Leading Saints Podcast

In this episode we head all the way over to El Puerto de Santa Maria and interview Bishop Tony Batanero. You will find this interview inspiring as we discuss his conversion to the gospel, his service as a full time missionary in Missouri and Canada. He shares his experience of losing his mother during his mission and how that impacted his testimony. He claims that the best calling in the Church is...

Shawn Hammond is a bishop in Colorado Spring, Colorado. He's also had the opportunity to serve as a Young Men's president, elders quorum president, and was also blessed to serve in the California Sacramento Mission in the early 2000's.

We hear it all the time in sacrament meeting; the invitation, coming from the lectern, to "stand after your name is read." This means members of your ward are getting a calling. Most callings that are extended to us require no leadership responsibilities.

Adam Barrow is a BYU graduate, accountant, father, past elders quorum president, elders quorum counselor, executive secretary, and currently serves as the secretary in his elders quorum. These are various callings he has received while living in San Francisco, California, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

There is a considerable amount of loneliness in leadership. Some days, as a leader, feel like loneliness is all that exists. The rough days of leadership send my mind to the words of President Hinckley in 1969. The speech was later titled The Loneliness of Leadership. It has become one of my favorite talks he gave because it talks so directly to the weight of leadership. So much so, that I play a...

Let's face it! The only people that are qualified to be bishop are those that have a PhD in human psychology, with a masters in Family Relations, and an MBA from Stanford for good measure. The type of problems and crises church leaders face are sometimes staggering. Thankfully, each bishop holds the priesthood, is blessed with keys, and has awesome support (counselors, ward council, etc.).

Kevin Hallstrom lives in Honolulu, Hawaii and is a school teacher by day while serving in his local ward as the bishop. In this episode we discuss how he leads and what leadership principles have become pillars in his service. He has a great command of the scriptures and relates all his leadership suggestions to scriptural experiences. We also spend some time talking about his professional teachin...

Recently I had lunch with a friend. This wasn't just a friend but also a past bishopric counselor of mine. At the time of our lunch I had recently been released as bishop and he had recently been called as bishop in a different ward. These scenarios led to a discussion about leadership vacuums.

Imagine if you sat on the board of directors for a large Fortune 500 company that needed to find a new CEO to improve the dismal progress of the company. You are not allowed to conduct any formal interviews. You can only choose from people that live in a specific geographical neighborhood (about 350 people). To top it off, you have to make your decision in only 2 weeks.

Paul Barker is currently serving as 1st counselor in a Young Single Adult (YSA) Stake in the Phoenix, Arizona area. He has also served in a few bishoprics, and as a bishop. In this episode we focus on the unique characteristics of being a leader in a YSA stake and how these stakes are more elite compared to conventional family wards. We also discuss the unique approaches to home teaching, how acti...

Thomas Wirthlin McConkie may have the most "Mormon" name in all of Zion. :) That doesn't mean his story is a typical Mormon story. Thomas has recently released a helpful book called Navigating Mormon Faith Crisis: A Simple Development Map. This would be an excellent read for a leader in the Church who is seeking further understanding of those in the midst of a faith crisis. You can also find helpf...

Al Doan and Geoff Openshaw are the hosts of the very popular This Week in Mormons Podcast. I listen to their podcast weekly and they tend to make me laugh while they give me the run down of Mormon happenings. I encourage you to subscribe to the episode and you will find it entertaining.

President Harry S. Truman had a small wooden sign on his desk that stated "THE BUCK STOPS HERE". His desk displayed this sign throughout his administration. It's a good motto -- a motto all leaders should follow. Many interpret this motto not only as a reason to take responsibility of all things that happen in your jurisdiction, but to also hold a death grip on all details. Delegation becomes impo...

Most of us reading this website have meetings, lots and lots of meetings. Sometimes meetings to plan a meeting. Over my 20+ years in LDS Church leadership, I have spent 100's of hours sitting in meetings. The first thing I’d mention is meetings are necessary; however, meetings aren’t the gospel.

Calling management can be a distracting task for a presidency that is striving to connected individually with members of their ward. It's an administrative task that must be done while also giving special thought to whom should fill which calling.

Chance Mikos is a bishop in El Mirage Arizona. He is a former Elders Quorum President and high councilman, and a former missionary in the Boise Idaho mission.

Tyler Howe is principal of the Neil Armstrong Academy in West Valley City, Utah. He graduated from BYU in Elementary Education and then later went on to earn a masters degree at Southern Utah University. He is a strong latter-day saint and has years of experience educating young children. He was recently recognized as the recipient of the Granite School District Excel Award for his outstanding suc...

How do we really seek out the poor and the needy? How can we help the poor and needy to get-ahead rather than get-by?

Derek Cullimore is from Orem, Utah. Served a full-time mission in New Jersey, USA. I know him very well because we served in a bishopric together, he was my bishop when I served as high priest group leader, and then I was later called to replace him as bishop when he was put in the stake presidency. He has always been a fantastic mentor to me and taught me many things that have shaped my leadershi...

Jethro Jones is a school principal in Kodiak, Alaska. He currently serves as the 2nd counselor in his ward's bishopric, and has also served as elder's quorum president, and Sunday School president. He shares from his interesting experience being a member in Alaska and the challenges that come to running a ward on an island. Jethro also runs two different podcasts that I would recommend you check o...

Ryan Jenkins is the author of The Assassination of Joseph Smith: Innocent Blood on the Banner of Liberty. This book is a historic non-fiction describing the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and the events that surrounded it. As a history enthusiast I am excited to pick up this book and gain a deeper understanding about this historical Church event. Brother Jenkins has had such a deep experience studying...

This is a quick episode to share some thoughts on my mind and some interesting emails I have received. I share some questions you can ask new move-in's in your ward, so that they get the best calling possible for their skills and passions. I read an interesting Facebook comment that will open up a lot of discussion about how to teach in Church. And....I got a new calling that will give me a new pe...

Lynn Luker is a Relief Society president in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her life leading up to this heavy calling has including many trials and blessings that have impacted the way she leads and loves the sister in her Relief Society. Sister Luker's Leadership Principles: Know the sisters, visit in their home​s​ ​Have charity​, however, learn to be proactive, not reactive ** ​ Be an example, warts and all,...

Greg Clawson, who you may recognize from the recent podcast on memory training, has served for 10 years in the Young Men organization, four years as Elders Quorum President, and has been serving as Ward Mission Leader for about a year. In this interview Greg shares his successes and even his current challenges figuring out how to be a Ward Mission Leader. Greg shares some deeply personal and compe...

Chris Trendler is a BYU graduate, former Elder Quorum President, former missionary in Argentina and a executive consultant at ghSmart, a leadership consulting firm. We have a fascinating discussion about the latest book produced by ehSmart titled, Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success. This book is meant for a business leadership audience, but it contains many interesting principles tha...