The LeadingSmart Podcast
Honest conversations. Practical insights. Smarter leadership.
Hosted by Tim Stevens and Holly Tate, The LeadingSmart Podcast exists to equip church leaders who care deeply about leading with integrity, clarity, and wisdom—even when it’s hard.
We are officially on Season 3! This season is about staying sharp in today’s rapidly changing environment. We’ll dive into the practical issues leaders are facing right now—from running effective executive team meetings to navigating crucial conversations to leading in moments when the playbook doesn’t exist yet.
Holly and Tim are moving out of the studio into our offices, and they will be recording and posting in real time, responding to current events as they happen, sharing fresh insights from our work with leaders across North America.
Be sure to email us at tim@leadingsmart.com if there are specific topics you want us to cover!
Enjoy!
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The LeadingSmart Podcast
[S3EP5] Stop Wasting Time: How to Lead Executive Team Meetings
Episode 5: Executive Team Meetings That Actually Work | Leading Smart Podcast
Welcome back to Season 3 of the LeadingSmart podcast—leading in real time, where ideas spark mid-week, inspiration hits on Zoom calls, and yes… sometimes Tim is literally recording from a hotel room overlooking LAX.
In this episode, Holly and Tim dive deep into one of the most misunderstood, overcomplicated, and under-disciplined parts of church leadership: executive team meetings.
Turns out, even the big churches feel unsure about cadence, structure, and how to stop talking in circles. So we break it all down—tactically, honestly, and with plenty of laughs.
Inside this episode, you’ll learn:
• The ideal cadence for an executive meeting (and why weekly works best)
• How long these meetings should really be
• Agenda frameworks that reduce confusion and clarify who decides what
• How to use goals, dashboards, and priorities without overengineering them
• The collaborative tools every team should be using
• The “end-of-meeting discipline” that prevents miscommunication
• Why offsites are an investment, not an indulgence
• And a “Hot Takes on the Holidays” segment you didn’t know you needed
If you’ve ever sat in a meeting wondering, “Didn’t we already decide this?” or “Why are we talking about this again?” — this episode is for you.
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