10 Insights to Spark Your Leadership Growth in 2025

Welcome to the Leadership Vision Podcast! In our final episode of 2024, we're highlighting key moments from 10 incredible conversations with thought leaders, authors, and experts. These clips are packed with wisdom to inspire reflection and growth as you prepare for the year ahead. From building resilience to fostering team connection, each guest offers practical advice to help you lead with purpose in 2025. Be sure to explore the full episodes for deeper insights!

Guest Highlights

1. Amy Noelle

• Key Insight: Embrace self-compassion by letting go of judgment and embracing the awkwardness of growth.
• Quote: "If you allow yourself to get through that awkward stage...you’ll find the power after that."
• Listen to the full episode

2. Tom Willis

• Key Insight: Authentic engagement stems from connecting teams to a higher purpose, beyond just mission statements.
• Quote: "If you want engagement, the real engagement is in a higher purpose."
• Listen to the full episode

3. Derek Newberry

• Key Insight: Culture isn’t perks or casual Fridays—it’s foundational to organizational success and requires intentionality.
• Quote: "If you’re not intentional about building the right culture, you’ll get one you don’t want."
• Listen to the full episode

4. Andrea Hollingsworth

• Key Insight: Compassionate leadership creates connection, resilience, and healing through meaningful check-ins.
• Quote: "Connection is the pathway to healing. It opens the door to resilience."
• Listen to the full episode

5. Pete Steinberg

• Key Insight: Leadership transitions require adaptability and a willingness to take risks.
• Quote: "Excellence is a journey, not a destination...you have to take risks."
• Listen to the full episode

6. Stephanie Krievins

• Key Insight: Balancing adaptability and stability leads to better collaboration and organizational growth.
• Quote: "Understanding your relationship to change is an amazing self-awareness point for any leader."

Chapters

• 0:06 Leadership Vision Podcast
• 11:45 Building Resilient and Effective Teams

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:06

You are listening to the Leadership Vision Podcast, our show helping you build positive team culture. Our consulting firm has been doing this work for the past 25 years so that leaders are mentally engaged and emotionally healthy. To learn more about us, visit us on the web at leadershipvisionconsultingcom. Hello everyone, my name is Nathan Freeberg and welcome to our end of the year 2024 highlight show. This past year, we interviewed some amazing guests. These were authors and speakers and thought leaders and just people doing some amazing work that overlaps with our work in one way or another. So, to close out the year here, we thought we'd share just a couple of highlights from 10 different guests to provide you with brief, inspiring words of encouragement and wisdom to help you reflect on the year that has been and prepare you to start 2025 with focus and positivity.

Speaker 2: 1:04

Each guest brings a unique insight on leadership, resilience, growth and a whole bunch of other topics. Be sure to check out the show notes for links to their full episodes. You won't want to miss their extended conversations. So our first highlight here today comes from Amy Noel, who we interviewed back in August. Amy's a coach specializing in mindset coaching and mental performance skills, and in this clip she emphasizes the power of self-compassion. She shares a simple yet profound message Be kinder to yourself. This clip is all about just letting go of judgment and embracing the awkwardness of growth.

Speaker 3: 1:44

About just letting go of judgment and embracing the awkwardness of growth. The most important thing is just setting the intention to be kinder to yourself. Whatever that looks like, it's going to look different for everyone and we don't want to judge ourselves for judging. We don't want to not have compassion for the fact that we're struggling with our compassion practice right. So it's a big shift in how we are with ourselves and so taking that slow, letting that look different it might look different from one person to the next and so really, those you know, those three components are so powerful. Seeing, if you can start to become more familiar with that type of messaging, that kind of inner dialogue, if you allow yourself to get through that awkward stage of being uncomfortable with some of this just because it's new and just because it's different, I think you'll kind of find the power after that.

Speaker 2: 2:39

Amy also led us in a great guided meditation that you're going to want to check out there. So our next clip here today was recorded way back in March when we chatted with Tom Willis, who had recently released his book the Great Engagement, and it's all about how to create exceptional culture rooted in purpose. In this clip, Tom challenges us to look beyond mission statements and focus instead on authentic, meaningful engagement. Make sure that you check out his full episode to explore how leaders can inspire their teams by connecting them to a higher purpose.

Speaker 4: 3:15

It's no secret that we're not in a great state of the world right now when it comes to engagement, and so this problem continues to linger, and it probably will for the next several decades. Frankly, what do we do about? That is the key. As leaders, we can blame the world, we can blame the next generation, or we can look in the mirror and get to work and try to create more engaging cultures, and our assertion is that, if you want engagement, the real engagement is in a higher purpose. It's in something beyond ourselves. It's in something that serves a greater world. It's way, way, way beyond a mission statement or a vision statement or values exercise Not that those are bad, although most of them can actually create the opposite of what they're intending but it's about being on a mission, and so if you want people to be engaged, then figure out a way to get them engaged in the mission.

Speaker 2: 4:10

Getting people engaged in the mission is what it's all about. Our next clip here is kind of sticking with the cultural theme, and in August we had the opportunity to talk with Derek Newberry, the head of organization and culture design at, co-collective and co-author of the books the Culture Puzzle and Committed Teams both just great resources for anybody interested in building positive team culture. Derek redefines workplace culture for us and reminds us that it's not just casual Fridays and ping pong tables and some of those kinds of perks, but the foundation of your organization's success. Here in this clip he shares why intentionality is key in shaping culture. His full episode focuses more on how to build a culture that attracts talent and drives performance.

Speaker 5: 4:59

So I think oftentimes we think of culture as what one of my former colleagues called sort of cultural confetti. It's foosball tables and casual Fridays and stuff like that. But to me it's not a sideshow, it is absolutely core to the business and core to your operating model and in fact I think culture is going to be a real differenti in how you show up with customers and how you attract top talent, and so sort of my message is really intentionally think about the culture you want to build and drive through your organization, because if you don't, you are going to get a culture, whether you like it or not. Every organization has one and the chances are, if you're not really intentional about building the right one, you'll get one that's not the one you would want, right.

Speaker 2: 5:45

The intentionality does seem to be the key to most things in life, and our next guest here touches on that idea, but in a different way. Earlier this fall, we had the pleasure to chat with Andrea Hollingsworth the day that her book the Compassionate Advantage how Top Leaders Build More Humanizing Workplaces was launched on Amazon. Our conversation spanned her journey from academia to consulting and highlighted the importance of compassionate action in leadership. This clip is a reminder of the profound impact of being seen and heard. She explains how meaningful, intentional check-ins can open the door to resilience and healing. Make sure that you check out the full episode just to learn more about fostering connection and leadership in life, and there's a very personal moment at the end of this that you just kind of have to hear. Check it out.

Speaker 6: 6:41

And the question that has driven me for so long is how do people change for the better? Finding a way to ask a meaningful check-in with anybody in your life, especially somebody on your team, opens up hope, because when people feel seen and witnessed, they feel connected, and connection is the pathway to healing. It absolutely is. There's no other pathway to healing. So it opens up that doorway where people feel just a little bit more resilient because now somebody, now I'm more connected to somebody who witnesses me. And no, this person didn't just solve all my problems, but it's that power of connection and listening and care that can make a huge difference.

Speaker 2: 7:25

Feeling just a little bit more resilient, I think, is maybe what we would all like to do going into the new year. And our next guest here, pete Steinberg, the president of Innovative Thought and former Olympic rugby coach, joined the podcast in July to talk about his new book Leadership Shock using authenticity to navigate hidden dangers of career success, and this book is really about helping leaders navigate these transitions successfully, you know, building up some more resilience so they can do it well. He reflects on the journey of leadership and the importance of taking risks, which I think, again, is something that maybe we would like to do all like to do a little bit better coming up in the new year. He also talks about overcoming leadership shock and embracing new challenges Now, if you're ready to step boldly into your next leadership challenge role this year, Pete's full episode offers just some invaluable highlights.

Speaker 7: 8:19

Here's a clip it is about understanding that excellence is a journey, not a destination, and if you want to fulfill the potential of anything, you have to take risk right. And so it's very easy for leaders and this is actually where I think people get into leadership. Shock is that they have a set of behaviors and principles that they've used throughout their career. They come into a new role Often it has a much broader scope, and so they are risk averse. They're nervous about their new role. So what they do is I am going to be the same leader I was in the previous role. But guess what If you were the director of finance and now you're the VP of finance? Those are two very different jobs. Those roles are very, very different, and the strengths you bring, the value that you bring to the role, is very different. So people are very risk averse. So what they do is they don't change, they don't try anything new. They try what worked in the past, and that's what gets them in leadership shop.

Speaker 2: 9:20

I think a lot of us are risk averse. We don't want to do anything that's going to upset the apple cart, so to speak. But in leadership, that's kind of our job, our role, in many ways, and our next guest has something to say about that. Back in May we had I don't know if I'd say it our most fun, but certainly a very, very fun lots of laughter interview with Stephanie Krevins, an accomplished life coach and HR consultant. She's also the host of the Hot Mess Hotline, a podcast for ambitious leaders who want to drive impactful change, and in this clip here she's going to explore, or just kind of give a thought on, the balance between adaptability and stability in leadership, and she highlights how understanding your relationship with change, whether you are for it or against it, can really lead to better collaboration. Make sure that you check out her full episode to discover how adaptability can be a superpower for leaders and teams alike for leaders and teams alike.

Speaker 1: 10:31

Everything can be learned and figured out. And, brian, I'm just going to continue with this whole adaptability fabric that you taught. I just I love that notion, this idea of being adaptable and understanding how adaptability is ingrained in you, I think, is really an amazing self-awareness point for any leader Like you have to understand your relationship to change, and that's a lot of what we teach people is what's your relationship to change? How can you leverage it? Because the fact of the matter is is I am too adaptable to change. I can drive change so so quickly, that's not always the right solution. The people that hold stability in organizations hold institutional knowledge, hold. This is what needs to stay the same so these other pieces can grow. They are equally as valuable in this world. They still need to understand the relationship to change. And then the people who move too fast need to be able to work with the people who move quote unquote too slow, because that's what makes the world work.

Speaker 2: 11:28

I love that idea of needing to understand your relationship to change and going too fast or too slow. And maybe how do you adapt and be resilient in the midst of you know when one of those change moments is not going the speed that you want it to be? And in November here, not too long ago we chatted with Russell Harvey, the resilience coach. He was all the way in the UK. It was very late for him, but we still had just a delightful conversation as he eagerly awaited to get the score of his football match. He was, I think, had it recorded. But in this clip Russell reframes resilience as thriving, not just surviving, which is sometimes, I think, what we think that it is. He shares how a mindset of adaptability and curiosity can shift how we navigate challenges and changes. Make sure you check out Russell's full episode for a couple of practical tips on cultivating resilience and thriving in both life and leadership, and everywhere.

Speaker 8: 12:31

There's some research that says that the adaptability part of the wheel, it's just got extra legs to it. So those people that make the choice, the behavioral choice, to spend a third of their time engaging with their adaptability, openness to change, curiosity, then they get themselves into this place called thrive, rather than coping and surviving. Most people believe that they are only being resilient when they're coping and surviving. It's actually no. Resilience is that you shift away from those two and you shift into thriving. It doesn't necessarily mean that the challenges that you face are suddenly diminished or better. How you think and feel about them has completely shifted, your understanding about how you can manage them, face into them, overcome them, look them, come through them. That completely shifts when you're more resilient.

Speaker 2: 13:27

Russell shared another story earlier in the episode about having plans not just when things go bad, but ideally having plans in place before things go bad, being able to pivot and change and really look at a lot of different things at once. And our next guest talked a lot about that as it related to the ideas of Agile. So again this fall we chatted with Dennis Stevens, a seasoned consultant with over 30 years of experience in technology, innovation and organizational leadership, and Dennis shared with us the enduring principles of agile. There's a link in the show notes to understand more about that and the importance of really having well formed teams. He discusses how organizational design can drive success when aligned with strength. Some great overlap with our work there. Make sure you check out Dennis's full episodes so that you can understand more about how these ideas can transform your team's effectiveness.

Speaker 9: 14:28

I think the big industrial complex around agile is probably dying. But the things that you do with well formed teams focused on a business problem collaborating, learning how to make effective commitments, the types of conversations you need to have, building that fabric that stuff is still super relevant. It's just a little bit more abstracted away because it got lost in the rush for consulting dollars. You can even teach people to operate from their strengths and be better team players, but if you don't, from an organizational design standpoint, create coherence around the way the teams operate, you might not get the results that you want.

Speaker 2: 15:08

You may by now be sensing a theme around teams and how to work with them more effectively. There are so many different ways to do this, so many different methodologies and tips and tricks and all kinds of stuff, however you want to say that, but right around Thanksgiving, we chatted with Coach Khan, a renowned international speaker and author of the Engagement Blueprint, and he's also the CEO of Fresh Business Solutions. He had a fabulous story and in this clip, coach Khan speaks to the transformative power of embracing adversity as a learning opportunity, similar to what some other folks have shared. He talks about how this mindset it differentiates exceptional leaders from maybe just the average ones. So make sure that you listen to his full episode for some insights on building engaged, high performance teams out of this idea of adversity, however that looks like or sounds like to you.

Speaker 10: 16:04

You can embrace the experiences that you have, even the hardest ones, and you can carry the trauma, or you can learn from it and make that a learning opportunity Right, and different people respond differently. Personally, I've chosen to take whatever hardship adversity life has brought to me and seen it as a learning experience, as an opportunity to get wiser, stronger, better and contribute more, give back more from that perspective. So when leaders think that this is soft, I can tell you it is not soft. It is the difference between being average and being exceptional. When you can engage your people and ignite the fire in your team without burning them out, and you can do it the right way, that becomes your competitive advantage in the marketplace, you are going to outperform. So to me, this transformation is about truly, truly benefiting employers and employees, because we all deserve a better place to show up and give our best.

Speaker 2: 17:06

I don't know how many times we've heard that idea of like all this leadership stuff, these are the soft skills, Like that's great if we have time to fit that in, but it's just. It's so important, as Coach Khan said, that if you're going to outperform the competition, you have to focus on these things. And our last clip here is a bit of an outlier. We talked earlier this year with Maggie Olson, founder and CEO of Nova, Chief of Staff, and what she does is she helps train and place the chief of staff role to high level executives. And in this clip well, the whole episode she really shares her expertise on adaptability and feedback in leadership.

Speaker 2: 17:48

She talks about the fast paced world of problem solving and the importance of emotional intelligence. And why I wanted to chat with her when we were connected was because I think sometimes as leaders, we have this idea that we need to be doing everything ourselves. We don't ask for help, or we just ask for help to print that report more of almost like admin help and that's great and that's important. But in the full episode we really dive into the idea of a chief of staff and what that person can do, really almost as a partnership for the leader. So don't miss Maggie's full episode to learn just some practical tools even for leadership, growth and communication.

Speaker 11: 18:33

If we are not communicating really quickly and moving really fast, we're not going to be getting done what we need to get done. So it's just simply a core principle that we're learning, testing, failing, moving forward and always giving each other feedback. And in the course, you know, we talk a lot about how to approach situations and the emotional intelligence of the Chief of Staff role and testing and learning. So in Module 2, there's six modules in the course and Module 2 students get 20 or 30 templates and it's all about testing and learning what works for you, making things your own, adopting new practices and principles that might support your leader, and if they do, great. If they don't, let's move on to something else, because we're all solving problem and the problems are all different. So it's important to have that um, you know, feel quickly, move forward, give the feedback, ask for the feedback kind of environment.

Speaker 2: 19:29

Move forward quickly, give feedback, ask for feedback. Those are all the hallmarks of a good, healthy environment. Thank you so much for joining us here today on our 2024 highlight show. We hope that these clips have inspired you to reflect, to grow, to take action as you move into the new year. Please make sure that you go back and you listen to these full episodes If there's anything that you want to hear more about or just dive deeper on. Each episode also has additional show notes and links to other resources to kind of help you just grow as a leader, grow as a team leader, grow as a person, as a parent, as a partner, as a friend, whatever, or all of those areas in your life.

Speaker 2: 20:16

Each of those guests has shared some invaluable insights that I think can help all of us become better at those different roles. And what's unique and hard to do in a highlight show like this is get the human component. So I think something that Brian Linda and I are good at is not just asking these people questions, not just saying like what's your best tip to be a better leader, but to really to gain and glean those insights and wisdoms through the personal stories and glean those insights and wisdoms, through the personal stories, through the struggles, through the role that didn't work out, and sort of use those lessons to implement into your life. So, as you consider your own leadership journey here over the New Year holiday and you know beyond, we really invite you to reflect on this question. Here's one question what is one area in your leadership or personal life where you can take a small intentional step toward growth in 2025? I know I said that the theme here was on teams and building positive team culture, which it is, but another theme, I think, is this idea of getting better. I don't remember where I heard this, but there's a sports team or a leadership coach or somebody this idea of getting 1% better every day. How do you do that? What does that look like? So here's a challenge to you so you can actually kind of make that initial reflection into something that can perhaps help you start.

Speaker 2: 21:38

Strong is write down one specific action that you're going to take, you know, today, this week, or maybe just, let's say, the next 30 days, to improve how you lead yourself or others. It could be practicing self-compassion, it could be intentionally connecting with your team, it could be going for a run, for a walk, eating better, whatever it is, maybe it's even taking a risk that helps you grow. Whatever those things are, share it with someone that can keep you accountable, that can help you stay the course towards this goal in the new year. Remember, leadership is a journey, it's not a destination. I know that that's such a cliche, but it's that way because it's true.

Speaker 2: 22:20

There's some things in life that you feel like the accomplishment is the end goal. The accomplishment is the trophy, or the big payday, or the title in a new role, or crossing the finish line, whatever that looks like. But I think what I'm learning more and more is it's the whole process along the way, and sometimes in leadership, in our jobs, in our life, parenting, whatever it is like, that finish line, so to speak, is just so nebulous. So how do you ensure that you are growing into the better version of yourself, that you are making all of these intentional steps so that the journey, the process of this thing that we're doing called life, is rewarding, is valuable, is not without its challenges and disappointments, but it's something that we can continue to get better at. So here's to ending 2024 with gratitude and stepping boldly into 2025 with purpose. We can't wait to see how you grow in the new year.

Speaker 1: 23:17

Thank you.