214. Leading with Purpose and Authenticity, with Tommy Nixon, CEO of Urban Youth Workers Initiative

Healthy leadership is about paying attention to what God is up to in the people we’re leading.  Our job, then, is not to force people to be something they’re not so they can support our own initiatives.  Our job is to take note of how our people are wired and then help them live that out for the sake of God’s mission.

This is true, by the way, not only for the people we lead; it's true for the leader, too.  In this episode, Tommy Nixon, the CEO of Urban Youth Workers Initiative, does an amazing job unpacking that reality.


THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Tommy Nixon is CEO of Urban Youth Workers Institute.
• Tommy Nixon reflects on the importance of embracing individual gifts and the problems of emulating other prominent leaders.
• Tommy Nixon and Markus Watson reflect on their shared experience of walking the Camino de Santiago.
• The pressures leaders receive from external stakeholders, such as donors and board members, can be profound.  That’s why it is important to develop a deliberate growth strategy.
• Investing in others is critical, as is the role of conflict and tension in contributing to growth within a team.
• Tommy Nixon narrates his challenges with wearing multiple hats in leadership roles and calls into question whether individuals are truly multifaceted or should concentrate on their strengths.
• He advises leaders to have candid conversations with their teams about their abilities and to possibly reconceptualize leadership and teaching methods.
• Markus Watson shares his insights on the difficulties of transitioning from conventional leadership expectations to a model that involves spiritual formation and surrender.
• Tommy Nixon speaks on the need for leaders to engage in self-exploration and the advantages it brings, mentioning the use of introspection to seek divine direction and share vulnerabilities to promote a mutual understanding.
• Nixon shares his own journey of inner healing and self-acceptance through God's love that he has been on since high school.
• Tommy Nixon has come to embrace a significant truth over two decades, which has revolutionized his approach to leadership and handling disappointments.
• Markus Watson opens up about being triggered by a comment from a parishioner and the value of introspection and apologizing for his response.
• The conversation shifts to the idea of leading by allowing people to be themselves and trusting God to work in their midst.
• Nixon underscores the concept that understanding and joining God's plan is crucial, even when faced with leading a smaller church in the post-pandemic era.
• Tommy Nixon concludes by advocating for a paradigm shift in Christian leadership, encouraging a more people-centered approach and institutional change within the church and related nonprofits.

RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:

• Tommy Nixon
  • Urban Youth Workers Institute
  • The Radical Middle Podcast 
  • The Future is Here Podcast
• Related episodes:
  • The Beatitudes and Spiritual Leadership, with Mark Scandrette
  • You Can’t Be Found if You’re Never Lost, with Steve Carter

Did you know Spiritual Life and Leadership has been named the #1 Spiritual Leadership Podcast by the Feedspot Podcasters Database? Check it out HERE!