Episode Details

Every leader has a shadow — the hidden wounds, unconscious patterns, and untamed emotions formed long before you ever stepped into a leadership role. The question isn't whether your shadow exists. It's whether you'll face it before it starts leading for you.

In this episode, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young dig into Chapter 2 of The Emotionally Healthy Leader, unpacking one of the most uncomfortable (and most necessary) conversations in church leadership: the parts of yourself you'd rather not look at — and why those are exactly the parts that matter most.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What "the shadow" actually is — and how it quietly shapes every decision you make as a leader
• Why the cave you fear to enter might hold the breakthrough your leadership needs
• How your family system growing up is still running in the background of how you lead today
• Why the shadow shows up differently under stress than in everyday leadership moments
• Common ways the shadow surfaces in church leaders — from conflict avoidance to perfectionism to shutting down contrary opinions
• Practical tools to start facing your shadow, including naming your emotions, using a genogram, and seeking trustworthy feedback
• Why shadow work isn't optional if you want sustainable fruit in your ministry

Jonathan gets personal about his "not yet" defense mechanism, Jason shares how a strength can quietly become a shadow, and both of them make the case that what you refuse to see will eventually lead you.

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