Category Archives: Personal Development

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515: The Top 5 Traits of a Servant Leader

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Inside my online community, ReadtoLead+ members get access to a wide range of personal and professional development resources, including articles I publish not available anywhere else.

One of those articles I published just yesterday and I’ve decided to share it here in audio form to help give you a sense of the kind of content you’ll find inside, should you desire to join us as a member.

By the way, you can try it free for two weeks. Just go here.

If you decide to stay after your trial is up, it’s just $9 a month.

The topic of today’s podcast episode is leadership. But not just any kind of leadership. I’m talking specifically about Servant Leadership.

What is Servant Leadership exactly?

I posed that question to ChatGPT. Here is its response:

Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy where the primary goal of the leader is to serve others, prioritizing the growth and well-being of their team members and the communities to which they belong. It flips the traditional leadership model on its head, emphasizing the importance of humility, empathy, and the collective over the individual. Through traits like active listening, empathy, healing, awareness, and persuasion, servant leaders foster an environment of trust, collaboration, and mutual respect, driving organizational success from a foundation of shared values and goals.

Did you catch the Servant Leader traits ChatGPT referenced? Those traits are, in fact, the five I believe to be most important for Servant Leaders.

For the full rundown of my philosophy on each of these, just click the play button below.

Click the play button below to listen to the episode

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Comment and Share

Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on Stitcher. This helps tremendously in bringing the podcast to the attention of others.

We encourage you to join the Read to Lead Nation on Facebook. It’s a community of like-minded leaders and leader-to-be, as well as fans of the Read to Lead Podcast.

You can tell your friends on Twitter about your love of reading and our new podcast by simply clicking this link and sharing the tweet you’ll find at the other end.

And, by all means, if you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Finally, thanks for listening and remember, “Leaders read and readers lead.”

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511: The Brave Habit is Your Guide to Courageous Leadership with Todd Henry

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Never has a guest appeared on the Read to Lead Podcast five times. In that the show is nearing its eleventh anniversary, though, the odds of that one day happening are increasing.

Todd Henry

In fact, that day is today, as Todd Henry indeed makes his fifth appearance on the podcast.

His new book is called The Brave Habit: A Guide to Courageous Leadership.

When your job requires you to solve problems, create things, or lead others through times of uncertainty, you have to make tough decisions when the stakes are high. Making the right call requires more than talent. It takes bravery.

Bravery, Todd says, is not reserved for the chosen few; it’s a skill and a daily practice that can be developed. And Todd’s book, The Brave Habit, provides a practical framework for courageous leadership and exceptional work.

We need you to lead. Will you choose to be brave?

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Todd and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

Join in on our chat below

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Continue Reading »
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510: Answer These 5 Questions to Build Your Legacy

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There’s no one I can think of who’s been as consistent in his encouragement toward what I do than Dan Miller.

And, he never stops learning. A habit I’m quite fond of. 🙂

Dan is the kind of person I want to be in the lives of others.

That’s why the first question I ask you to consider when pondering your own legacy is this:

Who has had the most significant impact on your life and why?

Answering this question will help you think about the kind of impact you’d like to leave on this earth.

In this week’s episode, I expound on this question, and offer four more for you to consider.

Additionally, I walk through three exercises that will go a long way to helping you establish your own, long-term legacy.

Click the play button below to listen to the episode

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Comment and Share

Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on Stitcher. This helps tremendously in bringing the podcast to the attention of others.

We encourage you to join the Read to Lead Nation on Facebook. It’s a community of like-minded leaders and leader-to-be, as well as fans of the Read to Lead Podcast.

You can tell your friends on Twitter about your love of reading and our new podcast by simply clicking this link and sharing the tweet you’ll find at the other end.

And, by all means, if you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Finally, thanks for listening and remember, “Leaders read and readers lead.”

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509: The Impact of Dan Miller On Our Lives Continues

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It still hasn’t quite sunk in for me. My friend, and a friend to so many around the world, Dan Miller, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given less than six months to live.

Dan was my first-ever Read to Lead Podcast guest.

He appeared again in episode #067, and two more times after that, including just last year.

Dan is, of course, best known as the New York Times bestselling author of the book 48 Days to the Work (and Life) You Love.

His life has impacted millions, literally.

I must admit that, in light of the news, it has been difficult for me to find the motivation to go on as normal as the new year is underway.

Let me put it a little more plainly: This has hit me hard!

Hard enough that I’ve struggled with conducting new interviews and have relied on publishing interviews that were already “in the can” to finish out the year.

I have just needed some time to process.

I know what you’re thinking: “Jeff. You’re not the one with cancer.”

You are right.

My response to this news contrasted with Dan’s own response holds another valuable lesson for me (and for you).

While I’m over here wallowing, Dan is asking the same question he encourages us to ask in the face of any challenge.

“What does this make possible?”

Dan recognizes the blessing that is knowing your time is soon going to be up, and he’s making the most of it.

I would expect nothing less from Dan.

In this episode is my attempt to share what Dan means to me, as well as the thoughts of a few listeners who wrote me to share how Dan has impacted them.

At the end of the episode, I’ve intentionally added five minutes of silence. I encourage you to use this time to think about what truly matters to you. Maybe even think about how you would respond if told you had six months to live.

Thank you for being a part of the Read to Lead Community.

Click the play button below to listen to the episode

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Links That Were Mentioned

Check out Dan’s final episode of the 48 Days Radio Show.

Write your message for Dan on his Murial page here.

Comment and Share

Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on Stitcher. This helps tremendously in bringing the podcast to the attention of others.

We encourage you to join the Read to Lead Nation on Facebook. It’s a community of like-minded leaders and leader-to-be, as well as fans of the Read to Lead Podcast.

You can tell your friends on Twitter about your love of reading and our new podcast by simply clicking this link and sharing the tweet you’ll find at the other end.

And, by all means, if you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Finally, thanks for listening and remember, “Leaders read and readers lead.”

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508: The 9 Books I’m Most Looking Forward To In 2024

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Like any other year before, there are literally tens of thousands of books set to be released this year. Needless to say, it can be hard whittling down what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

I’ve attempted to take some of the guesswork out of it for you by selecting nine books I’m really looking forward to reading this year.

Here they are in order of their release date.

Note that my first selection is actually a book that came out last week—making it, technically, a 2023 release. But it makes the cut as, well, I was a little busy this past week and am just getting around to diving in.

Trust me when I say you’ll be glad I’m including it here.

1. Feel Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal (December 26, 2023) 

Note: I’ll be interviewing Ali later this month and releasing our conversation in early February.

2. Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters by Brian Klass (January 23, 2024). 

3. The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder by Robert I. Sutton and Huggy Rao (January 30, 2024)

Note: My interview with coauthor Huggy Rao releases on January 30 to coincide with the book’s release.

4.  Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture Is Bad for Business—and How to Fix It by Malissa Clark (February 6, 2024) 

5. Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-Being by Sue Varma MD (February 20, 2024)

6. Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg (February 20, 2024) 

7. Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport (March 5, 2024) 

8. Microskills: Small Actions, Big Impact by Adaira Landry and Resa E. Lewiss (April 16, 2024) 

9. Hyperefficient: Optimize Your Brain to Transform the Way You Work by Mithu Storoni (September 17, 2024) 

In addition to the two authors and books on this list I’m already set to feature on the show, I’ll be working to invite as many of the other seven as I can. 

For more detail about each book, listen to the episode

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

Comment and Share

Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on Stitcher. This helps tremendously in bringing the podcast to the attention of others.

We encourage you to join the Read to Lead Nation on Facebook. It’s a community of like-minded leaders and leader-to-be, as well as fans of the Read to Lead Podcast.

You can tell your friends on Twitter about your love of reading and our new podcast by simply clicking this link and sharing the tweet you’ll find at the other end.

And, by all means, if you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Finally, thanks for listening and remember, “Leaders read and readers lead.”