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For more than a decade, Valerie Livesay, Ph.D. has been thinking about and inquiring into the phenomenon of fallback­­––when despite our optimal developmental capacities, what we often refer to as our developmental center-of-gravity—we make meaning, feel, and act from a smaller, less complex, less capable form of mind. 

As Chief Illuminator at Ghost Light Leadership, Valerie accompanies individuals through their discovery of self, using the analogy of theater to set the stage for their historical and unfolding story. Through her writing, speaking, coaching, and workshop offerings, Valerie invites the many characters that comprise the full ensemble of one’s self to dance together to better meet their intentions. She is the author of Leaving the Ghost Light Burning: Illuminating Fallback in Embrace of the Fullness of You in which she reveals both the despair and ecstasy that accompany a knowing of the fullness of one’s allowing the reader to find the fullness of themselves in the journey of development and the experience of being human.

Valerie earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego. Valerie lives in Southern California with her two cats, husband, and two children.

David McCallum, S.J., Ed.D is a Jesuit priest and leadership educator. He serves as the founding Executive Director of the Program for Discerning Leadership, a special project of the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, Georgetown, and the Gregorian University. The Program provides leadership formation for senior Vatican officials and major superiors of religious orders in Rome, Italy, and internationally.

Currently, Fr. McCallum lives in Rome and serves as a member of the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops Commission on Methodology, supporting the Synodal process initiative by Pope Francis, and as adjunct faculty in the Institute for Anthropology, Interdisciplinary Studies of Human Dignity and Care (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

A Quote From This Episode

• "That idealized self that we carry around can sometimes be so abusive to us, and keep us in a box, and keep us, in a sense, constrained in ways that are really a disservice, not only to ourselves, but to others. That vulnerability and the authenticity that you're inviting in your work is really liberating."

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: Leaving the Ghost Light Burning: Illuminating Fallback in Embrace of the Fullness of You by Livesay
• Book: Let's Pretend That Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
• Book: The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseki
• Book: Falling Upwards by Richard Rohr

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are important views to be aware of. Nothing can replace your own research and exploration.

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in the study, practice, and teaching of leadership