That ALL Might Be Edified: Discussions on Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership Creates Limitless Possibilities

I am honored to have the founder of Integrate Well Coaching, Alicia Wolfe, as my guest for this episode. Alicia shares some great insight on how she brings levity through possibility and helps people face hard things by focusing on what is truly possible. This helps honor the challenges people face by recognizing that each of us has our own summit and definition of what success means. We talk about the power of possibility and how focusing on that brings levity because words and thoughts have power. By thinking about things in the proper framework we can harness that power in new ways. Alicia guides us through the inspiring principle of self-leadership and champions it as a foundational leadership trait to leading others. In her own path to leading self, she had to overcome limiting beliefs and voices. We discuss some of these and describe the pitfall of comparison while highlighting the power of self-improvement as a motivational tool. Alicia illustrates the power of establishing core values, vision, and cultivating curiosity to prevent being distracted by other peoples comparisons and limiting voices. She distinguishes courage comes before confidence and shares a personal experience of when a company took a chance on her. We all need someone to believe in us and we can look for opportunities to believe in others when they don't quite believe in themselves. Every person is valuable and can be the solution to a problem our organization has if we help them rise to that occasion. We just have learn to look to for the possibilities like Alicia and appreciate the world for what it could be. 

Alicia is a life & leadership coach, a mother of 2 young girls, a wife, an entrepreneur, a speaker, and a full-time traveler! Alicia studied Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga University and continued her education in Women’s Leadership after that. She has supported hundreds of female (and male) leaders step into the best versions of themselves, both professionally and personally.

In the past 5 years, Alicia has learned (and unlearned) what truly matters to her and has built a life that lives into that. Alicia is a HECK YES to the things that matter to her and let the rest slide. She is a visionary and one of Alicia’s core values is possibility, but she is also known as "the Queen of Practicality" because Alicia can take a bold vision or goal and help her clients create a clear pathway to success through little shifts and practical steps.

Alicia knows living a BIG life doesn’t just come from daydreaming and vision boards. And her clients get clear, simple, practical tools to help them create the life they love. Alicia puts the "ha!" in hard work. She knows that development, self-discovery, and personal growth can be really challenging, but slightly less challenging when you can laugh your way through it!

Resources:

Alicia Wolfe - Integrate Well

https://www.integratewell.co/blog 

James Kouzes & Barry Posner - The Leadership Challenge

The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations (J-B Leadership Challenge: Kouzes/Posner) 

Parker J. Palmer - The Courage to Teach

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life, 20th Anniversary Edition 

Gonzaga University - Leadership and Hardiness 

https://www.gonzaga.edu/online-graduate-programs/online-programs/m-a-organizational-leadership/domestic-immersions/leadership-and-hardiness

Strive To Do Better Things

I had the esteem privilege to have Mike Oliver as the guest on this episode who makes a bold declaration that the quality of our life is only equal to the degree of the challenges we are willing to take on. He backs that up by taking on the challenge to recreate the entire High School experience. He is working to give students access to a community of leaders, maximizing seat time flexibility, inviting learning by inquiry and creating shared leadership among many other things. Mike teaches us that the collection of people we have in the room is the smartest aspect of our environment and not just one person. It is paramount that we create an environment of psychological safety and that we see people for who they can become, believing them into that. Celebrating our approximations each step of the way and making adjustments as needed to adapt to the needs of the learners. Mike helps us believe that we can be a part of this educational revolution, that he describes as a civil rights movement, that students deserve to give them more of an educational experience they deserve. He goes on to teach us about Culture Bound Theory and the need to disrupt our way of thinking so we can expose ourselves to our own biases. This will open our mind to new ways of thinking and seeing the world around us. We can continue to do things the same old way and look for ways to do it better or we can begin to do better things. 

Mike Oliver is the progressive principal of Mountain View High School in Mesa, Arizona. He is passionate about teaching and learning and has taken a stand with innovation in public education. 

Mike was the founding principal of Zaharis Elementary School, recognized as one of the “25 most innovative, inspiring and coolest schools in America” and the “exemplary school for literacy development in the US” by Scholastic. 

Mike has a doctorate degree in Leadership and Innovation from Arizona State University and has committed to working alongside the Mountain View staff and community in reimagining what school can be.  He has boldly declared that Mountain View will become the premiere high school in all of America and welcomes the accountability associated with such a grand expectation. 

Mike’s priority is his faith and his family.  He is happily married to his wife, Trish, and they have four children and two grandchildren.  Mike is passionate about running, having run over 30 marathons and several ultramarathons, including a 100-mile race.   

Resources:

ABC News - Team Teaching is Breaking the Mold of High School Education

https://www.abc15.com/news/national/team-teaching-is-breaking-the-mold-of-high-school-education

Michael A. Oliver - Disrupting Culture Bound Realities: A Parent Perspective of Zaharis Elementary School 

https://keep.lib.asu.edu/_flysystem/fedora/c7/Oliver_asu_0010E_21150.pdf

Linda Darling-Hammond & Channa M. Cook-Harvey (2018) - Educating the Whole Child: Improving School Climate to Support Student Success

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606462.pdf

Sam Foss - The Calf Path

(poem) https://poets.org/poem/calf-path

(YouTube version) https://youtu.be/PQ9crN_hH6o

Walter D. Wintle - The Man Who Thinks He Can

(Poem) https://rainydaypoems.com/poems-for-kids/inspirational-poems/the-man-who-thinks-he-can-walter-d-wintle/

(YouTube Version) https://youtu.be/njbdOCBeOc0 

Embrace the Strengths & Gifts of Those Around You

The guest of this episode is Northwestern State University Professor Matt DeFord who talks about the value of being present with the people around you and in the environment you are in. Matt talks about the importance of setting healthy boundaries and how that can help us be present and also set the tone to empower others. This also set the stage to talk about the importance for us as Servant Leaders to help those around us set healthy boundaries. Matt talked about leadership in hurricane response, at the University, in his Church responsibilities and in his personal life while displaying the power of getting to know the people around him and learning their unique strengths and gifts. This allows him to find the appropriate ways to delegate, appreciate, and congratulate the people around him to harness their potential and help them grow. He teaches us that we can set a vision and allow the people around us to use their individual processes to complete the tasks in ways that can amaze us. Just because the process is different than our own doesn't mean it is wrong and often we can learn from the way other's do things differently. He discusses ways that his creativity is thwarted while displaying avenues where we can improve creativity in our organizations. Challenges are the opportunities that life gives us and balance really is a myth, so it is up to us to choose where to focus our priorities at a given time. When we learn to harness the complete team, we can expand our ability to meet our organization's priorities through delegation and empowerment. We can all be a leader wherever we are when we are willing to serve each other and build one another up! 

Matt DeFord is the son of hippie converts. They met each other hitchhiking, then found religion after crossing the plains with their thumbs out. He grew up in the Midwest and Texas. After serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the South Africa Johannesburg mission, he met and married Canadian Julie Heggie while attending Ricks College (BYU-Idaho). They have seven children and live in Natchitoches, Louisiana where he is a professor of Art at Northwestern State University. He was Chair of the Department of Fine and Graphic Arts for twelve years and has served in the church as bishop and stake president while also fulfilling his professional and familial responsibilities. Matt has never sought out leadership or considered himself much of a leader, but the opportunities have presented themselves to him and he has worked to serve those around him.

Resources:

NSU professors bonded for life after kidney donation - KSLA News

https://www.ksla.com/2021/08/26/nsu-professors-bonded-life-after-one-donates-kidney-another/

DeFord Designs Cinco de Mayo Pen - Natchitoches Times

https://www.natchitochestimes.com/2022/05/03/deford-designs-cinco-de-mayo-pen/

Ensign College Devotional with Elder David A. Bednar - Living in Revelation 

https://www.ensign.edu/devotional/elder-david-a-bednar-and-jeff-simpson-01-2023

Acknowledge People for their Special & Unique Spirits

It is an honor to have Alex Mestres as the guest on this episode. She uses her vast experience working with the deaf and hard of hearing community to talk about the importance of being present in all communication, both in what you say and in how you listen. We expose you to some content that is probably new to many of you, but that can expand and potenitally reframe the way you view communication in all of your organizations, teams, and many other settings. Using her expertise with the deaf and hard of hearing community we discuss the Servant Leadership attributes of listening, empathy, and community building. This episode will get you thinking about how much noise is in your environment that blocks good communication, what positive communication practice you put in the drawer for use later on, and how we allow others to process. One communication method will never reach everyone in our organization and it is only as we learn to communicate in a language that is authentic to all the members on our team that we truly can achieve great results. There is so many applications for the information contained in this episode if we open our ears and hearts to hear the full message. 

Alex Mestres was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Out of highschool she attended Miami Dade Community College where she focused on Early Childhood Education and American Sign Language. Alex then went on to  receiv a Bachelor's Degree at Flagler College in Elementary Education and Education of the Hearing-Impaired K-12. She began her career at the Debbie School, a program specifically geared towards support children with hearing loss. She was the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teacher in the total communication classroom, a environment where content is presented in both spoken language as well as American Sign Language. After a few years at the school, Alex moved onto the public school system in Miami-Dade County . After the arrival of her second son, Alex went into administration at a local early learning center. She worked within a small church school then moved on to work with the Homestead Family YMCA. She eventually led there early childhood center and camp programs. After leaving the YMCA, she continued her career in early childhood, working as a curriculum coordinator and teacher at a large church school. As her boys grew she decided to go back into public school education and became the chairperson for Miami-Dade County Public Schools Deaf and Hard of Hearing Department. She spent time working with students and teachers as well as training on best practices for the profession. After leaving the public school, Alex opened her own consulting business specifically working with charter schools on supporting the deaf and hard of hearing students in their mainstream classrooms. She also works part-time for the University of Miami Children's Hearing Program as their education specialist. Her role is to counsel families on navigating their educational options when they have a child diagnosed with hearing loss. Alex presents locally and nationally on topics centered around working with this population. She also works with the boards of AGBell Florida as a member and AGBell National as a consultant. Alex also recently completed her Master's degree in the Applied Learning Sciences.

Alex has been married to a City of Miami Firefighter for the past 29 years and they have two sons. Her oldest is married and they have a beautiful 1 ½ year old little girl. Her youngest is engaged to be married in December.

Resources:

Larry Spears - Ten Characteristics of a Servant Leader

https://www.spearscenter.org/46-uncategorised/136-ten-characteristics-of-servant-leadership

Bryce Ward - Washington Post Opinion - Americans are spending more time alone. Here's why we should reverse that. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/23/americans-alone-thanksgiving-friends/

Coda IMDb Movie Page 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10366460/

Teach People to Value Themselves

We are privileged to have The Director of Sports Science of The New Orleans Saints, Matt Rhea, as the guest on this episode where he shares some of his personal experiences with high performing athletes to talk about how we can approach life and leadership. He mentions a few names you might recognize in his stories and shares some great lessons and philosophies he has learned from these profound examples. He talks about how being humble and not being content with just being good leads to becoming better and greater satisfaction. Matt shares some great examples that highlight the importance of owning our mistakes, and being vulnerable so we can get better. He also talks about how we as leaders need to build trust in those around us so they are willing to be vulnerable. We can set a high bar for those around us when they know that we care about them if we are willing to take the time to build relationships with our people and build an environment where they can shine and even surpass us. 

Matt Rhea just completed his first season as the Director of Sports Science for the New Orleans Saints. He served in the same position with the University of Alabama football for two years prior and Indiana University for two years before that.  Prior to his work in football, he worked as a professor of exercise and sport science, a performance consultant for MLB, NBA, international soccer, and Olympic teams, and owned and operated an athlete development facility. He completed a PhD at Arizona State University in Exercise Science, Master’s Degrees at Arizona State (Exercise Science) and American Public University (Sports Management), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education at Southern Utah University.  He grew up in Tooele, Utah and served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Chicago.  He and his wife, Kellie, have 5 sons ages 16-26 years and now have 2 daughters-in-law and 2 grandchildren.  

Fill Time With Things That Connect Us As People

We have the amazing privilege to have Chris Marohn on this episode where he shares a valuable story from early in his career to remind us to surround ourselves with smart people who are willing to disagree with us. Chris illustrates the value of meeting people where they are while taking the time to communicate to people that they are important and that their voices are heard. He advocates for mental health awareness and reminds us that there is a lot of work trauma in many of our past experiences. He shares that we aren't the person that can reach everyone, but we can show them enough love to get them moving in a positive direction. We don't have to do things the way they have always been done and we need to work harder to recognize our own implicit biases. Many don't want to face or even overcome their biases because it would force them to change or leave their comfort zone. We can lead others even those we don't have authority over by showing interest in them and by asking for their sincere help because people want to feel needed and connected and that is why we need to take the time to get to know them and pay attention to the members on our teams so we can help offer them right opportunities to grow at the most opportune time. 

 

Chris started his career in politics. He was encouraged by all those around him to get involved and make the changes he wanted to see in the world. During his high school and undergraduate years, he worked with various political and policy organizations to help farmworkers in the Sacramento Valley. He continued his passion for elimination of bias and anti-racism during his time working at various levels of political campaigning and government. He has served in posts from Washington DC to local city government in the pursuit of equity under the law.

 

Currently, Chris is working with The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law as the Director of Employer Relations in the Office of Career and Employment Services. Previously, he was the Director of the Continuing Legal Education program at ASU Law. In his current role, Chris, is responsible for Diversity Summer Clerkship hiring and advising. He meets with students of diverse backgrounds encouraging and mentoring them into achieving their legal career goals, while trying to diversify the legal profession. Chris has recently been tasked with overseeing the pipeline to law school program with Phoenix Unified School District, with the focus of helping underserved communities get the tools needed to be successful in law school.

 

Chris graduated in 2012 from Monterey College of Law in Monterey, California. During this time we worked full time, campaigned for members of congress and local office, was president of the Student Bar Association and local chapter of Delta Theta Phi.

 

Chris and his wife, Megan, have been married for ten years and are passionate about advocacy in ending Breed Specific Legislation, as they have a loving American Staffordshire Terrier, and coaching Special Olympics Baseball.

 

Resources & Links:

Take Tests on Implicit Bias - Implicit Association Tests

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html 

 

Christopher Marohn - Building Bridges: Tim Overton 

https://jrcls.org/articles/building-bridges-tim-overton

 

Carl Hanson - Something About Mental Health

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/carl-l-hanson/something-about-mental-health/ 

 

 

 

 

See a Need & React to It

Happy New Year and welcome to season two. We start off with a phenomenal guest but I warn you that it can be an emotional roller coaster ride that isn't for the faint of heart. Join with us to hear Rocky Sickmann's story and how he has harnessed adversity to become a great example of servant leadership. Rocky resonates his theme of "love of family, love of faith, and love of country" throughout the episode. He teaches us how he uses his tragic experience as a hostage in Iran and the example of all those around him, especially those who lost their life as motivation to be a help to others each day of his life, looking for ways to encounter people in their moments of crisis and help them move forward by using all that life has taught him in such a profound servant leader mindset. He teaches us how to have a great mindset to harness the adversity in our lives but also how to honor the people in our lives that have made sacrifices for us. 

Rodney “Rocky” Sickmann: United States Marine Corps Sergeant and P.O.W., Iranian Hostage Crisis Author, Iranian Hostage: A Personal Diary of 444 Days in Captivity Retired U.S. Director, Military and Industry Affairs, Anheuser-Busch InBev. Senior Vice President of Budweiser Accounts, Folds of Honor

Rocky Sickmann graduated from Washington High School in 1976 and immediately entered the U.S. Marine Corps. in 1979, just 28 days into his tour of duty at the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran, He became a player in one of the most terrifying events in U.S. history where he was held hostage for 444 days. 

After the military Rocky went on to be the National Director for Military and Industry Affairs at Anheuser-Busch InBev, where he oversaw all military special events, military and industry trade media publications, and national industry trade shows. In August 2016, Rocky's military and professional experience coupled with his passion for our armed forces, led him to pursue an opportunity with his favorite non-profit organization: Folds of Honor. In his new role, he helps advance the Folds mission: To stand in the financial gap of the more than one million dependents adversely affected by war, providing educational scholarships to the children and spouses of those killed or disabled while serving our nation. 

Resources and links:

Folds of Honor:

https://foldsofhonor.org/

Rocky Sickmann - Iranian Hostage: A Personal Diary of 444 Days in Captivity:

https://www.amazon.com/Iranian-Hostage-Personal-Diary-Captivity/dp/0881030007

Mark Bowden - Guests of the Ayatollah: 

https://www.amazon.com/Guests-Ayatollah-Hostage-Americas-Militant-ebook/dp/B008UX8GH8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=IOK38GGY1YOH&keywords=guests+of+the+ayatollah&qid=1672929279&sprefix=guests+of+t%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-1

Elder Clark G. Gilbert - Parable of the Slope:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/16gilbert?lang=eng

 

 

 

 

 

Create a Never Ending Cycle of Great Leaders

This episode's guest is Tua Bayden Va’ai and is joining us all the way from New Zealand. Tua shares a Samoan proverb with us that teaches that the pathway to leadership is through service and how the legacy of his school taught him to value that philosophy. We talk about ways to let the spotlight shine on others and how to be mindful of cultural influences, especially dominant cultures to ensure that minimized cultures can shine more brightly. Tua is an example of someone who works to uplift, encourage, and support the people around him and shared some ways he served the people of his community during the COVID pandemic and lessons he has learned from Rugby along the way. 

 

Tua was born and raised in Wellington, NZ. Youngest of 3 boys and went to Rongotai College.  His favourite sport is Rugby 🏉 and his favourite food is brisket. Tua served a full time mission in Alaska and I currently just accepted a job with a company called carpet corp in New Zealand as an operations coordinator. He loves serving others and the satisfaction he receives when he gives of his time willingly.  

 

Resources:

Israel Adesanya Speech on Tall Poppy Syndrome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT0M7_BytQI 

 

Self Reliance Program - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/self-reliance/course-overview-benefits?lang=eng 

Make Sure Your Actions Speak as Loud as Your Words

Recently retired Master Gunnery Sergent Samson Cantu is the guest of this episode. Master Gunnery Sergeant Cantu is a 25 year Marine, wrapping up his Military Career - recently accepting an Internship with NASA Space Center, pursuing new opportunities in the Space Industry. He shares his story about how he was introduced to the U.S. Marine Corps and the example of his father to highlight how important it is to do what you say you are going to do. Samson shares some life long lessons that will help us build and retain credibility while sharing his love of teamwork. Master Gunz teaches about the value of team dynamics and provides some thoughts on how to put people in the right placed bases on their personality and preferences. A true mentor who has many examples to share with each of us! 

Master Gunz Cantu is a Texas native and is the fourth of six children. In search of challenge, travel and adventure, Master Gunz Cantu enlisted in the Marines after graduating from Alvin High School. Master Gunz Cantu would serve in all elements of the Marine Air Ground Task Force, including Marine Expeditionary Unit / Special Operations Capable, sea duty, aboard the USS Peleliu, multiple deployments to Iraq, as well as special duty as a Marine Recruiter and Inspector-Instructor.

Samson married his high school sweetheart, Miss Alyssa Renee Perez. Together, their family would grow in size, spirit and build life-long memories & friendships throughout the journey. Along with daughters, Natalie, Samantha, Brooke & Penelope; the Cantu family would travel and serve stateside and overseas, in both I & III Marine Expeditionary Forces & two tours within the Marine Forces Reserve.

Assignments consisted of Yuma AZ, Houston TX, Camp Pendleton CA, Kane'ohe Bay HI, Aurora CO, Okinawa Japan (x2), & finally, New Orleans Louisiana.

Resources:

Ray Dalio - Creators vs Refiners vs Advancers vs Executors vs Flexors https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/principle-44e-creators-vs-refiners-advancers-executors-ray-dalio/ 

Team Dimensions 2.0: Discover Your Workplace Role https://internalchange.com/order-profiles-training-materials/non-disc-products/team-dimensions-profile/team-dimensions-profile-2-0-online/ 

 

Learn to Love Learning

Robert Duran, a great shipmate and one of my first roommates from my earliest Navy training is the guest on this episode. Robert shares some great insight in developing an improvement mindset and fostering a fun environment. Even when challenges arise, Robert's philosophy is to go in with an open mind, learn from it, and work to improve the area you're in and when you do this you can't go wrong. Robert talks about how his mentors have impacted him and how he works to mentor others, always committing others to return the favor and help others because people are the most important ingredient in any organization. Robert shares how he has learned that nothing worthwhile comes easy. Sometimes you have to drop before you can rise and somethings don't sound like they will benefit you, but when you work to follow Robert's example, any situation and experience can be benefit you. 

Robert is a Tucson, AZ native. I lived in Tucson until he was 17 years old when he joined the United States Navy (USN) as an Electronics Technician. His first assignment out of Navy training was to work on navigational radars on the USS John C Stennis (CVN74). His next command was the White House Communication Agency where he supported the United States (US) President, US Vice President, US First Lady, US Second Lady, and US Secret Service in communications. He completed 7 years in the USN and then  moved back to Tucson where he worked for the City of Tucson as a fire sprinkler inspector for about a year. Then he started a new adventure at Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS) as a Configuration Manager (CM). He worked for Raytheon for 13 years before joining Arete’ Associates as a CM in January 2022.

He is married to his wife Johanna and they have three children. They also have two dogs, (Australian Shepherds).

Resources:

Daniel Goleman - Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Intelligence-Matter-More-Than/dp/055338371X/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1575A2TQG2C5F&keywords=emotional+intelligence&qid=1653451421&sprefix=emotional+intelligence%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-5