The Servant Leadership Podcast

Greg Aden
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Management
  • Updated Monthly

The Servant Leadership Podcast is an honest and thought provoking conversation about the roles of leadership with some of today's most powerful men and women. 

  1. 20h ago

    Your Impact Is Your Legacy | David Kong on Servant Leadership

    What makes a great leader? David Kong and Greg Aden explore servant leadership, owning mistakes, and building a legacy beyond your title. Greg Aden welcomes David Kong, former Best Western CEO and founder of It’s Personal Stories, to the Servant Leadership Podcast for a candid conversation about leadership development, accountability, empathy, and the impact we leave on other people. David explains why working hard alone isn’t enough to advance your career, and why mentors, advocates, and taking responsibility matter. He shares how owning a costly mistake helped build trust, what he learned from a major business setback, and why helping others succeed remains meaningful long after a job title disappears. Greg and David explore what servant leadership looks like in everyday conversations: making time for people, listening with curiosity, responding with empathy, and showing up as a human being. Greg also shares why he teaches small shifts in behavior, how leadership habits carry into parenting, and the personal legacy behind the words “Dad inspired us.” Whether you’re a new manager, an executive, or a hospitality professional, this episode offers practical leadership lessons for strengthening relationships and leading with humility. Connect with David Kong on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/davidkongbw/ Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how Greg works with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15-minute conversation with Greg:  https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection/ Follow Greg Aden: https://adenleadership.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/ https://facebook.com/adenleadership/ Subscribe to Aden Leadership for more conversations about servant leadership, communication, and building stronger teams. Share this episode with a leader you care about. What do you want people to remember about your leadership? Tell us in the comments! #servantleadership #leadershippodcast #executiveleadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #courageousconversations #workplaceculture #communication #management  CHAPTERS 00:00 Introducing David Kong 00:49 Giving back and developing future leaders 04:48 Why hard work alone isn’t enough 07:46 Owning mistakes and building trust 11:47 Facing challenges constructively 13:31 Leading through a major setback 17:13 How do you want to be remembered? 19:52 Interaworks sponsor message 20:44 Making an impact beyond your title 23:56 Career achievements versus lasting influence 26:26 Remembering Kirk Kinsell 29:58 Great leaders make time for people 32:05 Curiosity, empathy, and everyday leadership 35:46 Making leadership training stick 36:41 Small shifts that become lasting habits 39:46 “Dad inspired us”: Greg’s leadership legacy 41:52 Intentional communication and relationships 44:57 Gratitude during difficult times 47:08 Greg’s closing reflections Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

  2. 5d ago

    How Great Leaders Handle Chaos and Uncertainty at Work | Avy Leghziel

    In this episode of the Servant Leadership Podcast, Greg Aden sits down with executive coach and strategic consultant Avy Leghziel to talk about what leadership really looks like when work gets messy, unpredictable, and chaotic. Avy shares insights from his doctoral research on executive performance in chaotic environments and explains why leaders should not always try to eliminate uncertainty. Greg and Avy explore courageous conversations, workplace culture, leadership values, empathy, communication, emotional triggers, executive coaching, organizational development, and the importance of asking better questions. They also discuss why people avoid difficult conversations, how leaders can create stronger connections with their teams, and how curiosity, honesty, and servant leadership can lead to better decisions, stronger relationships, and improved performance. This conversation is especially valuable for executives, managers, business leaders, coaches, and anyone working to become a more effective leader. Follow Avy Leghziel: https://linkedin.com/in/avyleg/ https://avyleg.com/ Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how Greg works with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15-minute conversation with Greg:  https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection/ Follow Greg Aden: https://adenleadership.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/ https://facebook.com/adenleadership/ #servantleadership #leadershippodcast #executiveleadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #courageousconversations #workplaceculture #communication #management  CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Avy Leghziel 01:11 Executive Coaching and Studying Chaos 03:56 The Leadership Moment That Started Avy’s Research 04:59 Why We Should Stop Fighting Chaos 06:21 Management Versus Leadership 08:38 Was Avy’s Boss Actually Being a Leader? 09:34 Stop Aiming for Leadership Utopia 10:12 Vision Versus Criteria for Success 11:10 Understanding the Forces Affecting Your Organization 11:45 Workplace Politics, Competition, and Culture 14:55 How Values Shape Leadership 16:54 InteraWorks 17:45 Why We Avoid Courageous Conversations 18:34 Our Fear of Surprises 19:17 The Problem With Performative Politeness 20:40 Greg’s Approach to Courageous Conversations 22:02 What Happens When We Get Triggered 23:39 Using Difficult Moments to Create Connection 25:49 How to Have Deeper Conversations 27:41 Turning Workplace Problems Into Better Questions 30:07 Why Are We Here? 31:25 Collaboration Instead of Competition 33:06 Invite People to Shift, Not Change 34:48 Better Conversations Create Better Performance 36:52 Greg’s Final Takeaways Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

  3. Oct 6

    Personal Branding for Leaders: Why Expertise Isn't Enough | Fabi Paoline

    Why do skilled, credentialed leaders and experts still struggle to stand out? Personal branding for leaders starts with knowing what makes your work different and saying it with confidence. Greg Aden talks with Fabi Paoline, a brand messaging expert with more than 18 years of experience helping business owners, experts, and leaders communicate their value. In this conversation: - Why credentials alone are not enough, and why understanding your buyer's behavior matters - How to identify your "power buyers" and discover your "angle of mastery" - How to turn what you offer from a "nice to have" into a "need to have" and own your message in sales and leadership - Fabi's two lessons for young professionals: trust yourself, and know that setbacks are not final Connect with Fabi: https://linkedin.com/in/fabipaolini/ Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how Greg works with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15-minute conversation with Greg:  https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection/ Follow Greg Aden: https://adenleadership.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/ https://facebook.com/adenleadership/ #servantleadership  #leadershippodcast  #brandmessaging  #personalbrand  #leadership  #entrepreneurship  #businessstrategy  #sales  #marketing  CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Fabi Paoline 01:27 How Fabi Learned the Power of Communication 04:10 Extracting the Genius From Your Expertise 06:21 Building a Brand Around Legacy 09:23 When You Are the Brand 11:16 Finding Your Power Buyers 12:08 Your Angle of Mastery 15:42 Turning a “Nice to Have” Into a “Need to Have” 17:28 Adaptability, Curiosity, and Servant Leadership 20:06 InteraWorks 20:56 The Mentors Behind Fabi’s Success 23:12 Why Sales Should Serve the Buyer 24:00 Empathy and Understanding Other People 26:03 Trust Yourself 28:59 Turn Roadblocks Into Innovation 30:47 Greg’s Approach to Servant Leadership 33:32 Impacting the Next Generation 36:01 How to Improve Your Brand Message 38:08 Greg’s Final Takeaways Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

  4. Sep 29

    Why High Performers Get Stuck and How Leaders Help Them Grow | Sarah Howard

    What happens when being great at your job becomes the reason nobody lets you grow? If you are wondering how to manage high performers without trapping them in the role they already do well, this conversation offers a better path. Greg Aden talks with Sarah Howard, CEO and partner of Edenburg Hospitality, about her climb from hotel housekeeping to company leadership and the mentor who gave her permission to try unfamiliar work, make mistakes, and learn. In this conversation: - Why giving people permission to stretch and fail helps high performers become leaders - How turning down the wrong project can serve a client better than saying yes - What trusting employees to do the jobs you trained them for really looks like - Why collaboration can accomplish more than compromise, and what leadership has in common with parenting Connect with Sarah Howard: https://linkedin.com/in/showard08/ https://edenburghospitality.com/ Sponsored by Interaworks. Follow my socials! https://adenleadership.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/ https://facebook.com/adenleadership/ CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:34 Meet Sarah Howard 01:26 From Housekeeper to Hospitality Leader 04:39 Lessons from Red Roof 08:54 The Mentor Who Made Room for Growth 10:57 Taking a Career Risk During the Pandemic 12:43 Joining Edenburg Hospitality 16:16 Building a Business Around Service 19:34 Interaworks Sponsor Break 20:26 Learning Courage from an Unlikely Mentor 22:53 Why Good Sales Starts with Curiosity 25:08 Working as Partners 29:38 Where Hospitality Meets Audacity 31:32 Trusting Your Team to Do Their Job 32:50 What Parenting Teaches Us About Leadership 36:01 Collaboration Instead of Compromise 38:51 Believe You Belong 40:16 Greg’s Closing Thoughts Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

  5. Sep 23

    Stop People-Pleasing and Find Purpose at Work | Russell Davis

    What do you do when a successful career still leaves you feeling unfulfilled? Coach Russell Davis joins Greg Aden to talk about finding purpose at work, letting go of people-pleasing, and leading from a place of self-worth instead of a need to prove something. Russell shares how a strict upbringing shaped his need for approval and how his family's infertility journey led him to question the life he thought he should be living. In this conversation: - How limiting beliefs and the stories we tell ourselves shape the way we lead - Why judgment gets in the way of connection, and what changes when you stop feeling you have something to prove - What meaningful listening looks like: being present and seeking to understand what lies beneath someone's words - How leadership connects with parenting, purpose, and the daily question: Who are you being? Connect with Russell Davis: https://russell-davis.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/russellhdavis/ Follow my socials! https://adenleadership.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/ https://facebook.com/adenleadership/ #servantleadership  #russelldavis #gregaden #authenticleadership  #livewithpurpose  #personalgrowth  #inspiredliving  #mindsetshift  #meaningfulconnections  #leadershippodcast Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

  6. Sep 8

    How to Be Present as a Leader and Stop Distraction | Stephanie Wachman

    What does it cost your team and your family when you are in the room but not really there? Learning how to be present as a leader starts with noticing your own distractions, especially the phone, and the message they send to the people around you. Executive coach and author Stephanie Wachman shares the moment her two year old son ran to his dad instead of her, and how it led her to leave a big corporate job, go to coaching school, and help people own their time. In this conversation: - Why every distraction costs roughly 25 minutes, and what checking your phone tells the person sitting across from you - A simple method Stephanie uses with clients: tell people exactly when they get their phone back so being present does not create anxiety - Why she sees one life rather than work life balance, and how to find the distractions that are costing you - How leaders can protect culture and manage change as AI disrupts professional services Stephanie also talks about her volunteer work with the Association for Corporate Growth, NextStep, a new no cost mentor program for young professionals, coaching veterans reentering the corporate world, and teaching time and stress tools at the University of Colorado Law School. Connect with Stephanie Wachman, founder of Symetree Strategies: http://stephaniewachman.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/stephaniewachman/ Stephanie's books: OWN Your Time Sell Without Being Salesy Thank you to InteraWorks for sponsoring the Servant Leadership Podcast. Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how I work with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15 minute conversation with me. https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Follow my socials! https://adenleadership.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/ https://facebook.com/adenleadership/ #ServantLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #Leadership #Productivity #WorkplaceCulture Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

  7. Aug 21

    Servant Leadership: Why Love Is a Practice, Not a Feeling | Heather Wood

    What does servant leadership look like when it has to hold up at work and at home, even after the hardest loss imaginable? Heather Wood spent more than 20 years leading people in financial services, then built Stupendous Love after losing her daughter Ava and her husband in 2023. She and Greg Aden talk honestly about that loss, about men's mental health and how hard it still is for men to find an outlet, and about why love is a practice, not just a feeling. In this conversation: - Why putting people in a box hurts your team, and how staying curious about what gives someone energy and what drains it helps them do their best work - How to tell your team plainly that they can bring you their frustration before it turns into an explosion - Why consistency between how you lead at work and how you show up at home matters more than most leaders admit - The SHUVA idea, that everyone wants to be seen, heard, understood, valued and appreciated, and how to use it in a one on one meeting or at the dinner table Heather Wood, founder of Stupendous Love: https://linkedin.com/company/stupendous-love/ https://stupendouslove.com/ Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how I work with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15 minute conversation with me. https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Follow my socials! https://adenleadership.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/ https://facebook.com/adenleadership/ #ServantLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #Leadership #Relationships #Purpose Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

  8. Aug 5

    AI for Leaders: Amplify Your People Instead of Replacing Them | Derek Crager

    Are you worried AI will replace your people, or unsure how to use it without losing the human side of leadership? This conversation on AI for leaders shows a different path: using AI to get the right information to the right person at the right time, so your team can do extraordinary things. Derek Crager shares how a last-minute call to build Amazon's training program from a single title slide shaped the human-first approach he now brings to businesses. In this conversation: - Why so much corporate AI spending fails when companies try to take humans out of the loop - How a voice interface keeps people thinking and involved, using AI as a soundboard rather than an answer giver - What servant leadership looks like in practice: giving people what they need, letting them own their goals, and creating other leaders - Why today's fear of AI mirrors the early years of the internet, and how change management helps people on-ramp Derek also speaks candidly about his late diagnosis of autism, ADHD and dyslexia, and about Kim Chavez, the manager whose support made his work possible. Derek Crager, founder of Practical AI and creator of Pocket Mentor, formerly Program Manager at Amazon: https://linkedin.com/in/amazonleadership Want to keep the conversation going? If something here landed with you, if you have a question about how I work with leaders and their teams, or if you just want to share your own experience, book a 15 minute conversation with me. https://adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Follow my socials! https://adenleadership.com/ https://linkedin.com/in/greg-aden-leadership/ https://facebook.com/adenleadership/ #ServantLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #Leadership #Innovation #ChangeManagement Want to keep the conversation going? Book a 15 minute conversation with Greg: adenleadership.com/15-minute-sl-podcast-connection Watch full episodes and shorts on YouTube: Aden Leadership on YouTube Follow Greg: adenleadership.com | LinkedIn | Facebook

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About

The Servant Leadership Podcast is an honest and thought provoking conversation about the roles of leadership with some of today's most powerful men and women. 

Information

  • Creator
    Greg Aden
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    66
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Servant Leadership Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Servant Leadership Podcast

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