Listening Leader: Building Community That Shapes Spirit-Led Leadership Ep 36

Leadership feels lighter when you’re not carrying it alone. We dive into the real difference between a coach, a mentor, a sponsor, and a circle—and why so many of us reach for one when our souls are actually hungry for the others. I share how coaching draws out your growth, mentoring shows the map, sponsorship opens doors, and a circle keeps you grounded with prayer, accountability, and many wise voices. If you’ve ever asked, “Is this God’s voice or just my own thoughts?” this conversation offers a practical path to discernment through community.

You’ll hear biblical models that make leadership tangible: Jesus’ layers of community, Moses learning delegation from Jethro, and scriptures that underline the power of many counselors. We talk openly about the loneliness leaders face, even inside churches and companies, and why faith-driven women often need spaces where professional excellence and deep spiritual alignment actually meet. I also reflect on a formative mentoring relationship with David O'Shaughnessy, whose trust and empathy transcended culture and hierarchy. Relationship came first; then came tools like SWOT to surface strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It’s a model any leader can use: lead with dignity, build relationships, then do the work.

We close with a simple activation. If you’re ready to grow in Spirit-led wisdom and authentic power, take the next step with the free devotional, How to Hear God at Work, and consider who sits in your ecosystem—coach, mentor, sponsor, and circle. Subscribe, share this with a friend who leads, and leave a review to help more leaders find a community that listens.

Stay in the flow—subscribe wherever you listen, watch on YouTube, and download free devotionals at iamkelleyjohnson.com.

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Kelley Johnson is a creator, builder, and catalyst who helps leaders achieve breakthrough—personally, professionally, and spiritually. She spent 20 years in corporate leadership before founding KEIRUS, a learning and talent management firm serving thousands of leaders worldwide. 

This show is not a substitute for professional therapy or advice. If you need professional support, we encourage you to seek a qualified mental health, medical, financial, legal, pastoral or other accredited professional.

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Keywords: Christian women, Spirit-led living, Holy Spirit, faith podcast, women in leadership, working ...

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to In the Flow, a podcast for women pursuing God's spirit in life and leadership. I'm Kelly Johnson, and this season we're exploring what it means to become the listening leader. Because clarity and alignment with the Lord create a more impactful leader. Each conversation invites you to slow down, lean in, and lead from a place of attunement with the Lord so that we can grow in spirit-led wisdom and authentic

Welcome And Series Focus

SPEAKER_00 0:34

power. Let's get in the flow. In our last conversation during this listening leader series, we looked at mentoring and the role that that can play in shaping our lives and our careers. I gave you some stories and examples of how mentors and a sponsor shaped my career. Today I want us to take a more holistic look and kind of almost create a 3D picture of who is in our lives that we can listen to, that we can turn to, that can hold us accountable, that can pour into us, that can pray for us. And so I want to talk about a circle. I want to talk about community. And I find that

Mentor Vs Coach Vs Circle

SPEAKER_00 1:13

this is an area that a lot of women and men don't really have in their lives. So I want to give a bit of a picture, a metaphor of the difference between a mentor, a coach, and a circle. I meet a lot of women who say that, hey, I want a coach or I want a mentor. But when I ask more questions and sort of double-click on that, what I find is they're really looking for community. And so a coach is great. Yes, I'm an executive coach and I've hired a coach for myself. I've hired multiple coaches for myself for different seasons and different needs in my career. And so I honestly, of course, believe in coaching as a fellow coach. And I know the value that a coach can bring to your career and to your growth and development. So a coach can kind of help draw out our growth. They can help us see objectively areas that might not really be visible to us as gaps or opportunities or growth edges. A coach ultimately helps us draw out those opportunities. A mentor shows us the map. They'll say, hey, here's the lay of the land. And they'll give us their perspective from their own lens. And so a coach tries to help you see things, not from their personal lens, but help you see your lens differently. Whereas

What Women Are Really Seeking

SPEAKER_00 2:44

a mentor typically is sharing from their own experience, which is often just one version of how that story could unfold based on their own circumstances. A circle helps us continue to walk out that journey that we're on and they can hold us accountable. Again, a circle brings multiple voices into the fold versus maybe just one voice that we might find with a coach or a mentor. So there's value in all of them. And then of course there's a sponsor who creates access and opportunities for us. Ultimately, my prayer and my hope for all of us is that we have all four of these in our lives. But a lot of times we don't have all of them all at the same time. And so I really want to make a distinction between a coach, a mentor, and a circle. Because, like I said, a lot of women approach me. I mean, I've literally had women stop me in the grocery store and we have a conversation and they're like, Kelly, I just feel like I need a coach or I feel like I need a mentor. And I know what that can feel like. And I know when you're looking for support and you can't quite find it, how frustrating that can be. But ultimately, for Christian women, at least the ones that I have encountered over the years, many, many times, more often than not, what they're looking for is holistic community, a type of community where, yes, they can absolutely grow professionally. They can learn some new leadership skills, some new leadership best practices. But for women who are deeply faith-driven and want to be led by the Holy Spirit and everything they do, what I often find and see is this missing link of I do want to grow professionally. I do want to grow in my leadership, but I want it to be aligned with my values and my faith. And I want to know that the people that I'm listening to are on similar journeys. I also find that women are looking for deeper level authenticity. How many of us have been in those spaces where you feel like you have to be perfect or you otherwise you can't share anything, right? Vulnerability is not easy to do in some spaces. And so what I often find is that women are looking for a space to process safely. And so I think that's with Raya, that's one of the things that I really want to create for women, a place where we're not only safe, but we're seen and we're strengthened, strengthened as leaders, but also strengthened as daughters of God. And we know that scripture supports community. Jesus modeled community. Jesus had, you know, hundreds of disciples that followed him, but he also had the 12, and then he also had the three. And so I just love that Jesus modeled community, this leadership model of being a leader in community. We even see in the Old Testament, one of the first examples of leadership

Biblical Models Of Community

SPEAKER_00 5:55

delegation with Moses and the advice that his father-in-law Jethro gave him. He was like, you can't do it all alone. You're caring too much. And so Jethro encouraged Moses to delegate and to create structure around that. So the Bible is a great leadership playbook if we actually pay attention to the lessons and see them as more than just a great story in the Bible. These are true principles that we can apply in our day-to-day life and leadership. So I want to highlight two scriptures around community beyond the examples of Jesus and Moses that I just shared. The first one is Ecclesiastes 4, verses 9 through 10, where it says, two are better than one. If either falls, one helps the other. And then Proverbs 15, 22. I'm going to read the amplified version, which says, without consultation and wise advice, plans are frustrated. But with many counselors, they are established and succeed. I love that scripture because it talks about the importance of having many counselors. And of course, they have to be wise. We don't want to just listen to anyone. But this is one of, I think, the greatest examples in scripture of how we're encouraged to be in community. And so many of us can be isolated or feel isolated if we maybe work in places where we don't know if there are other believers. Maybe we don't have a church community. Or if we do have a church community, maybe there's not a lot of women who are either working or in leadership roles. And so I find that even women who go to church every Sunday, sometimes even we feel like we don't have the type of community that we're looking for that really blends both the professional, the personal, and the spiritual. You know, in a previous conversation on this listening leader series, I shared the story of my friend who had moved from being an entrepreneur, went back into corporate. And I also shared the story of Elijah out of 1 Kings 18 and 19. And so when we look at this concept of isolation and loneliness as a leader, we see that even Elijah had Elisha. And so I just want to highlight that God doesn't always restore us in isolation. Sometimes he uses community. Often he uses community to restore us, to grow us, and to refine us. You might recall in the last episode, I shared stories of the mentors who were instrumental in my career. And one of them is a gentleman named David. And something that David shared that really stands out to me is how trust and empathy were paramount and they transcended culture and job titles, kind of that hierarchy concept. And ultimately, to me, this is leadership in action. Let's take a listen. Before we continue, let me ask you: have you ever wondered how to tell if it's God's voice or just your own thoughts? In the flow, it's so much more than a podcast. Each season, I produce a free resource to support your growth. And for this series on The Listening Leader, I created a free devotional called How to Hear God at Work. It'll help you slow down and recognize God's leading in everyday decisions. Whether you're leading a team, a business, or your own heart, visit im KellyJohnson.com and click on the resources

Scriptures On Counsel And Many Voices

SPEAKER_00 9:50

section to get your free copy today. I don't know if you remember this, but in one of our first meetings, you shared about your family background being Irish and what that experience was like for your father coming to this country and just some of the challenges that he faced and really connecting it to what many black people have experienced in this country. And I'll never forgive that. And you didn't have to care about the connection of um, you know, some of the similarities between um Irish immigrants to the US uh and African American people to this country. So do you remember that or does that ring a bell?

SPEAKER_01 10:43

The the uh I remember talking about how Irish people were treated when they came to the United States. And it wasn't my dad, by the way, that you remember who lived in the United States. He lived he was a veteran research in a small village back in Ireland. He did come to visit me several times over the year. That was an experience of itself. But what we talked about, I remember I remember now, was about how Irish people were uh discriminated against in in the especially in the northeast of the United States. I'm gonna Irish even apply for jobs and uh it was a lot of um I would say preconceived notions that there was something wrong with people that were coming from. At that time people were coming in poor and destitute condition after the banana that the British uh happened. So people were dying lots of people were dying of starvation and they were trying to escape the votes or I can I can't say that I'm that that I would compare that to the experience of uh black people in the United States, but there is a similarity there in terms of the discrimination, yes. Um so that I do I want to go back for a second because I always believe that the best communication is when you can get on the same wavelength with someone. If you're not on the same wavelength, then you're talking at them and talking to them rather than talking and discussing with I try to culture people that are in too uh dictatorial and culture to communication and that had that. Some of them can change with some culture, some of them never were able to change. The effective way to communicate is to to get on the same wavelength with the people that you're trying to communicate with. Never could involve telling jokes, telling stories, it could involve in showing the real side of who you are rather than the title that you possess when you doesn't have, which can sometimes be intimidating. It's uh it it's it's more about listen, we're all in this together, I've got a job to do, you've got a job to do to help the company succeed, and that's what we're all trying to do.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Yeah. Well, thank you for correcting my memory about your story that it was not your dad. And I will just say that it was very impactful. I was one of the few black leaders at a core at the time. And so, you know, there was always this sort of isolation and concern that people didn't necessarily know um some of the challenges I faced as a leader

Isolation, Church Gaps, And Belonging

SPEAKER_00 13:38

with only a few who looked like me. I was also one of the younger ones and female, right? And so there was always this uh kind of I'm one of the few in the room, sometimes only. And I appreciated you and and your lovely wife Kay took me and my husband out to dinner. Um Yeah, we had a great dinner at an Italian restaurant, and I just appreciated it was very clear that you prioritized the relationships. And so you were modeling and mentoring me just in those interactions of not necessarily going straight to business, not going just straight to like, okay, let's work on this, let's talk about that. That type of coaching came later. But your investment and just the relationship and wanting to get to know me and my family, wanting to share a little bit of yourself and your family, um, it just was so incredibly impactful. I'm so grateful for that investment that you made in me.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

You know, I'm remembering more as we get into this discussion, but I I actually asked to make it. And probably the reason was because remember that I had come after 15 years on uh living and working in the Bahamas, where I've dealt a lot with both black and white Bahamian communities, all Bahamian citizens, all proud Bahamian citizens. But they had a mixture of historic backgrounds there in the country. And um, I love those people. And by the way, I'm still in touch with them. With uh when I say those people, I mean the people that were the employees at Walker C in the bombs. I'm planning to go back and to revisit with uh back to the islands uh sometime. That's one of my opening things to do with that. And I've I've truly enjoyed the time speaking with you. As you might remember also, I think I I tried to work with you about the SWOT analysis SW strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. I know I've used that extensively, I'll probably use it with you, but eventually we would have gotten into a discussion about what you see your strengths to be, what you see your weaknesses to be, but where do you see opportunities for yourself and where are we seeing the threats? That that's a great tool to get into the psyche of individuals you've tried to help. I think.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Well, it's been just great to kind of go down this memory lane with you, and I believe it's important to honor people who have invested in your your life, your career, um, in whatever capacity is, spiritually, whatever it is. And we'll wrap up here in a second, but I just wanted you to know how grateful I am for the investment that you've made in me. Um, I know it's been a long time ago. What I love about this is that listening isn't just about information, it's about connection, connecting on a human level. And if we're able to connect on a spiritual level, like how much better is that, right? Circles are how God keeps us grounded. Community is how God keeps us grounded. As we get ready to close today, I want to leave you with a little bit of an activation and a reflection. And I just want to encourage you to sit in stillness for about 30 seconds or so.

Trust, Empathy, And Leadership In Action

SPEAKER_00 17:34

And I'll leave you with one more question that you can reflect on in your own quiet time. Lord, what must I stop, continue, or start so that I can hear from you. Thank you for flowing with me today. If this episode strengthened your spirit and leadership, be sure to subscribe and share it with a friend. Remember, deeper clarity starts in community. Visit im KellyJohnson.com for free devotionals and to learn more about Raya Circles, where faith and leadership truly go together in the flow.