Explore every episode of the podcast The Shepherd Leadership Podcast

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The Savannah Bananas put on the greatest show in sports! 

They have created an amazing vision with a focus on Fans First in the world of sports entertainment through the show they put on with their baseball team. 

Their success speaks for itself.  They have sold out every game they have ever played! There is a 5+ year waiting list for their season tickets! 

They started with 1 team and have grown to 6 teams in their organization & created their own form of baseball called Banana Ball! 

It takes an incredible culture to create what they have done.  

Listen in to my conversation with Tucker Brooks, the Director of People & Culture Development for the Savannah Bananas, to learn how they cultivate a culture in their organization that inspires their team to do the wild things they are able to do to accomplish their vision.  

You will get so much from this conversation.  Nothing happens without a great culture.  Find out how the Bananas have accomplished all they have through theirs.  

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There is no such thing as a silent leader!! Leaders are always communicating something.  We want it to be the things that help drive others towards their best and our best.  Listen in as Nick gives some practical resources and principles for how shepherd leaders should communicate to guide those entrusted to them to thrive, and watch your team, organization, & family thrive. 

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John Crosby is the founder & Executive Director of Priority Insight where he serves leaders as an Executive Coach and teacher.  Priority Insight uniquely serves organizations by taking biblical principles and helping leaders apply those principles to their leadership.  

John and his wife Jo also are the founders of Five Stones Counseling in Savannah, Ga where they do couples counseling together.  

Find out more about John and his ministry at www.priorityinsight.com.  You can contact him at john@priorityinsight.com.  

Be the first to email us at shepherdleadershippodcast@gmail.com to be sent a copy of one of John's books, Called to Lead, Called to Shepherd, or Called to Coach.  John has also developed a personal planner for leaders to stay on track to lead those entrusted to them well.  

If you enjoy the podcast please rate us and subscribe so you never miss an episode! 

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After a long pause due to a very unexpectedly demanding 2025, we are back in full strength posting episodes in 2026 to come alongside you as we grow to be thriving shepherd leaders that help those entrusted to us thrive. 

Did you know there is a secret commitment of all lifelong thriving leaders?  

There is one foundational rhythm and habit that all great leaders that are healthy & thriving do that those that are not healthy & thriving don't do? 

Nick dives into that commitment in this episode as we kick off a content packed 2026 season of growth in our leadership.  

If you commit to this one discipline as a shepherd leader, not only will you thrive in your leadership, but those entrusted to you will thrive, and you will be a leader they can follow for LIFE!!! 

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What do you want to be known FOR? 

What are you known FOR? 

In today’s culture many people make their stand on what they are AGAINST rather than what they are FOR. 

This month’s guest, author, speaker, & leader Jeff Henderson talks about the power of getting really clear as a leader on what you are FOR, what you want to be known FOR, and who you are FOR.  

Jeff wrote the bestselling book, Know What You are FOR: A Growth Strategy for Work, An Even Better Strategy for Life. . 

Jeff has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the 20 speakers you shouldn’t miss.  

Jeff is a former church planter & pastor through North Point Ministries.  He was the founder and pastor at Gwinnett Church & Buckhead Church, both in the Atlanta Metro Area in Atlanta, Ga.  

Jeff if currently the Executive Director of Leadership Innovation & Strategy at Chick-fil-A.

Jeff is a tremendous leader and someone I have learned so much from.  

I hope you enjoy this episode with Jeff Henderson on The Shepherd Leadership Podcast. 

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In this first episode of 2025 I wanted to recap all of the amazing things we learned in 2024.  We had our BEST YEAR, receiving over 10,000 downloads of the podcast. 

I am so grateful to everyone that has invested your time in this content.  My prayer is that it is valuable to you and your leadership growth and that not only you benefit as a leader, but that those you lead benefit as you become a better Shepherd Leader to those entrusted to you.  

 We are all on the journey to be the very best Shepherd Leader we can be for those entrusted to us and we are growing together.  

 So in this episode I am going to take a small highlight from the most listened to episodes of 2024.  We were so fortunate to spend some time with some amazing Guests this year that really helped us dive into the aspects of Knowing, Guiding, Protecting, & Providing for those entrusted to us so that they can THRIVE.  

 We are going to hear highlights from Alex Vann, who has produced 13 Chick-fil-A Operators out of his organization, nationally syndicated show host & authors Ken Coleman & Dr. John Deloney, authors Joel Manby & Randy Gravitt, & retired Chick-fil-A President Tim Tassopolous

 So this is our 2024 Highlight Reel! If you hear a clip that really excites you or interests you, I encourage you to go back and listen to that full episode.  

 It was a lot of fun to go back and listen to all that we learned together in 2024.  

 I hope this encourages you and brings so much value to your leadership.  

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Listen in to Part 2 of my conversation with retired Chick-fil-A President, Tim Tassopolous, who enjoyed a 46 year career with the brand spanning 6 different decades, & led Chick-fil-A through some it's most robust growth seasons.  

Tim's wisdom and calm leadership style help us realize that anyone can be a leader others would follow for life by making the leadership decisions of character and care that define a Shepherd Leader.  

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What if you had the opportunity to take some one on one basketball lessons from Michael Jordan, or some vocal performance lessons from Adele, or quarterback camp with Tom Brady, or acting lessons from Meryl Streep?  Incredible right?! 

That's what it felt like to sit with my friend Tim Tassopoulos, retired President & Chief Operating Officer at Chick-fil-A, Inc.  

In a 46 year career that spanned 6 different decades and countless innovations, challenges, awards, and changes in the industry and company, Tim left a legacy of faithful stewardship of the leadership responsibilities he was offered that is characterized as humble, strong, confident, resolute, and loving.  

In this 2 part series, Tim shares leadership lessons he's learned from his career and his relationship with Founder, Truett Cathy, his predecessor, Jimmy Collins, & his former Operator and first boss, Gary Bettis - while working with and collaborating with some incredible leaders along the way.  

Get out a notebook because we are about to get a Masterclass in leadership from the best leader I have ever personally known.  

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Former CEO of Saab, Sea World, & Herschend Family Entertainment, Joel Manby says that leading with love is the greatest strategic advantage any organization can have.  

In his book, Love Works - 7 Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders, Joel talks about his history of leadership and how he found the greatest strategy for effective leadership through a very familiar biblical passage & the everyday life of the Herschend Family Entertainment owners Jack & Peter Herschend.  

In this fun conversation Joel talks about what he learned from his leadership experiences and encourages and challenges us to lead with love to shepherd those entrusted to us thrive and be a leader they can follow for LIFE! 

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If you win at work but lose at home, you still lose. 

Join leadership author and coach Randy Gravitt and I as we discuss what it looks like to build a foundation of winning at home first and to encourage those entrusted to you to win at home first.  

Randy and his team at Lead Every Day have a dream and a vision of a "world well led".  He says that begins with fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, making the commitment to win at home first and create healthy, thriving homes where "those that know us best love us most." 

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Have you considered that the primary thing hindering your family, your team, your church, or your organization from thriving is your own mental, emotional, & spiritual health?

I have a conversation with Dr. John Delony about how a leader's pursuit of mental & emotional wellness can not only have a huge impact in their life, but an exponential impact in the lives of those entrusted to them. 

Dr. John Delony's 3 books have made a radical impact on the leadership world in the last few years. 
Redefining Anxiety
Own Your Past Change Your Future
Building an Anxious-Free Life
John's work has helped put leaders on a path to wellness and helped them create a path for wellness for those they shepherd.  John has a YouTube channel, podcast & radio show, The Dr. John Delony Show, where he answers live questions from callers and gives life changing advice for how they can pursue "well" in their life and relationships. 

Join in our chat to learn how you can have control over the cycle of mental & emotional turmoil you wrestle through and be sure that you don't throw it on your kids, your spouse, your co-workers, or your direct reports.  

This conversation was AWESOME! 

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Some things sound really good in theory, but how do you actually make them work. 

Listen to my conversation with 4 of my leaders from Chick-fil-A and hear how they engage with our team members as shepherd leaders, and strive to become leaders they can follow for LIFE! 

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Ken Coleman is a national bestselling author of the books The Proximity Principle & From Paycheck to Purpose.  Ken is a dynamic personality for Ramsey Solutions where he is the host of his own nationally syndicated radio show and routinely hosts The Ramsey Show, one of the most listened to radio programs in the nation.  Ken is a routine guest on shows like Fox News, Fox Business, FORBES, & yahoo! Finance. 

Ken is passionate about people doing the work they were uniquely designed to do and for organizations to create environments where people can thrive and become their very best selves. 

This episode is absolute GOLD for leaders who want to create a culture where their people can become their best and put them on a trajectory of living their most impactful life. 

Check out more of Ken's bio & work at www.kencoleman.com. 

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Learn from Britt McDade, Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Vidalia, about how challenging those entrusted to you to be their best & to bring their best can help guide them to thrive and be all that God created them to be.  

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Statistically, being selected as a Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator is more difficult than being selected into Harvard or the CIA.  

In this episode we get to learn from Alex Vann, a veteran multi-unit Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator in Columbus, Georgia who has had shepherded & mentored 13 Chick-fil-A Owner/Operators to be selected from his team in 21 years.  

Alex is a shepherd leader at home as a committed husband and father.  He is a leader of leaders in our fraternity of over 2000 Operators across the country. 

Enjoy learning from one of the best as we learn Alex's approach to a decorated career and legacy as a shepherd of shepherds.  

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Have you ever wondered, "Why is this generation so different?" or "Why is my boss like that?" 

Do you find it difficult to lead and shepherd this next generation?

 Are you 'leading up' and want to know the best way to steward the relationships with your older Team Members?

Dr. Tim Elmore, founder & CEO of Growing Leaders & bestselling author, shares with us  amazing insights from his book A New Kind of Diversity on how we can make the  different generations on our team a competitive advantage and to help them, along with our families and organizations, THRIVE! 

Listen in as we learn how we can KNOW those entrusted to our care to better shepherd them so they can thrive. 

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At the end of our leadership journey, the effectiveness of our leadership will not be measured on the nobility of our intentions but on the impact of our actions! 

In this episode we talk about how you can fit in all of your intentions to know, guide, protect, & provide for those entrusted to you by turning them into impactful actions that help you shepherd well and be a leader others will follow for life! 

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What a FUN conversation with multi-unit Chick-fil-A Operator & author of the book "Irrational Kindness", Kevin Williams.  Kevin's approach to life and work is so radical in how he strives to prioritize "kindness over everything".  We learn how much fun it is to engage in irrational kindness and how we can shepherd those entrusted to us well by providing them with irrational kindness & guiding them to live a life of irrational kindness.  

This episode challenged & encouraged me in so many ways. Thanks for joining in! 

Get the book and learn more about Irrational Kindness at https://www.irrationalkindness.com/

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David Chen is one remarkable Shepherd Leader! 

David's life of leadership proves that you can shepherd in any vocation! 

Beginning as a engineering graduate from Georgia Tech to working at Starbucks to going on the mission field to selecting Chick-fil-A Operators and now being a Chick-fil-A Operator - David has led a life dedicated to serving others and to influence their life for Christ.  

David is known for being an Operator that leads a phenomenal culture and a high performance team.  David is a leader developer and a business owner that cares deeply for his team.  Also a dedicated father & husband, David describes how he shepherds those entrusted to him.  

Listen in on our conversation as we learn from my friend David and how he strives to KNOW, GUIDE, PROTECT, & PROVIDE for those entrusted to him so that they will THRIVE! 

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We finish the 2nd part of the conversation from the previous episode of what shepherd leaders provide for those entrusted to them. 

In the previous episode we learned that shepherd leaders will provide for the needs of those they lead.  Today we talk about how we also are to provide CARE.  As Christ followers our leadership should look differently than the leadership seen across the world.  The way our leadership can look differently is to provide genuine care for those we lead.  

Nick talks about how care is an action, not an intention, and how we can put our care into action in a way that makes people feel cared for.  

Join in the conversation to learn how you can provide care for those you shepherd. 

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In this episode we unpack the final principle of Shepherd Leadership, to PROVIDE for those entrusted to you. 

If the goal of a shepherd leader is for those entrusted to them to thrive, then a good shepherd leader will PROVIDE what they NEED to thrive.  

We talk about those needs specifically through the lens of Abraham Maslow's 5 Hierarchy of Needs. 

Join in to hear how we can shepherd our families, our organizations, and our teams to thrive by doing the loving work to PROVIDE for their needs.  

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The 3rd principle of Shepherd Leadership is to PROTECT those entrusted to our care. 

Protecting those entrusted to us as leaders seems like a natural and apparent responsibility of the leader but in today's leadership culture it can be avoided and neglected.  

Listen in to find how good Shepherd Leaders PROTECT those entrusted to them by their PRESENCE, ACCOUNTABILITY, BOUNDARIES, & PRINCIPLES.  

Shepherd well my friends!  

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As a leader have you ever felt as though you were spinning your wheels?  Like you go in every day just hoping good things will happen for you and your teams.   What about as a parent? 

I have felt like that.  In this episode we will talk about how a good shepherd leader has a vision for those that are entrusted to them and will GUIDE them towards the actions, attitudes, and behaviors that will help them thrive and to be at their best - to show them where the green pastures and still waters are in their life, and to lead them  on the right path.  

Dave Ramsey is famous for saying, "hope is not a strategy".  Maybe we need to GUIDE those entrusted to us.  

Let's spend some time together learning from from shepherd leaders who have guided those entrusted to them well and be inspired to be a leader people will follow for LIFE! 

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Have you invested so much time, energy, & resources in leading people or in relationships just to feel like you are spinning your wheels and not get anywhere? You aren't connecting, they are getting results, and maybe even seem disengaged.  Maybe you don't know them as well as you think you do. 

You cannot GROW people that you do not KNOW! 

The cornerstone principle of the Shepherd Leadership framework is to KNOW those entrusted to your care.  

Listen in as Nick describes this principle of knowing those entrusted to you so that you can guide, protect, & provide for them so that they will thrive and be at their best.  Nick describes some resources and tools that he and his team use, as well as some applicable practices you can use at home.  He also goes into detail on some pretty big failures in this department that he has learned from and hopefully you will too! 

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Have you ever felt like you were giving EVERYTHING you had as a leader and it just wasn't enough?  Maybe it has been difficult to get buy-in from your team, or your spouse, or you kids. 

Host, Nick Westbrook, describes his journey in leadership and what led him to the most engaging & effective leadership style he's ever experienced, Shepherd Leadership.  

Listen in to hear Nick's story and learn about the framework for becoming a leader people will follow for LIFE, Shepherd Leadership.