ReLeader with Dr. Jon Chasteen

Trying to keep everyone happy is exhausting.

In this episode of The ReLeader Podcast, Jon talks about the emotional pressure leaders carry, how fear quietly affects leadership, and why so many leaders end up hiding who they really are.

Jon unpacks several signs fear may be shaping your leadership more than you realize, from replaying criticism constantly to feeling responsible for everyone’s emotions.

This episode is an honest conversation about approval, pressure, people-pleasing, and learning how to lead from conviction instead of constantly managing reactions.

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In this episode, Jon shares how one unexpected text that completely shifted his mindset during a discouraging week, and what it revealed about leadership.

Most leaders think they have a performance problem when in reality, they have an encouragement problem. Research shows people don’t disengage because of workload alone; they disengage when they feel unseen.

Jon unpacks the silent cost of a culture without encouragement, why it slowly drains energy and output, and the one simple, zero-cost practice that can instantly begin to change it.

If you want to strengthen your team, improve your culture, and get more out of the people you lead, this is one of the most overlooked tools you have.

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ReLeader Book

You Didn’t Start the Fire, But You Still Smell Like Smoke

In this episode Jon explores a challenge many ReLeaders face but don’t always understand at first: stepping into leadership after someone who left damage behind. The fire may be out, but the smoke is still in the air.

Using the analogy of campfire smoke, Jon explains why teams often continue reacting long after unhealthy leadership is gone. Just like smoke clings to your clothes long after you leave the fire, the residue of past leadership settles into habits, reactions, and expectations inside an organization.

Jon shares how to recognize when what looks like resistance is actually recovery, how to tell the difference between reflexes and toxicity, and why consistent leadership is the key to rebuilding trust. He also unpacks how healthy leaders “burn cleaner” by creating clarity, communication, and steady leadership that slowly changes the air in the room.

In this episode, Jon Chasteen sits down with Kevin Queen, Senior Pastor of CrossPoint Church in Nashville, for an honest conversation about the real-world weight of leadership. They unpack the hidden challenges of stepping into an existing church — from relational grief and emotional pressure to the role of prayer and fasting in steadying your calling. Kevin shares his journey from 12Stone Church to CrossPoint, highlighting patience, community, and the rhythms that keep leaders healthy. They also dive into why listening tours matter and how ReLeading is a completely different game than church planting.

Dr. Nick Floyd is the Lead Pastor of Cross Church with multiple campuses in NW Arkansas. He is a ReLeader who has picked up the mantle of a large church that was founded in 1870.

In this conversation, Nick and Jon Chasteen talk about what it’s really like to carry weight you didn’t create, the emotional toll leadership can take, and why staying healthy isn’t optional if you want to last.

They get into leadership stress, expectations, burnout, protecting your marriage, learning when to slow down, and how calling doesn’t remove pressure—it teaches you how to carry it well.

This is an honest, unfiltered conversation about leadership, faith, responsibility, and longevity.

This is an unedited, unfiltered conversation with Aaron Kennedy.

No script. No notes. No clock. No cleanup.

No cutting around uncomfortable moments.

Aaron and Jon Chasteen talk openly about leadership, faith, pressure, doubt, calling, and the things leaders usually keep to themselves.

Nothing here is polished.

Nothing here is packaged.

It’s just a real conversation.

In today’s episode, Jon talks about one of the most underrated tools in leadership: Consistency.

Drawing from history and real-life leadership experience, he explores why the silence that comes after the honeymoon phase may not be failure, but trust, stability, and cultural health.

If the applause has stopped and leadership feels quiet, this episode will help you reframe what consistency really is and how it builds.

Link to Book: ReLeader: How to Fix What You Didn’t Breakhttps://www.amazon.com/ReLeader-How-What-Didnt-Break/dp/B0FHJVZ5TB/ref=monarch_sidesheet_title

ReLeader article referenced in episode: “A Case for Consistency”https://releader.co

This is the second half of a two-part series on the things leaders need to unlearn in order to lead with clarity, health, and confidence.If you missed Part 1, pause this and go back — it sets up the whole framework.In this episode, we look at the final three Unlearnings:Unlearn Old Metrics of SuccessUnlearn the Desire to Lead Like Your Predecessor Unlearn Survival ModeThese three hit leaders especially hard when you’re stepping into an existing role, inheriting old expectations, or trying to rebuild a culture. We’ll talk about shifting from hype to health, finding your own voice instead of living in someone else’s shadow, and learning to lead from vision instead of fear.This wraps the series, but it continues the same theme:Sometimes the future God has for you is locked behind one thing you’re willing to let go of.And if you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, make sure you do — the two episodes work together.

Leadership is usually framed around what we need to learn — new books, new tools, new strategies. But the longer I lead, the more I’m convinced that some of the biggest breakthroughs come from what we’re willing to unlearn.In this first episode of a two-part series, I walk through the first four things leaders must release if they want to grow in a healthy way:Unlearn the Need to Prove YourselfUnlearn the Idea that More is BetterUnlearn the Urge to Keep Everyone HappyUnlearn the Belief that Conflict Means You’re FailingThese are the things that keep leaders stuck, anxious, and exhausted, especially when you step into an environment you didn’t start. I’ll share personal stories, practical examples, and a few lessons I’ve learned the hard way.And this is only part one.Next week we’ll finish it out with Unlearnings 5–7.If this episode resonates, be sure to catch Part 2 in our next episode—it builds directly on this conversation.

In this episode, Jon breaks down what it means to be the “doctor” of the organization you’ve inherited. ReLeading is less like raising a child and more like adopting an adult with pre-existing conditions, and the first step is always a diagnosis.

Jon walks through five health metaphors—cardiovascular health, high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, and obesity—to show how hidden issues in culture, pace, conflict, systems, and overload can keep an organization unhealthy.

You’ll learn what symptoms to look for, how to treat them, and how to lead your team back to health from the inside out.

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