Most leaders understand the importance of health—but few actually live it out consistently. 

In this episode, we're continuing our series on The Five Spheres of an H2 Leader with a focus on the second sphere: Health. This isn't just about eating better or working out more. It's about living integrated and aligned to your values and needs.

Here's what we unpack:

The Definition of a Healthy Leader

Aspirational vs. Actual Values

Understanding Your Needs: Heart, Soul, Mind, Body

The Cost of Ignoring Health

The Benefits of Getting Healthy

Reflection Questions:

If you're ready to lead healthy and high-impact in 2026, this episode is your wake-up call.

Listen now and take your next right step toward becoming an H2 leader.

For coaching, consulting, and resources to help you lead as a Healthy + High Impact leader, visit www.h2leadership.com.

Leader, welcome back to 2026. We're going straight at it.

Instead of starting the year with goal setting alone, we're going beneath the surface to who you are as a leader. Because here's the reality: you have way more influence than you think — and how you wield that leadership influence shapes everything around you.

This episode kicks off our new series on The Five Spheres of an H2 Leader, starting with Influence. Over the next five episodes, we'll unpack the foundational areas every Healthy + High Impact leader must pay attention to: Influence, Health, Self-Awareness, Design, and Space.

Today, we're tackling the first sphere: how to use your influence to build empowering cultures instead of toxic leadership environments.

The Tale of Two Leaders

One leader I coach lives under the shadow of an insecure boss who constantly needs attention and affirmation. This sharp, competent leader has been slowly diminished over time — beaten down by someone who doesn't comprehend their own influence.

The other leader I coach does the exact opposite. They're constantly asking, "How can I raise my team up? How can I get them to shine?" They form a protective line so their people — especially young leaders — can succeed.

Beat down or lift up. That's the question.

Do the people around you feel diminished by your presence, or empowered by it?

What You'll Learn About Leadership Influence:

Three Steps to Healthy Leadership Influence:

Signs You're Using Influence Poorly:

How to Build an Empowering Culture:

Reflection Questions for Leaders:

Memorable Quote:

"The leader who does not comprehend their influence is bound to wound the people around them."

What's Next in This Series:

Next week, we dive into Sphere 2: Health — why leaders who don't take care of themselves can't sustain impact. If you want to lead with clarity instead of chaos in 2026, this series is your foundation.

Take Your Next Right Step:

Visit h2leadership.com for leadership coaching, team consulting, and resources to help you lead as a Healthy + High Impact leader.

If this episode served you:

Leadership is complex, but it doesn't have to be lonely. Let's get after it.

January is loud.

Everywhere you look, leaders are being told to set bigger goals, move faster, and start strong. But what if the reason you feel stuck, unclear, or overwhelmed right now isn’t a motivation problem or a discipline problem?

What if it’s a season problem?

In this New Year–focused episode, Alan Briggs helps leaders slow down just enough to ask a better question before setting goals for 2026:

What season of leadership am I actually in right now?

Because when goals don’t match seasons, leaders burn out, teams get frustrated, and momentum stalls.

This conversation reframes New Year goal-setting through the lens of leadership awareness, helping you name where you’ve been, where you are, and what kinds of actions actually make sense in this season of life and leadership.

And stay to the end — Jonathan tees up a brand new series launching next week: The Five Spheres of an H2 Leader, designed to help you lead with both health and high impact in 2026.

Why January goal-setting often creates pressure instead of clarity

How to identify the season of leadership you’re currently in

Why the question “What time is it for you?” matters more than resolutions

How leadership seasons show up across work, family, health, and relationships

Why ignoring seasons is one of the fastest paths to burnout

How to pair the right actions with the season you’re actually living in

Don’t rush these. These questions are meant to ground your New Year, not hype it.

What season of leadership are you coming out of?

When did (or will) that season end?

What season are you in right now — or clearly heading into?

What should you say yes to in this season?

What should you say no to in this season?

What feels uncertain, scary, or disorienting about this transition?

These are powerful to work through alone — and even more powerful with a spouse, trusted friend, or leadership team.

Next week, we launch a new series walking through The Five Spheres of an H2 Leader — how to identify them, strengthen them, and lead in a way that’s both sustainable and impactful.

If you’re starting this year wanting clarity instead of chaos, you’re in the right place.

For more leadership resources, coaching, and tools to help you lead with health and high impact, visit www.h2leadership.com.

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Feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like everyone needs you all the time? You're not actually stuck, you just need a way out. Alan Briggs shares 4 practical pathways to break free and lead with clarity in 2026.

When we started this podcast, it was just a wild idea. 500 episodes later, we're more convinced than ever: leadership doesn't have to cost you everything. You can lead well and live well.

To kick off 2026, Alan tackles something most leaders are feeling but few are naming: leadership claustrophobia—that squeezed, stuck sensation where everyone needs you all the time and there's no way out.

Here's the truth: You feel stuck. But you're not actually stuck.

Alan walks through the four feelings that keep leaders trapped—overwhelmed, myopic, exhausted, and behind—and gives you a clear, practical pathway out of each one. This isn't theory. It's the same framework Alan uses with the leaders he coaches every day.

If you're heading into 2026 saying "everyone needs me all the time," this episode is your reset.

The 4 Leadership Traps + Their Pathways Out:

→ Overwhelmed? You're lacking creativity. The pathway out is space—build gaps into your calendar so your brain can think again.

→ Myopic (stuck in the weeds)? You're lacking perspective. The pathway out is vantage—schedule a Think Day and lift above your leadership.

→ Exhausted? You're lacking freshness. The pathway out is recovery—Sabbath and vacation aren't luxuries, they're necessities.

→ Behind? You're lacking urgency. The pathway out is constraints—small deadlines create the momentum big goals never will.

00:00 — Welcome to 2026 + Celebrating 500 Episodes

Website: www.h2leadership.com

If this episode helped you, take 30 seconds to rate, review, and share the podcast. It's the best way to help other leaders discover H2.

Happy 2026. Let's keep climbing.

The H2 Leadership Podcast is your practical resource for becoming a healthy and high-impact leader. New episodes every Thursday.

Merry Christmas!!!!! This episode is Part 2 of our year-end series. Last week, we walked through the internal shifts our team made this year. Today, we hand that same framework to you — so you can reset, simplify, and refocus your leadership as you prepare for 2026.

This conversation is a practical guide to finishing well, regaining clarity, and building momentum without burning out or carrying unnecessary weight into the new year.

You’ll learn:

Why real momentum begins with subtraction, pruning, and clarity — not doing more

How to create simple decision filters so every choice doesn’t drain your energy

The “dance floor vs. balcony” mindset — working on your leadership, not just inside the grind

Why mature leaders practice necessary endings instead of clinging to what used to work

How clarity leads to freedom, focus, and healthier impact

Use these reflection prompts as you reset for 2026:

What is slowing you down right now?

What is one change that would increase your momentum heading into 2026?

What are you too close to that someone else should carry or share?

When you zoom out, what becomes clear about what must stay, shift, or end?

Give yourself at least an hour (two is better) to look back honestly — and aim your energy intentionally toward the year ahead. The real currency of leadership isn’t time… it’s energy.

If this episode serves you:

Visit h2leadership.com for more tools and resources

Like, rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast

Share this episode with another leader who wants to be both healthy and high impact

We practice what we preach. Here's proof.

Alan and Jonathan pull back the curtain on H2 Leadership's biggest moves of 2025: restructuring, rebranding, and the roots work nobody sees. If you've ever wondered whether we actually live out what we teach, this episode is your answer.

If you've ever wondered whether we live out what we teach, this episode is your answer. 

In This Episode:

Timestamps:

00:00 — Year-end reflections

01:07 — Two types of organizations in uncertain times

06:51 — Restructuring and the awkward in-between

12:25 — Elevating through systematization

14:44 — Brand clarity: H2 Leadership rebrand

22:00 — Integration: aligning systems and values

24:44 — Advancement: taking new ground

Resources:

Connect: Website: www.h2leadership.com Sabbatical Coaching: www.sabbaticalcoachinggroup.com

As we continue our Best of series, we wanted to highlight a very timely conversation. Gordon MacDonald—author, longtime pastor, and former Chancellor of Denver Seminary—joins us to share hard-won wisdom on calling, mentoring, and spiritual friendship.

Gordon’s voice has shaped generations of leaders, and this episode captures why. Through stories, insights, and honest reflection, he gives leaders a practical roadmap for building resilient lives and ministries that last.

Whether you’re a pastor, organizational leader, or simply someone seeking deeper impact, this conversation offers clarity, perspective, and hope.

Why spiritual friendship is essential for healthy leadership

How to cultivate intergenerational mentoring relationships

The stages of a leader’s calling—and how they develop over a lifetime

Why older leaders must invest in younger leaders

How to build communities that encourage resilience rather than burnout

The hidden dangers leaders face in midlife and beyond

What Gordon wishes every leader understood about marriage, family, and calling

Gordon MacDonald is a pastor, author of more than a dozen books, and the former Chancellor of Denver Seminary. For over 40 years, he has invested in leaders across the world through writing, preaching, mentoring, and spiritual formation work. His books Ordering Your Private World and Building Below the Waterline remain foundational leadership resources.

00:00 — Introduction

For coaching, resources, and tools for Healthy + High Impact leadership, visit:

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Your engagement helps other leaders discover conversations like this.

As we close out the year, we’re highlighting several of our most listened-to conversations—episodes that continue to shape leaders long after they air. Today’s conversation between Alan Briggs and Jimmy Rollins is one of those episodes: timeless and timely.

Jimmy brings honesty, clarity, and courage as he talks about race, unity, culture, marriage, and the everyday leadership choices that build trust. This is a practical and grounded guide for leaders who want to lead with compassion, stay curious in hard conversations, and create cultures where people feel seen and valued.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How to have “family conversations” around race with honesty and safety

Why unity is not uniformity—and what real unity requires

How to ask better questions and lead with curiosity, not fear

Practical language that diffuses tension and builds trust

What healthy leaders must confront in themselves to lead others well

Jimmy’s personal story of pain, growth, marriage restoration, and calling

Healthy and High Impact leaders lead with compassion, curiosity, and courage. This conversation is a masterclass in all three.

Connect with Jimmy Rollins:

Connect with H2 Leadership:

If this episode helps you, like, rate, review, and subscribe. It helps more leaders discover the podcast.

If you feel frustrated, disappointed, or stuck right now, you’re not broken – you’re human. The real question isn’t “What’s wrong with me?” It’s “What needs to change, and how do I actually change it?”

In this solo episode, Alan unpacks a simple but powerful idea: only the hungry change. You can’t force your kids to change, your team to change, or your friends to change. You can barely force yourself to change. But when hunger meets a clear process, transformation becomes possible.

Alan walks through a practical framework he calls the Wheel of Transformation – moving from new awareness, to new actions, to new rhythms. He shares personal stories about getting called out on weak hamstrings, losing steam on his goals, and how small, consistent steps have led to real change over time.

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve tried to fix the same thing a hundred times and you’re still stuck, this episode will give you language, hope, and a concrete path forward.

Why frustration and disappointment are usually gaps in expectation, not signs that you’re failing

What it means that “only the hungry change” – and how to honestly assess your own hunger

How new awareness (internal or external feedback) is the first step toward real change

Why information alone is not enough – and what has to come after clarity

How to move from awareness to new actions through courage and small next right steps

Why the real transformation happens when new actions become new rhythms

Where most leaders stumble: trying to change without community, accountability, or a clear process

How coaching, tools, and simple calendars can help you build consistency instead of chasing quick fixes

“Only the hungry change. Hunger is the currency of change.”

“Information isn’t bad. It’s just not enough.”

“New awareness → new actions → new rhythms.”

“Great leaders aren’t the ones who take one big step; they’re the ones who keep taking their next right step.”

Wheel of Transformation Tool

Breakthrough Coaching Session

You can have a compelling mission and a sharp strategy, but if your culture is unhealthy or unclear, your team will stay stuck.

In this episode, Alan sits down with culture coach and author Jenni Catron to unpack why culture matters more than we think and how clarity becomes the foundation for trust, engagement, and healthy growth.

Jenni shares her own journey from the music industry into executive church leadership, and the jarring contrast between a life-giving culture and a toxic one. She explains why leaders can’t just “hope” for a great environment – they need a plan to build it with intention.

They talk about the signs your culture is drifting, why people often go quiet long before they quit, how to invite honest feedback without losing your voice as a leader, and why patience and persistence are essential when you start changing long-standing patterns on your team.

If you lead a staff, a volunteer team, or you’re trying to rebuild a culture you inherited, this conversation will give you language, practical steps, and hope.

Why great culture is really about clarity of who you are and how you work together

How the environment leaders create can make or break team engagement

The subtle warning signs your team has stopped believing their voice matters

How to ask for feedback when some decisions aren’t actually up for debate

Why culture change takes 6–12 months of patience and persistence

Simple rhythms (meetings, one-on-ones, shout-outs) that reinforce a healthy culture over time

Healthy and high-impact leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens in cultures that are clear, honest, and aligned around the mission. This episode will help you take your next step in building that kind of environment.

Jenni is the author of several books including Clout: Discover and Unleash Your God-Given Influence and The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership. She loves a fabulous cup of tea, great books, learning the game of tennis and hiking with her husband. Jenni can be found on social media at @jennicatron and at www.get4sight.com.

Grab a copy of Culture Matters

For more tools, coaching, and resources to help you become a healthy and high-impact leader, visit www.h2leadership.com.

And if this episode was helpful, please like, rate, review, and subscribe to the H2 Leadership Podcast. Every review helps other leaders discover the show.