The H2 Leadership Podcast

Pastors and ministry leaders are carrying more than ever—and too many are doing it in silence. Dr. Mark Mayfield (author of The Mental Health Handbook for Ministry, professor, clinician, and former pastor) joins Alan to demystify mental health in the church, unpack the real difference between coaching and counseling, and give you a practical playbook for when struggles walk into your office… or show up on your staff.

This isn’t theory—it’s field-tested, grace-filled, and immediately actionable.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Coaching vs. Counseling (the clean line): when you need tools to move forward vs. when you need to heal backward

• How to spot pop-psych “silver bullets” and what trustworthy care actually looks like

• A fast diagnostic lens for depression: intensity + duration (and what to do next)

• ADHD or overloaded attention? Trauma, screens, and why so many leaders are being mis-labeled

• Burnout’s bottom layer: dissociation/avoidance—and how to interrupt the loop

• Boundary basics for pastors (why “I don’t know—let me check” is leadership strength)

• How to build a staff culture of care (and discuss hard topics without guessing)

Chapter Markers

• 00:00 — Why this conversation matters now

• 02:30 — Coaching vs. counseling: the simplest way to decide

• 05:25 — The danger of pop psychology & “quick fixes”

• 08:20 — Inside The Mental Health Handbook for Ministry (how to use it fast)

• 12:25 — High-performing families & hidden pressure

• 16:30 — Where churches are actually making progress

• 19:10 — Staff discussions you should be having (and how)

• 20:40 — Depression in leaders: signs & next steps

• 32:30 — ADHD or attention trained by trauma & screens?

• 36:00 — What sits under burnout—and how to respond

• 40:50 — A word to lonely leaders: you don’t have to know it all

Resources Mentioned

• Book: The Mental Health Handbook for Ministry — Dr. Mark Mayfield (Baker)

• Site: MentalHealthMadeSimple.life (discussion guides & tools)
  Mental Health Made Simple: For the churches

• Stay Forth: Coaching for healthy + high-impact leadership

About Dr. Mark Mayfield

Clinician, professor at Colorado Christian University, author, speaker, and former pastor. Mark equips churches to receive and care well for people in mental and emotional struggle—and to keep pastors healthy in the process.

Feeling called to your work is a gift — but it can also be the very thing that burns you out. In this conversation, Alan sits down with Dr. Arianna Molloy, author of Healthy Calling: From Toxic Burnout to Sustainable Work, to unpack the hidden costs of living from a deep sense of purpose.

Leaders who love what they do often give until they break. Arianna calls this deep shame — the disorienting feeling of losing yourself when the work you once loved starts consuming you. Together, Alan and Arianna explore how to recognize the early signs of burnout, why calling carries both resilience and risk, and how leaders can craft healthier rhythms to sustain their impact.

👉 In this episode:

• Why those who feel “called” are statistically the most prone to burnout

• The unique fingerprint of burnout that purpose-driven leaders face

• Practical daily, weekly, and quarterly rhythms to de-stress and reset

• The role of micro-breaks, community, and job-crafting in sustaining your leadership

• How to pre-plan rest before you need it

This isn’t a “work less” conversation — it’s a “work sustainably” conversation. If your leadership matters, your health matters more.

📘 Grab Arianna’s book Healthy Calling anywhere books are sold.
🌐 Connect with us at Stay Forth and learn how to lead healthy + high impact.

In this special episode, Alan Briggs steps away from the usual pace of life—and leadership—and invites us into a slower, deeper rhythm.

Recorded on location from the island of Terceira in the Azores, Alan shares reflections from his very first pilgrimage—a spiritual journey with a physical component. What began as a walk through unfamiliar terrain turned into a profound time of rest, reflection, and reconnection with God.

If you’ve ever felt burned out, spiritually dry, or simply curious about how to slow down long enough to hear from God… this one’s for you.

In this episode, Alan explores:

• What really is a pilgrimage—and why it matters today

• The tension between being a tourist and a seeker

• Unexpected spiritual lessons from Holy Spirit houses and Catholic cathedrals

• Questions that shaped each day: How have I limited God? How am I different when I rest?

• How nature, walking, and reflection unlock new clarity and connection

This isn’t your typical leadership episode—and that’s the point.

Feeling the nudge to take your own pilgrimage?
Whether that looks like a long walk or a short retreat, we hope this conversation helps you slow down, listen deeper, and reorient around what truly matters.

Stay in the Loop
Get resources, tools, and updates from the Stay Forth team: stayforth.com

Let’s Connect
Leave a review, share this episode, and tag us on social: #StayForthLeadership

Our phones promise connection but often choke out what matters most. Alan Briggs and Joey Odom dive into the “PID loop” of proximity, interaction, and dependence — and share practical ways to reclaim your time, creativity, and relationships from constant distraction.

We all feel it. That little computer in our pocket is shaping our attention, our relationships, and even our leadership. But what if our phones aren’t just tools—they’re thorns?

In this episode of the Stay Forth Leadership Podcast, Alan Briggs sits down with Joey Odom, co-founder of Reclaim Well, to have a candid conversation about what phones are doing to us and how leaders, families, and organizations can respond. Together they unpack:

• Why phones act like “thorns in our pockets” that choke out fruitfulness

• The PID loop: proximity → interaction → dependence

• How to break proximity and start resetting your relationship with your device

• The connection between phones, mental load, and Sabbath rest

• Practical daily practices to reduce dependence (from 5-minute breaks to putting your phone to bed at night)

• Why this isn’t just a church issue or leadership issue — it’s a human issue

This episode isn’t anti-phone. It’s pro-presence. Joey and Alan share small, practical rhythms to help you regain focus, reclaim creativity, and reconnect with the people and purpose that matter most.

Resources & Links

• Learn more about Reclaim Well and the ARO Box

• Book recommendation: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

• Alan’s book The Sabbatical Journey — your field guide for deep rest and reorientation

• Subscribe, rate, and review the Stay Forth Leadership Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Every leader faces seasons of busyness, drift, and distraction. When that happens, what helps you stay the course? Your purpose.

In this episode, Alan and Jonathan unpack why purpose acts like a compass — keeping you oriented, steady, and moving in the right direction when everything else feels chaotic. Alan shares his discipline of taking quarterly Think Days to step back, reflect, and regain clarity. You’ll hear how these rhythms not only renew his own leadership but also fuel alignment and energy for his entire team.

This conversation also dives into the Unique Design framework — the intersection of your wiring, gifting, and calling. When you discover and lead from your unique design, you stop running on fumes and start moving with focus, impact, and fulfillment.

Whether you’re leading a business, an organization, or your family, this episode will help you rediscover your compass and navigate with confidence.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why leaders lose clarity when they don’t create space to think

• How a Think Day can reset your focus and energy

• The 4 H’s Alan looks for in every coaching client

• How to spot your “fills and drains” and delegate wisely

• The critical difference between dumping and delegating

• Why aligning with your Unique Design increases resilience and impact

• Two key reflection questions to help you realign with your deeper purpose

Resources Mentioned:

• Unique Design Framework — Want to discover your unique leadership design?
  👉 Email: hello@stayforth.com with subject line “Unique Design Framework” to get a free copy.

• Book Mentioned: 10X is Easier Than 2X by Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy

• Coaching & Resources: Stayforth.com

Reflect + Respond:

Take a moment to sit with these two questions:

1. What’s the deeper purpose that’s driving your life and leadership?

2. Where have you lost sight of that purpose along the way?

Use them to journal, fuel a team discussion, or even guide your own Think Day.

Remember: Your purpose is your compass. Stay true to it, and you’ll lead yourself — and others — with clarity, health, and lasting impact.

What separates leaders people trust from leaders they just tolerate?
It’s not charisma.
It’s not talent.
It’s self-leadership — the ability to lead yourself with consistency, clarity, and accountability before you ever try to lead others.

In this episode, Jonathan Collier and Alan “Stay Forth” Briggs unpack why self-leadership is the hidden competitive advantage in today’s world, how to model it for your team, and what practical habits build trust faster than any title or resume ever could.

You’ll learn:

• Why consistency breeds credibility (and how to spot it on any team)

• The simple 3-foot rule that keeps your leadership grounded

• How to model behaviors your team will actually copy

• Why deadlines and follow-through create instant trust

• How to manage your energy, not just your calendar

• The tension between bringing your best and not being perfect

• Practical steps to raise your self-leadership game this week

Reflection Questions:

1. Where are you leaking time and energy?

2. What’s one area in your leadership where you need more accountability?

Resources Mentioned:

• Right Side Up Journal by Stay Forth — https://a.co/d/fUaXcFh

Subscribe for more healthy + high-impact leadership conversations so you can multiply your influence without losing yourself in the process.

Summer’s winding down, kids are heading back to school, and your weekly rhythm is about to look very different. In this episode of our H2 Leaders summer series, Jonathan and Alan define what true resilience looks like for a leader—and why it has nothing to do with “toughing it out” and everything to do with maintaining what matters most in your life.

You’ll learn Alan’s 3-C framework for navigating change (Change | Clarity | Communication), plus practical habits to build both proactive steadiness and responsive flexibility so you can lead with confidence through every season.

What You’ll Learn

• What Is Resilience?
  Why it’s not grit or forced optimism, but the ability to maintain your values, boundaries, and priorities when your world shifts.

• The 3-C Framework:

  1. Change is inevitable—embrace that it’s coming.

  2. Clarity lets you decide your next move, even in uncertainty.

  3. Communication (louder and clearer!) keeps your team trusting you through every pivot.

• Proactive vs. Responsive Practices:
  – Proactive: Routines that build your “resilience muscle” (sleep, exercise, Sabbath rhythms).
  – Responsive: Short breaks and mental shifts when the unexpected pops up (a tech failure, a new tariff, a sudden deadline).

• Why Reevaluation Matters:
  How and why you must regularly revisit your goals, metrics and projections as conditions evolve.

• Quick Tips for Staying Grounded:
  – Five daily habits Jonathan and Alan swear by.
  – The “stimulus → pause → response” window you can train for.

Key Takeaways

• Change never knocks—it busts in like the Kool-Aid Man.

• You can’t control every shift—but you can control how you prepare and respond.

• Communicate more (not less!) when things feel most uncertain.

• Clarity of next steps beats false hope: ask “Who can help me?” and “What 2–3 areas do I need to grow?”

• Stop chasing certainty—build your resilience through repeated small wins and honest conversations.

Action Challenge

1. Pause & Reflect: How do you typically respond when change hits?

2. Pick One Practice: Schedule one proactive habit this week (e.g. a 10-minute walk, dedicated Sabbath hour, or quick mindfulness break).

3. Reevaluate: Block off 15 minutes to update your top 3 priorities in light of any recent shifts.

Resources Mentioned

• Right Side Up Journal — Alan’s go-to tool for weekly audits and clarity

• Anti-Burnout — a coaching-powered guide to sustainable leadership

In today’s episode, Alan shares how a rare open Saturday—spent hiking into the Colorado mountains to fly-fish—quickly turned into another to-do list. He realized that our most life-giving pursuits (hobbies) are constantly at risk of becoming tasks we “have to” check off. In this conversation, Alan unpacks why hobbies are essential to flourishing, offers a framework for rediscovering them, and gives practical steps to reclaim joy, creativity, and rest in the midst of our busy “have-to” lives.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why Hobbies Matter: How leisure activities serve as mental rest, spark creativity, and renew passion for work and family.

• Focal Practices: The power of “idle,” present-moment activities that reconnect you to what truly matters.

• Benefits of Hobbies: From distraction of weighty issues to replenishment cycles that boost productivity.

• Rediscovery vs. Discovery: Tips for uncovering the hobbies you loved as a kid—or stumbling on new ones today.

• Practical Steps: How to schedule your first hobby session in two weeks—no guilt, no strings attached.

Key Takeaways:

• Hobbies are “get-to” activities in a “have-to” world.

• Even large organizations credit “white-space” time for breakthroughs.

• Simple focal practices (gardening, evening walks, hammocking) anchor joy and presence.

• Your work, relationships, and well-being depend on carving out hobby time.

Action Challenge:
Block off a 2-hour window in your calendar this week for your rediscovered hobby—whether it’s fly-fishing, woodworking, dancing, or simply sitting in a hammock—and notice how you feel afterward.

Resources Mentioned:

• Anti-Burnout: A Coaching Pathway

• The Sabbatical Journey Field Guide

Have questions or want to share your hobby rediscovery story? Drop us a note at hello@stayforth.com or leave a comment wherever you listen.