The Servant Leadership Podcast

Great leaders build trust, not fear. Brian Packer reveals how servant leadership, psychological safety, and strong values create successful teams.

In this episode of the Servant Leadership Podcast, host Greg Aden sits down with Brian Packer, founder of Legacy Sustained, to explore what separates great leaders from toxic leaders and how leadership decisions shape the future of organizations.

With over 20 years of consulting experience, Brian shares his approach to leadership development, building a positive workplace culture, and helping organizations achieve long-term success.

Together, Greg and Brian discuss the importance of leading with integrity, accountability, empathy, and courage. They explain why psychological safety allows employees to ask questions, share ideas, and grow without fear of judgment. Brian also explores the difference between values and principles, why command-and-control leadership can damage organizations, and how servant leaders build stronger teams through trust and collaboration.

The conversation also challenges traditional business leadership by emphasizing sustainable growth, employee development, and customer relationships over short-term profits.

Whether you're a business owner, executive, manager, entrepreneur, or aspiring leader, this conversation offers practical leadership lessons to help you build trust, improve team performance, and create a lasting legacy.

Follow Brian Packer:
https://linkedin.com/in/brianspacker/
https://legacysustained.com/

Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how Greg works with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15-minute conversation with Greg: 
https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection/

Follow Greg Aden:
https://adenleadership.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/
https://facebook.com/adenleadership/

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Brian Packer
04:58 Who Is Brian Packer? Leadership and Personal Values
07:23 How Toxic Leadership Hurts Organizations
09:19 Building a Lasting Leadership Legacy
12:53 Brian's Journey Into Leadership Coaching
15:24 Values vs. Principles in Leadership
19:39 Why Empathy and Curiosity Matter
20:55 Sponsor: InteraWorks
21:47 Creating Psychological Safety at Work
25:06 Why Leaders Fail to Create Safe Environments
27:53 Servant Leadership vs. Command and Control
31:18 Long-Term Success vs. Short-Term Profits
34:09 How Small Actions Create Lasting Change
36:59 Leading Without Fear
39:10 One Daily Choice That Makes You a Better Leader
40:15 Why Great Teams Need Systems, Not Heroes

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

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What makes a great leader? David Kong and Greg Aden explore servant leadership, owning mistakes, and building a legacy beyond your title.

Greg Aden welcomes David Kong, former Best Western CEO and founder of It’s Personal Stories, to the Servant Leadership Podcast for a candid conversation about leadership development, accountability, empathy, and the impact we leave on other people.

David explains why working hard alone isn’t enough to advance your career, and why mentors, advocates, and taking responsibility matter. He shares how owning a costly mistake helped build trust, what he learned from a major business setback, and why helping others succeed remains meaningful long after a job title disappears.

Greg and David explore what servant leadership looks like in everyday conversations: making time for people, listening with curiosity, responding with empathy, and showing up as a human being. Greg also shares why he teaches small shifts in behavior, how leadership habits carry into parenting, and the personal legacy behind the words “Dad inspired us.”

Whether you’re a new manager, an executive, or a hospitality professional, this episode offers practical leadership lessons for strengthening relationships and leading with humility.

Connect with David Kong on LinkedIn:
https://linkedin.com/in/davidkongbw/

Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how Greg works with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15-minute conversation with Greg: 
https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection/

Follow Greg Aden:
https://adenleadership.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/
https://facebook.com/adenleadership/

Subscribe to Aden Leadership for more conversations about servant leadership, communication, and building stronger teams. Share this episode with a leader you care about.

What do you want people to remember about your leadership? Tell us in the comments!

#servantleadership #leadershippodcast #executiveleadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #courageousconversations #workplaceculture #communication #management 

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introducing David Kong
00:49 Giving back and developing future leaders
04:48 Why hard work alone isn’t enough
07:46 Owning mistakes and building trust
11:47 Facing challenges constructively
13:31 Leading through a major setback
17:13 How do you want to be remembered?
19:52 Interaworks sponsor message
20:44 Making an impact beyond your title
23:56 Career achievements versus lasting influence
26:26 Remembering Kirk Kinsell
29:58 Great leaders make time for people
32:05 Curiosity, empathy, and everyday leadership
35:46 Making leadership training stick
36:41 Small shifts that become lasting habits
39:46 “Dad inspired us”: Greg’s leadership legacy
41:52 Intentional communication and relationships
44:57 Gratitude during difficult times
47:08 Greg’s closing reflections

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

In this episode of the Servant Leadership Podcast, Greg Aden sits down with executive coach and strategic consultant Avy Leghziel to talk about what leadership really looks like when work gets messy, unpredictable, and chaotic. Avy shares insights from his doctoral research on executive performance in chaotic environments and explains why leaders should not always try to eliminate uncertainty. Greg and Avy explore courageous conversations, workplace culture, leadership values, empathy, communication, emotional triggers, executive coaching, organizational development, and the importance of asking better questions. They also discuss why people avoid difficult conversations, how leaders can create stronger connections with their teams, and how curiosity, honesty, and servant leadership can lead to better decisions, stronger relationships, and improved performance. This conversation is especially valuable for executives, managers, business leaders, coaches, and anyone working to become a more effective leader.

Follow Avy Leghziel:
https://linkedin.com/in/avyleg/
https://avyleg.com/

Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how Greg works with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15-minute conversation with Greg: 
https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection/

Follow Greg Aden:
https://adenleadership.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/
https://facebook.com/adenleadership/

#servantleadership #leadershippodcast #executiveleadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #courageousconversations #workplaceculture #communication #management 

CHAPTERS

00:00 Meet Avy Leghziel
01:11 Executive Coaching and Studying Chaos
03:56 The Leadership Moment That Started Avy’s Research
04:59 Why We Should Stop Fighting Chaos
06:21 Management Versus Leadership
08:38 Was Avy’s Boss Actually Being a Leader?
09:34 Stop Aiming for Leadership Utopia
10:12 Vision Versus Criteria for Success
11:10 Understanding the Forces Affecting Your Organization
11:45 Workplace Politics, Competition, and Culture
14:55 How Values Shape Leadership
16:54 InteraWorks
17:45 Why We Avoid Courageous Conversations
18:34 Our Fear of Surprises
19:17 The Problem With Performative Politeness
20:40 Greg’s Approach to Courageous Conversations
22:02 What Happens When We Get Triggered
23:39 Using Difficult Moments to Create Connection
25:49 How to Have Deeper Conversations
27:41 Turning Workplace Problems Into Better Questions
30:07 Why Are We Here?
31:25 Collaboration Instead of Competition
33:06 Invite People to Shift, Not Change
34:48 Better Conversations Create Better Performance
36:52 Greg’s Final Takeaways

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

Why do skilled, credentialed leaders and experts still struggle to stand out? Personal branding for leaders starts with knowing what makes your work different and saying it with confidence. Greg Aden talks with Fabi Paoline, a brand messaging expert with more than 18 years of experience helping business owners, experts, and leaders communicate their value.

In this conversation:
- Why credentials alone are not enough, and why understanding your buyer's behavior matters
- How to identify your "power buyers" and discover your "angle of mastery"
- How to turn what you offer from a "nice to have" into a "need to have" and own your message in sales and leadership
- Fabi's two lessons for young professionals: trust yourself, and know that setbacks are not final

Connect with Fabi:
https://linkedin.com/in/fabipaolini/

Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how Greg works with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15-minute conversation with Greg: 
https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection/

Follow Greg Aden:
https://adenleadership.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/
https://facebook.com/adenleadership/

#servantleadership  #leadershippodcast  #brandmessaging  #personalbrand  #leadership  #entrepreneurship  #businessstrategy  #sales  #marketing 

CHAPTERS
00:00 Meet Fabi Paoline
01:27 How Fabi Learned the Power of Communication
04:10 Extracting the Genius From Your Expertise
06:21 Building a Brand Around Legacy
09:23 When You Are the Brand
11:16 Finding Your Power Buyers
12:08 Your Angle of Mastery
15:42 Turning a “Nice to Have” Into a “Need to Have”
17:28 Adaptability, Curiosity, and Servant Leadership
20:06 InteraWorks
20:56 The Mentors Behind Fabi’s Success
23:12 Why Sales Should Serve the Buyer
24:00 Empathy and Understanding Other People
26:03 Trust Yourself
28:59 Turn Roadblocks Into Innovation
30:47 Greg’s Approach to Servant Leadership
33:32 Impacting the Next Generation
36:01 How to Improve Your Brand Message
38:08 Greg’s Final Takeaways

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

What happens when being great at your job becomes the reason nobody lets you grow? If you are wondering how to manage high performers without trapping them in the role they already do well, this conversation offers a better path. Greg Aden talks with Sarah Howard, CEO and partner of Edenburg Hospitality, about her climb from hotel housekeeping to company leadership and the mentor who gave her permission to try unfamiliar work, make mistakes, and learn.

In this conversation:
- Why giving people permission to stretch and fail helps high performers become leaders
- How turning down the wrong project can serve a client better than saying yes
- What trusting employees to do the jobs you trained them for really looks like
- Why collaboration can accomplish more than compromise, and what leadership has in common with parenting

Connect with Sarah Howard:
https://linkedin.com/in/showard08/
https://edenburghospitality.com/

Sponsored by Interaworks.

Follow my socials!

https://adenleadership.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/
https://facebook.com/adenleadership/

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:34 Meet Sarah Howard
01:26 From Housekeeper to Hospitality Leader
04:39 Lessons from Red Roof
08:54 The Mentor Who Made Room for Growth
10:57 Taking a Career Risk During the Pandemic
12:43 Joining Edenburg Hospitality
16:16 Building a Business Around Service
19:34 Interaworks Sponsor Break
20:26 Learning Courage from an Unlikely Mentor
22:53 Why Good Sales Starts with Curiosity
25:08 Working as Partners
29:38 Where Hospitality Meets Audacity
31:32 Trusting Your Team to Do Their Job
32:50 What Parenting Teaches Us About Leadership
36:01 Collaboration Instead of Compromise
38:51 Believe You Belong
40:16 Greg’s Closing Thoughts

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

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What do you do when a successful career still leaves you feeling unfulfilled? Coach Russell Davis joins Greg Aden to talk about finding purpose at work, letting go of people-pleasing, and leading from a place of self-worth instead of a need to prove something. Russell shares how a strict upbringing shaped his need for approval and how his family's infertility journey led him to question the life he thought he should be living.

In this conversation:
- How limiting beliefs and the stories we tell ourselves shape the way we lead
- Why judgment gets in the way of connection, and what changes when you stop feeling you have something to prove
- What meaningful listening looks like: being present and seeking to understand what lies beneath someone's words
- How leadership connects with parenting, purpose, and the daily question: Who are you being?

Connect with Russell Davis:
https://russell-davis.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/russellhdavis/

Follow my socials!

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#servantleadership  #russelldavis #gregaden #authenticleadership  #livewithpurpose  #personalgrowth  #inspiredliving  #mindsetshift  #meaningfulconnections  #leadershippodcast

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

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What does it cost your team and your family when you are in the room but not really there? Learning how to be present as a leader starts with noticing your own distractions, especially the phone, and the message they send to the people around you. Executive coach and author Stephanie Wachman shares the moment her two year old son ran to his dad instead of her, and how it led her to leave a big corporate job, go to coaching school, and help people own their time.

In this conversation:
- Why every distraction costs roughly 25 minutes, and what checking your phone tells the person sitting across from you
- A simple method Stephanie uses with clients: tell people exactly when they get their phone back so being present does not create anxiety
- Why she sees one life rather than work life balance, and how to find the distractions that are costing you
- How leaders can protect culture and manage change as AI disrupts professional services

Stephanie also talks about her volunteer work with the Association for Corporate Growth, NextStep, a new no cost mentor program for young professionals, coaching veterans reentering the corporate world, and teaching time and stress tools at the University of Colorado Law School.

Connect with Stephanie Wachman, founder of Symetree Strategies:
http://stephaniewachman.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/stephaniewachman/

Stephanie's books:
OWN Your Time
Sell Without Being Salesy

Thank you to InteraWorks for sponsoring the Servant Leadership Podcast.

Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how I work with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15 minute conversation with me.

https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

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https://adenleadership.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/
https://facebook.com/adenleadership/

#ServantLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #Leadership #Productivity #WorkplaceCulture

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

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What does servant leadership look like when it has to hold up at work and at home, even after the hardest loss imaginable? Heather Wood spent more than 20 years leading people in financial services, then built Stupendous Love after losing her daughter Ava and her husband in 2023. She and Greg Aden talk honestly about that loss, about men's mental health and how hard it still is for men to find an outlet, and about why love is a practice, not just a feeling.

In this conversation:
- Why putting people in a box hurts your team, and how staying curious about what gives someone energy and what drains it helps them do their best work
- How to tell your team plainly that they can bring you their frustration before it turns into an explosion
- Why consistency between how you lead at work and how you show up at home matters more than most leaders admit
- The SHUVA idea, that everyone wants to be seen, heard, understood, valued and appreciated, and how to use it in a one on one meeting or at the dinner table

Heather Wood, founder of Stupendous Love:
https://linkedin.com/company/stupendous-love/
https://stupendouslove.com/

Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how I work with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15 minute conversation with me.

https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Follow my socials!

https://adenleadership.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/
https://facebook.com/adenleadership/

#ServantLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #Leadership #Relationships #Purpose

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

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Are you worried AI will replace your people, or unsure how to use it without losing the human side of leadership? This conversation on AI for leaders shows a different path: using AI to get the right information to the right person at the right time, so your team can do extraordinary things. Derek Crager shares how a last-minute call to build Amazon's training program from a single title slide shaped the human-first approach he now brings to businesses.

In this conversation:
- Why so much corporate AI spending fails when companies try to take humans out of the loop
- How a voice interface keeps people thinking and involved, using AI as a soundboard rather than an answer giver
- What servant leadership looks like in practice: giving people what they need, letting them own their goals, and creating other leaders
- Why today's fear of AI mirrors the early years of the internet, and how change management helps people on-ramp

Derek also speaks candidly about his late diagnosis of autism, ADHD and dyslexia, and about Kim Chavez, the manager whose support made his work possible.

Derek Crager, founder of Practical AI and creator of Pocket Mentor, formerly Program Manager at Amazon: https://linkedin.com/in/amazonleadership

Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how I work with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15 minute conversation with me.

https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

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#ServantLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #Leadership #Innovation #ChangeManagement

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

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What changes when a leader stops operating from ego and starts leading from the heart? Arnaud Saint-Paul, founder of the Heart Leadership Institute, explains why the heart is already whole and coherent while the mind carries the fragmentation that keeps us from hearing it. He also shows how that fragmentation plays out in teams and in business results.

In this conversation:
- How the Heart Leadership Index maps where a leader, team or organization stands across dimensions like inner peace, inner joy, non-attachment, selflessness, unity and purpose
- What a year of weekly founder sessions, team work and 12 week sprints did for a 20 person company, including a 10 point score increase and much stronger client engagement
- Greg's exercise of drawing your heart and circling everyone you influence, and why Greg knows when Greg is not telling Greg the truth
- Why some people self select out once coherence becomes visible, and how Arnaud answers leaders who call this work soft

Arnaud Saint-Paul, founder, Heart Leadership Institute
https://linkedin.com/in/arnaudsaintpaul
https://tapuat.com/

Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how I work with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15 minute conversation with me.

https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Follow my socials!

https://adenleadership.com/
https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/
https://facebook.com/adenleadership/

#ServantLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #Leadership #Teamwork #ExecutiveCoaching

Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection

Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube

Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook