What a journey! Thanks for listening and being a part OF this leadership podcast. Listen in as we reminisce on our podcast experience over the past few years and sum up some of our most formative leadership knowledge! (And it's only right that we experienced hardware difficulties during our final episode. The cracks and pop resolve after the first 5 or so minutes...)
Starting from an email conversation with Avrum, the OF Leadership crew talks about being a mature leader who can stand for something while be resilient (yet open) to criticism. Listen in as we discuss being a differentiated public self, influence people(s) from a distant without a "personal" relationship, and how can we put skin in the game to build something worthwhile.
"Leadership is 100% Inspiration." - Dan Larsen is a leadership enthusiast and a recently retired teacher who has developed his leadership philosophy found a simple framework to communicate the lens through which he sees and teaches leadership.
Talking with the OF Leadership Crew in this episode is Tyler! Tyler is a longtime listener and has been wanting to be a guest on the podcast for a long time! We appreciate Tyler's vulnerability, sharing his story. It's a his unique story but with many themes which resonate : dealing with childhood trauma and unknowable expectations, anxiety about making decisions, the stress of indecision, and the drain of an unfulfilling job. Thanks to Tyler for sharing!
As the OF Leadership Crew gets together, Zac has decided this episode would be great to talk about mentorship as a topic, as well as the crew's experiences with mentorship. Two of our members are certified through Resilient Leadership and are actively able to provide insight into guiding people through the lens of the Resilient Leadership Framework, which is rooted in Bowen's Family System Theory.
In this episode the OF Crew takes a look at Judson Brewer's book Unwinding Anxiety. Judson Brewer applies Cognitive Behavioral Theory, alongside a meditatively-inspired awareness perspective to understand and approaching the underlying processes that generate the and perpetuate anxiety. It's an interesting lens to look at and see what Bowen's Theory tells us about and alongside Jud's work.
In this episode, the OF crew does an "Interactive Read-aloud" where we listen to one of Friedman's Fables, by Edwin Friedman. In this short fable, we see various relational dynamics in this hypothetical couple's tennis game that many people will be able to relate to.
Geert's Hofstede's study has found the United States as the most individualistic culture in the world. The [of] crew examines this with the Bowen Family System's Theory lens and the tenant of individuality vs. togetherness.
The Leader's Journey by Herrington, Creech and Taylor, uses System's theory whilst looking at church congregations. The [of] crew analyzes their most intrigued portions.
The [of] crew tackles a controversial topic from up in the Murray Bowen system tree.
Guest Jessica Guider joins the [of] crew to reflect on her ever-changing goals and life events that has shaped her as a leader.
Spectrums, acronyms, pedagogies are some of our favorite topics, but we discuss diversity in this podcast. As a topic that can be hard to approach, it seems that it can be even more difficult for certain people to even talk about it. Listen in as we try as new format where one person brings and observation, another questions, and a third provides applications! OQA (pronounced oh-kwah).
It's a crazy thing to thing through the roots of our modern work force and realize the ideological roots that may have, at one time, been guiding principals of entire communities which still impacts our office culture. What do we think is valuable? How does it affect our treatment of the work force? These questions and more, right now.
The tension of togetherness and individuality permeate all of our relationships, but what happens when our relational systems get forcibly smaller (perhaps from a pandemic)? The OF Crew dig into their observations of the impact of smaller relational systems on functioning (and other fun bits).
Remember when we used to go by "Overfunctioning Leadership"? We hark back to one the eight core concepts of Bowen Theory, discussing the relationship between taking on more responsibility instinctively, such as thinking for other people, or underfunctioning, such as drifting into the background.
The importance of teamwork is easily seen and just as easily complicated by the difficulty of relationships. Lots of people find that working alongside others towards a common goal is foundational within many systems, especially within schools and the workplace. The [of] crew talks about why this might be so hard despite being so commonplace. Teamwork is hard but being alone is terrible.
Self-care is important and a commonly heard prescription, especially in anxious time. Listen in as the [of] crew supports and explores the topic in their typical way from a Family Systems Theory perspective while mixing metaphors!
Having lost a mentor, friend, and co-worker unexpectedly after 32 years, Marge Smith talks with us about how her experience with the secondhand trauma. Marge shares her experiences with the [of], and talk on how this grief is intensely different from how she felt other griefs, as well as how she is processing and growing amidst her pain.
Have you heard [of] Billy's Fable? No? We didn't expect you to, but the [of] crew thinks this is a great introduction to Friedman's Fables by Edwin Friedman, with an accessible of the concept of "Projection".
The [of] leadership crew discusses a personal question on learning how to trust on a personal level, especially when there is a history of having difficulty trusting people.
The [of] crew has spent a lot of time focusing on getting up in the tree and thinking. However, our feelings are valid and are signals of anxiety. Perhaps these feelings we have are not all bad?
After hearing this phrase ad nauseam during the COVID-19 contagion, Alex wonders how/if this saying is helpful. What are we supposed to do? Have I been working dumb?
Another chapter [of] stories whilst intentionally interweaving leadership concepts into actions in our lives. Listen as we delve into stories where we have had to change as humans to become better people and leaders.
There's no better way to know someone than to have lived through their stories with them! Sit down and listen in as Zac talks about breaking the circle of trust, Alex "falls" out of friendship over his desire to when, and John learns that sometimes it pays not to tell the truth?
Murray Bowen's least developed and final leadership concept, Societal Emotional Process, can be a journey to wrap your head around. Join the [of] crew in their thoughtful consideration during high anxiety.
Get up in the trees with a case study on our friend Greg Warder's career! We love gaining perspective, so listen in to see if some of Greg's reflections on his journey to becoming a lawyer and actively pursuing a career path has any impact on your own journey.
The [of] Leadership Crew is all about gaining perspective, so today we bring on two of John's former students. Nyigel Spann and Anthony D'Allesandro are both college students versed in Bowen's Family System who help us to look down from the trees at how we can learn to observe our functioning within our family and use that knowledge to grow.
The ladies [of leadership] join the hosts to chat about their recent married lives during COVID - ribbing and theory ensues.
*Episode warning: extremely deep thoughts with subtle defined leadership theory* Matt Harp, theologian and thoughtful student, joins the [of] crew to discuss the nuances of René Girard's Theory of Human Culture in three stages : Mimesis, Scapegoats, and Mythology.
In this episode, we discuss trust and how it affects our society, in addition to our relationships. As the crew digs into a deeper understanding [of] trust, we hope to foster a communities and leadership built on trust.
