The Leadership Vision Podcast

Unfolded Highlights: Five Leadership Invitations to End 2025 and Begin 2026

• Nathan Freeburg, Linda Schubring, Brian Schubring • Season 8 • Episode 43

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As we close out 2025, this special highlight episode of The Leadership Vision Podcast brings together powerful moments from our year-long conversation series around Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane by Dr. Linda Schubring and Brian Schubring.

Drawing from episodes focused on both individual and team transformation, this compilation explores the five core themes of the book—Dream, Play, Try, Fly, and Home—and offers listeners practical reflection questions to carry into the new year.

This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and step into 2026 with greater clarity, courage, and compassion.

In This Episode, you’ll Learn Just a bit About:

  • Why dreaming is essential to leadership and growth
  • How play functions as practice in disguise
  • Why trying is not weakness—but the path to greatness
  • What it means to “fly” even when fear is present
  • How returning home restores leaders and teams

Key Quotes:

  • “Dreams point us to our greatest possibility.”
  • “Play is practice in disguise.”
  • “Trying is not weak.”
  • “What does flying mean to me right now?”
  • “Home is a return to our authentic self.”

Resources Mentioned:

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The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.

SPEAKER_01:

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 what we do, you can click the link in the show notes or visit us on the web at Leadership Vision Consulting.com. Hello everyone, my name is Nathan Freeberg, and as we close out 2025, we wanted to offer something a little bit different for you here on the podcast today. A moment to pause and to reflect. Now, this episode is bringing together about 10 or 12 different podcast conversations that I had over the past six or seven months with Dr. Linda and Brian Schuberg around their book, Unfolded Lessons and Transformation from an origami crane. And you're gonna hear just little snippets, little highlights, just little brief uh moments about each of these chapters, reflections on dreaming and playing and trying and flying and finally on finding home, along with a few simple leadership uh invitations, not even lessons, but let's just call them leadership invitations to carry with you into the year ahead. Now, I've read the book four times maybe, and even I was able to be like, oh yeah, that's a really good reminder when Linda said this thing about how trying is not weak, or Brian said this about dreams, or whatever. So I hope as we kind of go into the holiday season where we're maybe taking a little bit of a break, maybe a step back, that you'll have some time to just kind of reflect on some of the principles and ideas of this allegory from the book, and maybe figure out or think about ways that you can apply them towards your own life in the next year ahead. So, again, these are highlights from the book Unfolded Lessons and Transformation from an origami crane. You can click the link in the show notes or just buy your book if you don't have one already, wherever good books are sold. Alright, let's jump into it. Okay, as you listen to this first section on dreams, consider this question. What is one dream that's been quietly asking for your attention? And what might happen if you gave yourself permission to name it. Brian and Linda, I'm curious why you decided to start Unfolded with a chapter about dreams.

SPEAKER_02:

Dreams often inspire us and they focus us. Dreams put us in a place where sometimes things become more clear, where we are willing to ask for help. And most importantly, I believe that dreams point us to our greatest possibility and unfold our greatest potential.

SPEAKER_00:

My wish for people is that they would start to become familiar with how you dream. How you dream uniquely, what kind of things inspire you, who's around you that gets your attention, what kind of things ignite some of your thinking or your feeling, and what inspires you to act. Maybe then after a little bit of time or processing with another person, you'll have a sense of what your dreams truly are, and then I would say go for it.

SPEAKER_02:

Most of us have the capacity to carry many dreams at the same time. One of the things people often get confused on is that all dreams can come true now. I believe that there are some dreams that are given to us that are designed to be put in the backpack that we're carrying, and they're going to be fulfilled later. They may not be the right size right now, but they're gonna be something different later on. And I believe that people often think that they have to choose. And I would invite people to think, can I carry both? Because I think that both of those dreams can be true. I think that because I lived it for myself, and I've seen it in many people.

SPEAKER_01:

So chapter two is all about play, and play is often the first thing that leaders sacrifice. So as you listen to this part, ask yourself this where could you loosen the pressure just enough to experiment again without needing immediate results. How do you define play in the context of leadership or transformation or lessons from an origami crane?

SPEAKER_00:

We define play as practice in disguise. Whenever someone is going after a goal or or attempting to do something, we know that many tries are in place. But when we started to put the book together, we were talking about the the elements of play and the the joy and the fun in discovering things that we like as humans. And no matter who you are or where you've been, you have some sort of there, there's been some sort of play in your background. And when you start to really think about the things that you loved when you were young, you can maybe draw a through line to the things that you most enjoy now, just the adult version of them.

SPEAKER_02:

Sometimes I believe that there's a pause in our play where we may not be making the progress that we believe is necessary to fulfill our dream, but we're actually providing the inspiration to other people to fulfill their dream.

SPEAKER_00:

Because play helps us practice levity where we don't take ourselves so seriously, but maybe we take whatever we're working on seriously or those around us seriously. But the practice of levity will also, I don't know, maybe increase our enjoyment or increase our capacity to build relationships that last.

SPEAKER_02:

The importance of play is to give the characters of our life a different context to be who they are. Because sometimes I believe that stereotype creates a character of context. Oh, that person's a fox. What play does, what play does is it gives a team a chance to erase the characterizations that they have of other people because the topic is new.

SPEAKER_00:

And part of that came through our play with other clients. Yep. And so when we would give space for people to partner up and have a conversation about something, we usually found that they were able to go further in the conversation and the reflection than we could even teach them about. Sometimes we're saying, lighten up a little bit. What can we achieve if we just engage with this practice in disguise and then make it applicable to the next hard thing that we have to do?

SPEAKER_01:

Chapter three on trying was one of my favorite because trying lives in the messy middle. And as you hear this next reflection, think about one place where you've stopped trying. Not because you failed, but because maybe it felt too uncomfortable. How can you try again? Chapter three, I feel, was the chapter where I live most of my life. You try this, that doesn't work, you try this, that doesn't work, you try this. Oh, that kind of works. Let's maybe adjust that and adapt that. Why is this chapter in the book at all?

SPEAKER_00:

And if you think of play as practice in disguise, where try is more intentional practice. The I like the research from Keegan and Leahy that talk about an everyone culture, they talk about deliberate practice. Some of those similar principles are at play here in the chapter called Try, which is practicing with intention. I think the the dreams that actually come true are those that step forward and try. And so the forward momentum is not just because I kept thinking about it and I just kept dreaming about it, but I took it to the playground and made it happen.

SPEAKER_02:

And I really believe that the chapter try is that intersection where people need to stop and really consider that middle ground of going from the origin story of your dream to the fulfillment of the dream. This try chapter really helps people embrace that messy middle that we all experience, and that's often the place where people give up or they lose their direction or the voices of doubt and despair overtake. And they just kind of stop. So that's why this chapter is important.

SPEAKER_00:

Trying is not weak. I think sometimes we hear the word try and it's like, well, because that's just average. Like just get in there and try. And I think I want to say is just as play gives people an opportunity to practice the things that they love, try actually puts you on the trajectory to greatness.

SPEAKER_02:

And I believe that that's why try is so important. Because without the beauty and the brilliance of someone's uniqueness coming out, there's all these steps of try that no one ever sees that are happening behind the scenes. That's how we get there. We get there by trying.

SPEAKER_01:

Chapter 4 is about flying, and as Linda says, is the highlight of the book. Flying doesn't always mean a big leap, though. And now, as you listen, consider this. What small act of courage would move you one step closer to where you feel most alive, even if it scares you. Chapter 4. I'm curious where this fits in the larger arc, the larger narrative of the story.

SPEAKER_00:

The climax of the whole allegory is Fly, where OC prepares and actually takes flight.

SPEAKER_02:

It's an invitation for people to imagine when they are in a place when they feel the most alive and what are they doing. It's a place where sometimes people are performing. It could be a place where they're they're they're teaching, educating, or mentoring someone. Fly represents those moments in our life that we feel that we have prepared and practiced for. We've we've maybe spent years in preparation for this one moment where all the pieces seem to come together. We're in that moment when we've taken the risks and we've engaged with courageous action and we're taking flight, meaning that we're in that flow state. We're in that moment when things seem to be working. We feel that we're most alive when the lights don't burn, and we just have this sense of joy with achieving something that we've been working so hard towards.

SPEAKER_01:

As you reflect this week, Brian and Linda and all of you listeners, I want you to ask yourself this question: what does flying mean to me right now? What small step of belief or courage can I take towards that dream?

SPEAKER_00:

Even if it scares you.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, because you didn't make it the first two times.

SPEAKER_00:

Because I like the I like the question: what does flying mean to me right now, even if it scares you? What small step of belief or courage can I take toward that dream, even if it scares me? Then it acknowledges the fear, but also gives you courage to step forward. In a world of possibilities, why not fly? Trust the process and grow your palate for transformation. It's not to be feared, even though it's scary. It's not to be feared, even though it's scary. And the transformation will only make the world a better place if we find ways to transform the world into more kind places, more growing places, more evolved places that give dignity and courage to each person.

SPEAKER_01:

Before we talk about the final chapter on home, pause and reflect. Where do you feel most like yourself? And what helps you return there when leadership gets heavy? How does this sort of fall in with the rest of the story? Maybe just briefly summarize.

SPEAKER_02:

For me, home is perhaps the most meaningful of the chapters. Even though I have a favorite chapter, it's not home, but this is the most meaningful chapter of the book. Home for me is so symbolic of many, many things for me as a person and as a professional. And there are many layers that are embedded in just this one chapter about the importance of home. I feel that people are always looking for the feelings that are attached to home. People want to feel safe and secure somewhere. And sometimes we know where that is when we think of a physical place. But for me, home is symbolic of a true returning to our authentic self. And part of returning to home is to be in a place where we can rest and be restored so that we have the fitness or the ability or the wellness to then continue to give more, to serve more, and to fly again.

SPEAKER_00:

And flyers need people at home. And the characters that helped OC with flight, they wanted to reap the benefits as well. Even the harsh voices. And so if you think of home, think of the places where you feel most at peace, where you feel like yourself, and the places where you have grown, where you need to reintroduce yourself to another.

SPEAKER_02:

When I was writing this chapter, there was a moment where I started writing a meditation, and the meditation was reflective of my own journey and my own journey home. And I chose to not write this as a meditation. I chose to put the meditation in the voice of Owl. Because that first line, remember to learn to fly is to learn to love. To love and accept yourself for who you are. Those two sentences encapsulate the last three years of my journey of self-compassion and being guided by a coach helping me to understand who I am.

SPEAKER_01:

The first one was really focused on the individual. This one's focused on team and organizational culture.

SPEAKER_02:

I read this chapter, and when I think about applying the themes of this chapter to a team, I think of two groups. One, the leader, and two, the team members. Because for me, the greatest challenge could be in this question. How do we create a home in the workforce's second home? How do you create a sense of home in our second home? The place where we spend the second most amount of time in our life.

SPEAKER_00:

When you look and are describing home, what kind of words do you use? And are there words that center around people and relationships? Are there words that center around place? Is it when something is really emotional or something is dramatic or there's a part where it can be cleaned up and put a process around it? So even looking at people's perspective at home might ground a team in understanding w where the team feels most safe and where the team can be most pushed and how to press pause, but then launch from that point. Because so oftentimes when we share our experiences and you really take the time to ask, they're not gonna just give you the and then everything was easy, and then we were fine.

SPEAKER_02:

Because we never know how others are gonna respond when someone shares their story of growth, and that's the invitation.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you, Brian and Linda, for sharing this book with us, for writing it, for all of the um little bits of wisdom and insights and things that um, again, I'm fairly close to this book and I still keep thinking about. To close this out, I wanted to read something to you that I actually shared back when I interviewed Deb Dixon a few episodes ago. There's a link to that in the show notes. She wrote um about Unfolded. She wrote the forward of the book. She said, Unfolded invites us to imagine what might be possible if we give ourselves permission to never stop growing. It reminds us that we're stronger than we often think, that the answers we seek are often already within us, and that most importantly, we live in a world where we must support one another and be open to receiving support in return. And I just wanted to leave you with that, as Brian said there at the end, talking about growth and sharing your growth story, that as we go into this new year, or whatever time of the year you're listening to this, as you go into enter into this next season of life, that you think about growth. You think about the ways that you want to grow, the places that you want to grow, the people that you want to be around that will help you grow, and that you also find ways to do that in return for someone else. So thank you for listening to the Leadership Vision Podcast, our show helping you build positive team culture. For more information about us, you can click the link in the show notes or visit us on the web at Leadership Vision Consulting.com. We would appreciate it if you would join our free email newsletter, subscribe to our podcast, to our YouTube channel, follow us on all the socials, and most importantly, share this with someone that you think could benefit from the message of unfolded and leaning more into who you are. My name is Nathan Freeberg, and on behalf of our entire team, thanks for listening.