smart decisions about what you eat and drink.

The holidays and the end of a year are unique seasons in the life of a leader. So much of our struggle as leaders stems from our failure to set an intention for our work, our family and our health.

To help you clarify and manage the change you need to make in your life and leadership, we created a FREE guide to help you take clear next steps. This simple three-step process will give you a simple way to find clarity, gain momentum and produce results that lead to freedom. Taking 10 seconds to download the guide will set you up for success!

• Matt shares the best Christmas playlist on Spotify
• Tal shares his Christmas music rules...and his loathing of the song "Christmas Shoes"
• Three reasons why leaders don't finish the year well
• Choosing when to stop working for the year
• The danger of putting projects and profits before people...your family and your employees
• The importance of making healthy choices related to sleeping and eating during the holidays

• PLAYLIST - Old Soul Christmas on Spotify
• FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/wheel
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group

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• Biggest Takeaways You Don't Want To Miss:
  • We need to find better ways to describe how we feel. Most of us don't know how to describe how we feel beyond "OK" or "good."
  • Use a feelings wheel to develop emotional accuracy. This tool visualizes the relationship between emotions and helps us push past surface emotions or words that do not accurately describe how we feel.
  • The road to emotional intelligence takes less than 3 minutes per day. Using the feelings wheel 5 times a day creates awareness, familiarity and confidence to say how you feel and make healthy decisions based on those feelings.

  Focus on incremental change in your emotional vocabulary and the emotional vocabulary of your family and team. Use the feelings wheel to get a baseline - how well do you know how you feel? And then keep using the feelings wheel in meetings, interpersonal interaction and for yourself and watch what happens when you take small steps towards a better future.

  How Do You Feel? Grab Our FREE Guide And Find The Right Words.

  OK, so now we've sold you on the idea of using the feelings wheel. But how do you actually use it? Glad you asked! Tal put together a resource that shows you exactly what you need to do to expand your emotional vocabulary. Articulating your feelings and understanding the feelings of your family and the people you lead is non-negotiable for healthy leaders. Take a few seconds to download the guide and let us set you up for success!

  Check Out These Highlights:
  • Matt confesses that he is a robot
  • Tal talks about why he doesn't like Thanksgiving
  • What does it mean when someone tells you on the Monday after Thanksgiving that they feel 'good' or 'ok'?
  • Why leaders need a robust emotional vocabulary
  • How a feelings wheel is used, and how using it can benefit your team
  • What to do when you or someone on your team oversells or undersells their emotions
  • The formula for putting the feelings wheel to work for you
  Links Mentioned In The Episode
  • FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/wheel
  • Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
  • Five Factors Facebook Group

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• Healthy leaders stay open to reality. Because you have blind spots, you won't always see the world with accuracy. Be willing to intentionally and consistently learn from the perspective of other people.
• Healthy leaders stay open to change. Past success does not guarantee future results. Create space for feedback and innovation.
• Healthy leaders stay open to pivoting. All-or-nothing changes rarely produce the desired results. Play the long game and be willing to take small steps towards a better future.

To help you clarify and manage the change you need to make in your life and leadership, we created a FREE guide to help you take clear next steps. This simple three-step process will give you a simple way to find clarity, gain momentum and produce results that lead to freedom. Taking 10 seconds to download the guide will set you up for success!

• The radio show that took all the fun out of Matt's life growing up
• Three changes that we're making to the podcast
• The situational awareness you need as a leader
• Why leaders struggle to be open to reality
• How vulnerability works in a healthy leadership culture
• The importance of making small changes to break rigidity and avoid chaos

• PAST EPISODE - Resilience: The Mental Health of a Leader (Episode 3)
• FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/freedom
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group

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• Finishing well is more difficult than starting well. Scott wrote his book in response to an 18 month period where five of his friends lost their ministries because of their character. Wherever you are in your journey as a leader, you must lead with the end in mind.
• What can you learn from your critics? Scott shares the examples of Tim Keller and Bob Goff, as well as wisdom from John Newton, to help you grow from criticism, even when you are treated unfairly.
• Every leadership assignment is deeply frustrating. As we pursue the world's deep need and our deep gladness, we encounter moments and seasons when our work is not "successful." We experience what Scott calls "anti-climax" and need to remember Jesus went there first.
• Other leaders have gone before you. Whether you step into an existing role or break new ground as an entrepreneur, consider the work that others have done before you arrived. Failure to do so feeds the gentrification that we experience in our communities and organizations.

Our conversation with Scott is a reminder that every leader is vulnerable. If you've ever wondered if you're covering your bases and setting yourself up for success, check out this FREE overview and assessment of each of the 'five factors' of healthy leadership.

• Why Scott believes this book is his most important book
• How leaders set themselves up for failure when they stop listening to others
• The unique culture that Scott is developing at the church he leads
• What it takes to receive criticism well and learn from it - even when the criticism is unfair
• How Scott chose the topics he covers in his book
• Why Frederick Buechner's quote about vocation being the intersection of the world's deep hunger and our deep gladness is wrong (maybe?)
• How writing this book has changed Scott's leadership

• BOOK - From Weakness To Strength by Scott Sauls
• Follow Scott on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
• PAST EPISODE - Friends and Family - Don't Discount Your Relationships (Episode 6)
• FREE Resource - fivefactors.net/overview
• Five Factors Coaching - fivefactors.net/join
• Five Factors Facebook Group

Thank you so much for checking out this episode of the Five Factors Podcast. If you haven't done so already, please take a minute and leave a quick rating and review of the show on iTunes by clicking on the link below. You'll help us keep delivering life-changing information every week!

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