The H2 Leadership Podcast

Alan Briggs is joined by leadership developer and Multiply Group founder Mac Lake to unpack the growing leadership crisis—and how we fix it.

Mac shares why so many organizations struggle with developing leaders rather than recruiting them, and how we can begin to shift the culture from leadership borrowing to leadership building. They dive deep into:

• Why leadership development is still the #1 challenge for churches and nonprofits

• How to disciple leaders like Jesus did—slowly, intentionally, and with purpose

• The overlooked importance of “pre-leadership” and helping people see their own potential

• The difference between competency and confidence—and how to build both

• Why Mac finally wrote Leading Yourself, and how it's helping people define their mission and grow their influence

• Health, habits, and why maximizing your energy is a leadership strategy

Whether you’re a pastor, entrepreneur, or emerging leader, this conversation will stretch you and equip you.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Leading Yourself by Mac Lake

• The Multiplication Effect and The Discipling Leaders Series

• Multiply Group (www.multiplygroup.org)

Connect with Mac Lake:

Instagram - @multiply_group
YouTube - youtube.com/maclake 
Facebook - facebook.com/maclake24
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/maclake
Blog - maclakeonline.com
Website - multiplygroup.org
Books: https://multiply-group.myshopify.com/collections/books

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who’s ready to grow their leadership!

In today’s episode, Alan sits down with Stephanie Chung, a trailblazing aviation executive, leadership strategist, and best selling author of Ally Leadership: How to Lead People Who Aren’t Like You. With over 35 years of aviation experience—from parking planes at Boston Logan Airport to becoming the first Black president of a major U.S. private aviation company—Stephanie brings a powerhouse perspective on modern leadership.

Together, Alan and Stephanie unpack what it really means to lead diverse teams in an age of cultural complexity and generational divide. They dive into her powerful leadership framework—A.L.L.Y. (Ask, Listen, Learn, You Take Action)—and discuss how leaders can earn the right to be called allies, not just declare it.

You’ll learn:

• Stephanie’s journey from the tarmac to the boardroom

• Why the acronym A.L.L.Y. is more than a buzzword—it’s a roadmap for relational leadership

• The reality of leading across six generations in today’s workforce

• How to overcome bias by rewiring your brain through exposure and empathy

• What it really takes to earn the title of "ally leader" (Hint: receipts required!)

• The surprising advantages of a diverse, opinionated team—and how to manage it

• Practical steps to ask better questions, lead with curiosity, and rally your people around a shared mission

Quotes to Remember:

“Don’t overcomplicate leadership. Same stuff you learned in kindergarten—ask, listen, learn.” – Stephanie Chung
“You can’t self-anoint yourself as an ally. You have to earn it.”
“Curiosity is the birthplace of better leadership.”

Grab the Book:

Ally Leadership: How to Lead People Who Aren’t Like You
Available wherever books are sold. Visit Stephanie’s website for more info.

Connect with Stephanie:

• Instagram: @thestephaniechung

• TikTok: @thestephaniechung

• Website: stephaniechung.com

What happens when your calling—the thing that once felt like holy ground—starts draining you? In this compelling conversation, Alan sits down with Dr. Arianna Anderson, author of the new book Healthy Calling: From Toxic Burnout to Sustainable Work.

Arianna combines academic research, personal story, and spiritual wisdom to expose the surprising dark side of calling. Together, they unpack why some of the most driven and passionate people—those who feel most called to their work—are also the most vulnerable to burnout.

From relational shame to boundary shaming, calling-driven burnout has unique roots—and this episode offers practical ways forward.

About Dr. Arianna Molloy

Arianna is a Communication professor at Biola University, where she designs and teaches Organizational Communication courses. She has also partnered with Biola’s Office of Faculty Advancement, leading the Pedagogy Development Consulting program.

Her research focuses on meaningful work, work as a calling, and the link between humility and burnout, with publications in premier journals such as the International Journal of Business Communication and Communication Studies. One of her collaborations won “Article of the Year” in the Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion.

She views her role as a professor through the lens of being a mentor who loves to learn. While she’s been honored with awards like Biola’s Provost Award for “Excellence in Teaching” and the “Faculty Excellence” award, her deepest joy comes from witnessing the transformation in her students' lives.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why calling can lead to deeper burnout than a regular job or career

• The difference between general burnout and "calling burnout"

• The role of humility in avoiding burnout and leading sustainably

• How boundaries (and boundary-shaming) impact your emotional health

Reflection Questions:

• Am I pursuing my calling—or idolizing it?

• How close am I on the spectrum from healthy to burnout?

• Have I been shamed for setting boundaries… or doing that to others?

• Am I confusing hustle with faithfulness?

• What would Sabbath look like if I truly stopped for one day each week?

Pick Up the Book: Healthy Calling: From Toxic Burnout to Sustainable Work by Dr. Arianna Molloy
Now available wherever books are sold!

 

Life is bumpy. Leadership? Even bumpier. And in this final part of the H2 Leader mini-series, Alan explores how leaders can develop fresh shocks—the resilience required to stay grounded during change, disruption, and uncertainty.

From economic instability to organizational shifts to personal burnout, leaders today are being shaken more than ever before. But you don’t have to be a shaky leader. This episode will help you recognize the signs of instability, process the weight of change, and equip your leadership with the tools to stay calm, clear, and contagious—in all the right ways.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why leadership “shocks” matter now more than ever

• The danger of becoming a reactive vs. proactive leader

• How unprocessed pain shows up in your leadership (and what to do about it)

• What a “replenishment cycle” looks like for sustainable leadership

• Why resilience is contagious—and how to share stability with your team

Tools + Resources Mentioned:

• Feedback + Feed Forward Framework – Learn from the past, plan for the future

• Therapy & Emotional Processing – Address the fear and exhaustion under the surface

• Replenishment Cycle

  • Weekly Sabbath

  • Daily/Weekly Margin

  • Vacation & Extended Rest (not just a perk—it's a leadership essential)

Reflection Questions:

1. Which area do you most need to focus on—your speed, your alignment, or your shocks?

2. What one step can you take to slow down?

3. What one step can you take to re-align with your wiring?

4. What one step can you take to re-align with your team?

5. What one step can you take to strengthen your shocks?

Don’t Miss:

This wraps up our mini-series on H2 Leadership—covering Brakes, Alignment, and Shocks. If you missed the earlier episodes, go back and catch up! And if you’re ready to go deeper, check out our Breakthrough Coaching Sessions via Stay Forth. The next level of your leadership might be one coaching conversation away.

Stayforth.com

In part two of The H2 Leader mini-series, Alan digs into the dangers of misalignment—how it quietly creeps into our leadership, disrupts our team dynamics, and pulls us away from the work we’re truly wired to do.

If you’ve ever felt a low-grade frustration at work… like something’s just a little “off”... or noticed your team drifting apart, this episode is for you.

From the inside-out burnout of a coaching client named Tim to the practical tools that help leaders realign, this conversation will help you:

• Identify signs of personal and team misalignment

• Understand the high cost of being out of sync with your wiring, purpose, or people

• Apply practical tools to get back on track—before burnout or breakdown hits

What You’ll Learn:

• The 3 major areas where leaders commonly experience misalignment

• Why subtle misalignment can become costly over time

• How the Working Genius Assessment helps pinpoint your strengths and working frustrations

• The simple (but powerful) “Drains and Fills” exercise for energy management

• Why a “Pacing Check” can keep you and your team in rhythm

Reflection Questions:

1. How can you align your work more closely with your wiring?

2. What change can you make to align more closely with your team?

Tools + Resources Mentioned:

• Working Genius Assessment – Understand your wiring & align your work

• Drains & Fills List – Get a pulse on what energizes vs. drains you

• Pacing Check – Is your leadership pace sustainable for your team?

In this special bonus episode, we’re hitting pause—so that you can learn the power of pressing pause. 

This episode dives into the growing conversation around sabbaticals—not just as a nice-to-have, but a strategic leadership development tool. You’ll hear a compelling narration of our latest white paper, inspired by a powerful Harvard Business Review article and infused with our own research and years of practical coaching insights from the Stay Forth team.

Whether you're a leader on the verge of burnout or an organization seeking sustainable impact, this episode offers a practical and transformative take on why sabbaticals matter now more than ever.

🎧 What You'll Learn:

• Why sabbaticals are no longer just for academia and ministry

• The holistic benefits of sabbaticals for leaders and organizations

• Common fears that hold leaders back—and how to overcome them

• Different types of sabbaticals and how to choose the right one

• Action steps to prepare and normalize sabbaticals in your organization

• Insights from Harvard researcher DJ Dydana alongside our findings

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📄 Featured Resource:

We’ve compiled this wisdom into a free downloadable white paper, available now on our site. Perfect for leaders, HR teams, and organizations looking to plan purposeful rest.

🔗 Download the Sabbatical White Paper 

⏪ Missed the H2 Leader Series?

Don’t forget to catch the ongoing 3-part H2 Leader series every Thursday:

• Episode 1: What is the H2 Leader? (Live now)

• Episode 2: Coming this Thursday

• Episode 3: Coming next Thursday

Subscribe so you don’t miss a beat!

💬 Let’s Talk!

If this episode speaks to your leadership journey or organizational goals, let’s connect.
Explore sabbatical coaching and consulting at Stay Forth (Insert actual website link)

Welcome to Part 1 of our three-part series on the H2 Leader—a leader who is both Healthy and High-Impact. In this episode, Alan dives into the first crucial element of sustainable leadership: brakes.

Many leaders today are moving way too fast—making decisions at a breakneck pace, pushing their teams beyond capacity, and ultimately heading toward burnout. But real impact doesn’t come from speed alone; it comes from intentionality, alignment, and reflection.

Join Alan as he unpacks:

The dangers of moving too fast in leadership
Why effective leaders must learn to slow down and pump the brakes
The shift from efficiency to effectiveness—why rushing through tasks can hurt your team
The power of daily, weekly, and quarterly reflection in leadership growth
Practical tools to help leaders audit their schedules and regain control

If you find yourself constantly saying, “I just need to go faster,” this episode is for you. Learn how slowing down can actually make you more effective, present, and impactful in your leadership journey.

Resources & Next Steps:
Anti-Burnout: Get your copy on Amazon
Right Side Up Journal – A practical tool for daily, weekly, and quarterly reflection. Get your copy on Amazon.

Leadership Reflection Challenge: What immediate change will you make to slow down? Ask your team or family for feedback!

Subscribe & Share:
Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to the podcast and share it with a fellow leader who needs to hear this conversation.

Alan Briggs sits down with Scott Cutlan—business leader, mountaineer, and author of Unreasonable: Seven Impactful Lessons Discovered Climbing the Seven Summits. Scott shares his journey from corporate executive to scaling the highest peaks in the world, and the deep leadership insights he uncovered along the way. They explore purpose, alignment, resilience, and the importance of saying "no" to stay focused on what truly matters.

1. The Call to Adventure

• Scott was led by faith to leave his high-powered corporate job, climb the Seven Summits, start a nonprofit, and self-fund it—all without any prior mountaineering experience.
• The initial challenge of stepping into the unknown and trusting the process.

2. Leadership & Mountain Analogies

• Scott describes himself as a “mountain guide for the leadership journey,” drawing parallels between climbing and business leadership.
• Alignment is key—leaders must be clear on their purpose to make the right decisions.

3. The “More” Concept

• Many people misunderstand "more" as adding complexity. Instead, Scott defines "more" as expansion that comes through alignment with purpose.
• Purpose = The best of what you have for others.
• Fulfillment = The result of choosing to live in that purpose.

4. Saying No to Say Yes

• Leaders face decision fatigue—executives make an estimated 40,000 decisions daily.
• Scott is shifting from 30+ speaking engagements a year to only six highly intentional ones.
• “The power of yes is in alignment, not just saying yes.”

5. Resilience & The Why That Keeps You Moving

• Scott’s harrowing Everest solo climb:
  • Facing brutal conditions on the North side, alone, at extreme altitude.
  • The moment of exhaustion when he almost sat down—knowing that sitting meant death.
  • The significance of the colored band on his wrist, representing his “why.”

6. Isolation vs. Community

• Isolation is one of the greatest threats to leaders.
• The importance of linking arms with others for accountability, support, and shared growth.

7. The 3 Types of Responses You’ll Get When Pursuing Your Purpose

• Eye Rolls: Dismissive people who don’t understand.
• Blank Stares: Those who aren’t ready to process it.
• Tell Me Mores: The people who are curious, hungry, and ready to engage—Scott’s focus.

8. Business, Money, and Alignment

• Money can be a distraction or a tool—it must be aligned with purpose.
• Scott shares how he self-funded his mission, trusting that provision would come.

9. The Most Important Pillar from His Book Right Now: Death

• Not physical death, but dying to oneself daily.
• Taking time to pause, realign, and ensure decisions reflect core values, not external pressures.

Resources & Next Steps:

Book: Unreasonable: Seven Impactful Lessons Discovered Climbing the Seven Summits – Available on Amazon. Leave a review!

Self-Assessment: Take the Unstoppable Clarity assessment to gain insight into your alignment and purpose. Text CLIMB to 33777.

Stay Connected: Follow Scott for more leadership insights and adventure-driven wisdom. https://www.scottcutlan.com/

Subscribe & Share: Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to the podcast and share it with someone who needs to hear this conversation!

"If you sit, you die. Keep moving." – Scott Cutlan