The Rooted Leadership Podcast

The two most important days of our lives are the day we were born and the day we find out why—understanding our 'why", or our purpose, Is an essential part of living. One could ask if we are even living without knowing it, or are we just passively passing through life? To have a purpose is profound, and our guest Commissioner Kevin Cameron is a prime example of someone who has lived with a purpose for many years. He has gotten o know his purpose intimately over time and continues to learn from it. He has started and owned his own business, as well as served in politics for many years. His perspective is one worth learning from, and it was a treat to have him on the show. Kevin has participated in our Groundwork Leadership Institute this past year and looks forward to serving as an alumnus in years to come.

Each year we welcome a new cohort of leaders to go through our 12-month leadership program. In this episode, we share a discussion with one of our soon-to-be Groundwork Leaders regarding what they are looking forward to next year. Evann Remington is a local business owner in the Salem area. Over 15 years ago, she started Fresh n' Local Foods. She is at the point in her career where she longs to know what the next 15 years will look like. She, like many others in our program, is at a turning point in her career where an institute like Groundwork can set the tone for a new perspective, relationships, and opportunities. How many of you are at a similar point in your career or life where you feel like change is needed? Evann is an excellent example of someone who knows what they want, has laser focus, and is open to change/development. Evann, we look forward to you joining our leadership family!

Those who are familiar with building a following on social media know how difficult it can be to get a few thousand followers, let alone tens of thousands. Cam Browne, a local influencer joined our show. Cam has built an online community with over 40k followers on various platforms. Cam is a humble, quiet, and unsuspecting person. He wouldn't call himself as a leader who is out in front of people leading the chard to follow him, however, that is exactly what he is. Cam leads a community and has a tremendous influence on thousands of people. There is a lot to learn from him about leadership and influence--albeit is in a different context and environment; it is certainly transferable to the organizational world.

Aaron Ng'ambi has spent the past several years learning from various leaders in his country of Zambia. He has met with political leaders, sometimes in their homes, and asked questions and listened. He has wanted to understand what makes great leaders, and what they have in common. Aaron hopes to return to his country in due time and serve in a political capacity as a leader so he can influence others for good. He is inspired to learn as much as he can about leadership in the interim. We agree with Aaron that studying leadership is essential to leading. We owe it to our personal philosophies and those we lead to study how to lead. We reflect on great leaders like Nelson Mandela who are examples of taking great leadership principles literally. Enjoy this episode and discover more about why we take the time to study leadership within our institute.

Menlo Innovations is a software development company that has been around for 21 years. As the CEO and Co-Founder, Richard Sheridan travels the world telling people about what his company does. They are not an ordinary tech company, their mission is to bring joy to the tech world and end suffering as it relates to technology. They have discovered and built an amazing culture that grasps human energy because they believe in 'running the experiment'. Rich has authored two excellent books, Joy Inc. and Cheif Joy Officer, wherein he tells the story of Menlo innovations. You will want to hear the stories Rich shares and learn from what he has done with his company over the past two decades. This is a must-listen!

For the second time our show welcomes entrepreneur Chris Udall on the show. Last time (episode 45) we discussed his non profit "Rebuilding For Peace" that has done some amazing work to find and create elicit entrepreneurs. This time, Chris is setting out a venture capitalist to address the food crisis much of our world is facing. He brings new light to AgTech and space farming in a way you will not forget. Ultimately, Chris is another great example of leadership and one who strives relentlessly toward potential.

Ryan Allen spent nearly a decade in the NFL and in that time had the opportunity to play with some of the best, including Tom Brady, he also was able to learn from great leaders/coaches like Bill Belichick. However, Ryan has been learning from leaders around him for his entire life, from his childhood soccer coach to many others. Working through adversity at any level is something that all of us must face, but seeking out and learning from the right influencers around us can make all the difference. You don't want to miss this episode!

The great resignation has been making headlines as a hot topic for some time now. There are many theories as to why it is happening, as well as many prescriptions offered. Some good, and some bad. We decided to take this topic on with a guest who has been thinking about it a lot in her work as a leadership coach. Andrea Horvath joined our show and tells of her journey from when she left the corporate world as a CPA several years ago and has since dedicated her life and work to coaching leaders of all kings. Conscious leadership is a critical element of her coaching style and what she espouses with her clients.

Julio Rincon, Lead Storyteller at the Arbinger Institute, joins our show to discuss the power of stories. Julio has incredible experience producing film and videos that tell amazing stories. He has been able to travel the world to capture stories, interview people, hear others share their stories, and then digitally produce them. We discuss what he has learned over the years, his process, and ultimately the best types of stories to share--the stories that reflect transformational changes. If you love storytelling or are interested in how you can better leverage the power of stories to influence others, you will enjoy this episode.

Chad Ford, author of Dangerous Love and global mediator/peacebuilder, joins our show for the third time. In this conversation, we explore the idea that standing your ground in conflict, even for something you know is true, does not lead to peace. We live in a world where people are divided and constantly at battle. Whether it is a political ideology, religion, etc., we often feel that in order to be right, we have to win. But the truth is that when we have a heart at war in conflict, we have already lost. The ground that we feel we must "hold" in the quest for being right is actually shared. We exist on the same ground with others and have so much more in common than we might initially believe. The values we fight for are the same values for which we ought to "love dangerously."