Born to Lead
Born to Lead is a Christ-centered leadership podcast dedicated to helping young adults rise with confidence, purpose, and spiritual conviction. Inspired by the mission of our Born to Lead organization, this podcast highlights leaders who model discipleship in the way they speak, serve, and influence the world around them. Each episode features interviews with men and women who honor Jesus Christ through their leadership—individuals who use their voices with intention, compassion, and courage, striving to lead as He would lead. These conversations are designed to uplift, train, and inspire the next generation of Christ-centered leaders to step forward and speak with power and purpose.
Born to Lead
S1 E7: The Courage to Begin and Commit | Bret Cane and Stephen Covey Leadership Center
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What does it really mean to be a leader?
In this episode of Born to Lead, we sit down with leaders from the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center at Utah State University to explore how leadership is more than a title—it’s a choice. Featuring Bret Crane, Tyler Roberts, and Natalie Hull, this conversation dives into the power of Christ-centered leadership and how discovering your divine potential can transform your life.
Together, we talk about:
-How leadership begins with small, everyday choices
-The courage to begin—and the courage to commit
-Why mentorship and trust are key to growth
-How serving others helps you discover who you’re meant to become
Through personal stories and powerful insights, you’ll hear how these leaders have learned to look outward, build confidence, and help others see their own worth and potential.
Whether you’re a student, a professional, or someone wondering if leadership is “for you,” this episode will remind you that you are already called to lead—you just have to choose it.
*Tune in and ask yourself: If you were truly born to lead… how would you live differently?*
Brett Crane is an associate professor of leadership at the John M. Huntsman School of Business and the Executive Director of the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center at Utah State University. Brett has a PhD in business administration from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and an MBA and a BA from Brigham Yam University. He is a proud father of five children and loves all things outdoors with the exception of camping. Tyler Roberts is a program coordinator of the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center at Utah State University, where he leads a student team and oversees key leadership development initiatives and experiences. He supported the Salt Lake City delegation at the 142nd session in Paris as part of the Salt Lake City 2034 Olympic bid efforts. Tyler is studying finance and economics at Utah State University and is committed to helping others lead with purpose and impact. Outside of his work, he loves basketball, skiing, and traveling the world. Natalie Hull is an ambassador for the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center under the College of Education and Human Services. She is studying Spanish with an emphasis in teaching, as well as receiving her certificate to teach English to speakers of other languages. Natalie is passionate about humanitarian work and spreading high-quality education throughout the world. Currently, she volunteers with the nonprofit humanitarian experience, which is taking her to the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. In her free time, she enjoys the water, soaking up the sun, and live music.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to Born to Lead. We're your hosts, Connie Sokel and Madison Latin.
SPEAKER_02And we are so delighted today to talk Christ Center Leadership with some amazing people who are part of the Stephen Covey Leadership Center at Utah State University. Welcome everybody today.
SPEAKER_01Great to be here.
SPEAKER_02We're so happy to have you. And we have Brett Crane, we have Tyler Roberts, and we have Natalie Hull. We are so happy to hear your lessons in leadership, especially with the things that you've created. We just went to the Beacon conference that they held that was stellar, and we're going to talk to you about how you made all of that magically happen.
SPEAKER_04But first, I would love to just jump right into the first question. So all of you are part of the Covey Leadership Center, and that is incredible. Can you share with us your experience of how you got involved and what drew you to it?
SPEAKER_00For sure. So I got home from my mission a few years ago, and on my mission, I loved turning outwards, focusing on other people. And I got up to college and I realized that there were a lot of things about me. What am I gonna study? My career, my dating, all these focuses on me. And I found the Covey Leadership Center, and of course, leadership kind of drew me in. I wanted to become a better leader. But then what really made me stay is that our events and different activities pushed me outside of myself to focus on other people. So my first semester at college, I was standing up in front of hundreds of elementary students, teaching them leadership principles, and it was so much fun for me. And those were the most fulfilling days of my freshman year because I wasn't focused on myself. I was focused on inspiring these young kids and had a ton of fun doing it. And so that kept me around. And now, four years later, still doing it and still loving it. And it's my my dream job for now.
SPEAKER_04That's fantastic. Especially teaching just young students at a very young age how to lead. I think that's incredible. And Natalie, do you want to go?
SPEAKER_05My story's kind of funny. I volunteered for this nonprofit called HXP Humanitarian Experience. And I was in the Dominican Republic about, I think a little over a year ago, the summer right after I got home from my mission. I would have been going into my sophomore year that fall at Utah State University. And somebody on the trip who was a part of Covey came with us. His name is Mikey. And we're sitting on the bus one day on our way to like the work site to work on our project. We were building a center for people with Down syndrome. And he was just chatting with me and he was like, Natalie, like when you get back to Utah State, you have to come check out the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center. And I was like, I don't know about that. Like, this sounds cool and all, but I don't know if it's my thing, which I was totally wrong. So I took him up, I took him up on his personal invite. I came that fall. And then as and I kept participating in the leadership center throughout the year, and I started to see this shift in myself. I was like, wow, I'm actually learning. I'm actually growing. I'm becoming a better person. And more importantly, I'm believing that I could be a leader, which was super fun to see. And so I started to see how it was personally impacting my life. And all it took was just one invitation from somebody to tell me, come and see for yourself. But then I had to put in the work, I had to put in the effort, and it's been so fun. And we teach the conferences. Um, and I get to learn how to be a better person, how to be a better leader. And it's been honestly the highlight of my college experience so far. So good. I love scriptural. Come and see. I love that. Just like the savior, right? He invites us and then you see for yourself. That's been my experience.
SPEAKER_01And we're so glad they both got involved. Uh, they're both remarkable. Mine goes back a while back when I was newly married. So my wife uh grew up neighbors to Stephen Covey. And uh had a chance to get to know him. He'd come over for dinner and interact. And uh, he was so busy. You can just imagine at the peak of your career, and you're just flying over the world. Everyone wants your attention. And whenever we sat down, you were the most important person in the world. He would just sit and he would see you, he would ask questions, he would see deeply. And uh I learned quickly that he not only taught these principles, but he lived them. He was an embodiment of these powerful principles. And that was the beginning of my Cubby uh journey. And then I was at a UVA, University of Virginia, getting my PhD. I was invited to consider coming to Utah State to start the Cubby Leadership Center. And uh the rest has unfolded beautifully.
SPEAKER_02Wow. Incredible. And the growth that you've had, it's been what, 10 years? Is that about right?
SPEAKER_01It's about 10 years. That's right.
SPEAKER_02Wow. And just to see the growth and the expansion, and we're gonna come back to that in a second. What we'd love to know also is now that we've asked everybody the question, just whoever wants to can ask the answer this one. But I'm listening to what you're all saying and I'm seeing the positive domino effect of coming into a leadership situation, learning these leadership skills. What would you say are some of the benefits? If someone's listening right now and thinking, I don't think leadership is for me. That sounds so pinstripe suit. That sounds official, right? What are some of the benefits of learning practicing these Christ under leadership principles? And is there one that kind of stands out in a way of like, oh, this dominoed into my life in ways that I didn't anticipate? Anybody had that experience?
SPEAKER_01So leadership is a choice, right? It's not a title, makes it much more accessible when we have the ability to choose to be a leader. And when we think about leadership is positive influence, and we can have positive influence in our relationships and our lives, particularly if we want to achieve what's in front of us. If we want to have high-quality relationships, if we want to find an internship or a job, we need to have some type of self-leadership in order for us to be able to achieve those things. And the leadership that we teach is based on principles. Stephen Covey discovered this is when we align our lives with principle, we're more effective and we're happier. And decades of research and and uh you know, ancient wisdom has taught us that when we live these principles, we're not only more effective, but we're happier. So we're connected to people when we we exercise empathy. And we're in an age where we're we've never been more connected through our devices, but feel disconnected. So empathy is at the heart of how we connect deeply with other people. We're in an age where people feel lost and they feel adrift. And finding purpose is core to being living after the manner of happiness, as we read in the scripture, finding a connection to a cause greater than yourself. And that's what Jesus uh modeled perfectly. And so finding, helping people find purpose is what we do in the Calvi Center. And then learning. We're happiest when we learn, grow, and develop, when we're challenged and we use our strengths, and then finally when we love our values, living lives of integrity. Those are the four fundamentals of leadership that we that we teach over and over again. And we find that, again, people are happiest when they practice these, and there's such a great need in the world to learn and develop each of these virtues. And Christ modeled them perfectly. Uh so we have an amazing example of in him who taught power powerfully these principles time and time again.
SPEAKER_02So beautifully said. Tyler, Natalie, either of you, just the way that you've seen these leadership principles domino into your life in ways, unexpected or positive ways.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I actually have something. Tyler and I were actually talking about this quote the other day. Um, and it's by Stephen R. Covey. He said, leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they can see it in themselves. Um, I know, so powerful. And the gospel, the eternal truths that that encompasses that for me, as I've been involved in leadership, I've grown confidence in myself and who I can become. And that's what Jesus Christ has done for me too. That's what Jesus Christ does. He shows me who I am, all the wonderful things, all the things I can use to learn and grow, and how that propels me forward to become the person who he wants me to become. And that is something I didn't realize that leadership and what Jesus Christ teach, they go hand in hand. Um and I didn't even realize that until I started working on like my leadership principles. Um, and it's really just elevated my discipleship, it's elevated my life, my relationships, and I didn't really expect that. I thought leadership was, oh, I'm somebody's boss, and like I can be a good manager, right? I mean, maybe we've all thought that, but it's so much more than that. It's so eternal.
SPEAKER_04I love that so much. I think knowing, I think that's why leadership is so important. Because we are helping others, and in turn, we are becoming better people, and that's what it's all about.
SPEAKER_02I love that. Okay, Tyler, really quick. How has these practicing these leadership principles where if do you have an experience where you feel like you grew the most or had an experience where you just grew and you're like, I know this is because I am doing these leadership principles?
SPEAKER_00Definitely. I think the biggest leadership principle I've been learning recently is trust. I recently moved into this new role and I'm working full-time for the Cubby Leadership Center now, and I helped lead our team and our different leadership initiatives. And so, as you know, like with the Beacon Leadership Conference and some of these events were pretty big and it was a lot to tackle. And I knew that I just couldn't do it on my own. I'm a pretty independent person naturally, but I've really learned the last few months to delegate and to trust other people and empower other people. And it's just so cool to see how much more productive, how much happier everybody is when you trust them with different projects or different responsibilities. And people just take ownership and they just run with it and you see them grow, you see the team growing. And so that's one trusting myself and trusting those around me. Trust is the biggest leadership principle I've been learning lately.
SPEAKER_05So good. So good. And they add something to that. I've seen that from being a part of the center this year and and working with Tyler and the team. Like that alone, I can feel the trust that we all have in each other. And that's really pushed me to get outside my comfort zone and like take on and volunteer for projects to help the center help spread leadership throughout like the campus and the community and hopefully the world, right? But I've seen that in myself as I've been involved um with the Covey Center um and helping run things with it. I've like felt that trust and it's really helped me push myself and see that greater potential in myself of who I can be and how I can lead. So I'm a first-hand witness.
SPEAKER_04I can win it's so great to hear how these leadership principles have just dominoed in your life and you can you're really living these leadership principles. And Brett, this question is more directed towards you because you work with young adults often. And you had mentioned several different leadership principles that are important, but is there maybe one or two top leadership principles that you see that adult young adults need to know how to do?
SPEAKER_01It's a great question. And I get the chance to work with young adults in lots of different capacities, both ecclesiastically and then with the Covey Leadership Center. Many of them come to me and say, you know, I'm I'm feeling anxious about the future. I'm feeling uncertain. And there's lots of reasons to look to what's going on in our world and feel uncertain and feel anxious, political instability, economic instability. Will there be a job for me when I graduate? Will I have a happy relationship? And uh, can I date and find somebody? So these are all questions that are top of mind for students. And so I think there are two things to uh to would really be helpful to focus on, and that is the courage to begin and the courage to commit. And so when we look at outside and we think of all the different variables, sometimes that can be demobilizing. Uh, that can debilitate our ability to move forward and to take action. And we can be much more reaction, react reactive to the world that is going around us. Let me just share one example. I had a student come to me who was a brilliant student, a valedictorian, who was engaged in lots of different amazing activities, but he had this pattern of trying something and then moving on. So he would small business and then it didn't work out. He would move on to something else and it didn't work out. And he was thinking about master's programs. He was thinking about moving across the world. And then he became a father and he felt like he needed to have this responsibility to actually do something. And uh, as I sat down with him, I could sense that he was a maximizer and that he was trying to focus on maximizing his opportunities, which caused him to second guess each of his choices. And so he'd try something and then second guess it and pull back. He'd try something and then second guess it and pull back. So I encouraged him to commit, commit to just six months of giving your very best to have the courage to commit to something and make it bloom where you plan it, give your very best to it and trust that doors would open and that revelation would flow about whether or not you should stay or you should move on to something else. His cycle of commitment was much shorter. And uh he took that, he took that to heart and uh he proceeded six months later. On the day he called me and said, uh, Brad, you'll never believe what happened, what's happened. Ever since I decided to have the courage to commit, to give myself wholly to something and to be present and give my very best work, doors have opened. I've had job interviews, I'm on my career path, and I feel like I'm on my way to find my life's work. And that was so amazing to hear just one example of someone who had the courage to begin and then to commit. So many of these amazing young people uh will find that marvelous things will happen if they begin and if they commit to something. Doors will open, revelation will flow, and other opportunities will come their way.
SPEAKER_04Wow. I have actually never heard of that leadership principle. And I think that is honestly one of the top ones that I would love to apply in my life because I think I find myself in the same position as that young adult that maybe he just didn't, he just started something, it didn't work, and then he wanted to move on to the next. Um, definitely with the podcast, though, I have been able to see that I just needed to commit. And as I've committed for seriously months, things came into my life, doors opened, and that's how I was led to Born to Lead. So I think that's a fabulous leadership principle.
SPEAKER_02So fantastic. And that actually kind of dovetails right into the next question we want to ask you, which is about mentoring. So I would love from both sides, we want to talk about what is a successful way to either mentor or be mentored. You know, what we do, Born to Lead is student-led, adult mentored. And it's been a good learning experience for me of being able, just like you were talking about, Tyler, that trust, right? Trusting yourself and trusting others. So from both sides, maybe you know, you're giving a report card to Brett a little bit, but as far as for Brett, what's been one strategy or one tool or tip that principle that you've used that has helped you to be a successful adult mentor? And then students, what you have found that helps you as a student when adults are mentoring.
SPEAKER_01So I think it starts with empathy, understanding where they are, having them feel seen and heard and uh active listening, seeking first to understand and then seeking to be understood, as Stephen Covey taught. And they're in a different place. But until they feel seen and heard, they're not willing to hear advice. I think the other thing is to ask people what they're looking for in the moment. So do you want a devil's advocate? Do you want validation? Do you want encouragement? Do you want someone who will help brainstorm and explore different options with you? What are you looking for? What role can I play in this moment that would be most helpful for you? I think far too often we assume a hat that's not exactly what the student needs in the moment or what they're looking for. And that I think a combination of high love, high expectations. So many students don't they kind of have their a glass ceiling for what they think they can accomplish. And that's in some ways their prison of their past and their belief systems. And so stretching them to think about what's possible and then assuring them and conveying belief that it is possible go hand in hand.
SPEAKER_02Fantastic. I think about that with my kids. I'm like, do you want compassion or do you want counsel? Because I need to know before I go off on my TED talk. I love that. Okay, Natalie or Tyler.
SPEAKER_00I would say from my perspective, there are two things that are super important I've learned. And one is consistency. And then two is for my side to come prepared with questions. I can't just show up to a meeting with a mentor and just say, What do you want to talk about? I need to come with questions and be ready to learn from him or her. Quick example there's a Huntsman Scholar program up here at Utah State in the business school, and they assigned you a professional mentor. So my first semester up here, I got assigned a man named Teppo, and I learned that he had just moved here from Oxford. He was a professor at Oxford for the last 10 years. I was like, wow, that's a super unique opportunity. Um, so we just met once every six months for the last four years. We were just great friends. I would come with questions. We he'd give me book recommendations, we'd chat about life, but we just kept consistent contact for four years, just once every six months. And then this summer we we chatted and found a summer opportunity for me to go study at Oxford. And so a door opened four years later. But it was a genuine friend, a genuine mentor at this point. To me, it's that just consistency, whether it's six months or more frequent than that, that's a real mentor. And then coming prepared with questions, I think you get the most out of that opportunity.
SPEAKER_02I love that so much. And I think sometimes we think mentoring, you know, it's like hovering or they're telling you what to do, and that's not it at all. I love that availability and that you took advantage of the things that you needed, and there was those touch points, those consistent touch points, so that the friendship was formed too, which is just I think that's even more important than just the distilling of principles and tools. You can Google those, right? But getting that from someone and that creating that connection, that meaningful, lasting connection, so beautiful.
SPEAKER_05Um, I think an important part of mentorship mentorship as well, and I think Tyler's totally seen this. And but um, when you are mentoring somebody, I don't like to think of it as like somebody's like above me, right? And I have to like go to their level or they have to come down to mine to be able to help me. Um that's not well, that's not what the savior does, right? But um, but when it comes to mentorship, I think when you can both meet at the same level and recognize, okay, I'm the student and you have some incredible, amazing resources that I just haven't been exposed to yet. I would love access to those resources. But not only that, but like how to be successful. Obviously, like I'm at point A, you're at point B. How did you get there? And so I don't like to think of it as like we go up and we go down, like to each other's levels, but we work together and we share and we collaborate. And somebody, as students, we're just at a different stage of life. And somebody, a professional or an adult mentor, they're just at a different stage of life, and we can both learn from each other. And I think that's really powerful to keep that in mind when we are seeking mentorship.
SPEAKER_02So fantastic. I just think of that. I think it's a Quaker proverb I'll lift thee and thee lift me, and we'll ascend together. That's exactly what that makes me think of. And I think it's wonderful for those adults that are listening to know that we don't need to come and impart the yield wisdom, right? That we think we've got to come with all of these things. But come with just like Tyler said, come with our questions and our open mind and heart for learning. I know I have learned so much from these beautiful students. They've been so patient with me. I feel 10 years younger, seriously, just working with them. They're so energizing and so they're just pulsing with possibility. And I think that's the beauty of we have a little bit of maybe seasoned maturity-ish. And then you come with this vibrant, youthful let's go. And it's just this gorgeous synergy together. So fantastic.
SPEAKER_04And kind of wrapping up here, we would love to ask you all a question of what does being born to lead mean to you?
SPEAKER_03And can we start with Brett?
SPEAKER_01Let's do it. Uh so I think born to lead means that greatness is within us. We are all sons and daughters of God, that we have infinite worth and divine potential. Part of our moral journey here is to discover that incredible potential. He needs a remarkable leaders to carry his work forward to hasten Israel and the gathering of Israel and to help us fulfill our life's purpose. And so that takes leadership. That takes personal leadership, discovering your purpose, connecting deeply with other people, learning what your strengths are, applying those strengths to creating benefit and uplift and service for other people. And because leadership is a choice, we can all choose to embrace that God-given potential that we have.
SPEAKER_03Beautiful. Tyler.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I agree with everything Brett said. I think it's just there's an incredible book, Hidden Potential. And that's exactly what I think of is that we all have this incredible potential within us. Everybody is born to lead. Leadership is a choice, right? It's what Stephen Covey taught. I just think it's helping others to recognize that they are born to lead. I'm born to lead, you're born to lead, and making sure that people see this hidden potential inside of them and that they can see this vision of who they can become. That's the quote that Natalie shared. That's leadership, and we're all born to lead, and we need to help everyone realize that.
SPEAKER_02And we are better together. Yeah, I love that.
SPEAKER_04Well, and just to highlight that too, we all have different leadership qualities. Some people don't maybe necessarily think they that they are born to lead in the way of I'm this figure that's helping mentor others, but it simply can be done in our families or with our friends in very intimate settings that we can and can lead. And that's what we're trying to do as born to lead this organization. We're trying to teach people that you can lead in your own ways. It's not this set way, but it's in multiple different ways. So thank you for sharing that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I love that.
SPEAKER_03Natalie?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I love the comment you just made, kind of piggy piggybacking off of that. We all come to earth. Like you said, we all have so many different gifts, talents, and abilities. And um the Lord doesn't want us all to be the same. He wants us um to use our certain gifts and talents abilities to uplift each other and bring each other closer together and closer to him. And so exactly, born to lead, I think for me means um that I have an incredible potential and I can make a difference in the world as I align myself with my father in heaven and his plan for me. And I think that's so wonderful and that's so exciting. I'm so, so grateful that the Covey Leadership Center has helped me see that in myself. It's outside of a gospel setting, right? I'm learning this at school as I interact with other students who want to become better leaders, but I'm just so grateful that I've been able to see that potential in myself and see how I can be a better leader and use the gifts and talents that I've been blessed with to make an impact in the lives of those around me.
SPEAKER_04Wow, that is so beautiful.
SPEAKER_02Seriously, like I literally you brought me to tears. And it's so unprofessional, but seriously, the truth that is being shared here today is fantastic. And really hope that those that are listening will feel that right to their souls, that leadership, you're already there. You're already called, you already have it. It's just like you were talking about, Natalie, you just need maybe resources you haven't had and meet people you haven't and situations and opportunities for that seed to be able to grow. And it's just beautiful. And things like this podcast, the Stephen Cubby Leadership Center, all these opportunities for people to grow. I know people listening are going to want to know more about this and be a part of it. I know we're rabid to be part of it. So, how do people find out about this and how can they connect? Brett, what's a good thing?
SPEAKER_01Uh, you can Google the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center at Utah State. Uh, we've got a website. Uh, there's ways for you to get involved, whether you're a graduate or you're an undergraduate student or you've you've uh you're out in the world working professionally. If you want to get involved, we'd love to have you. So reach out and we look forward to connecting.
SPEAKER_02Fantastic. This has been so inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing today.
SPEAKER_04Next time, knowing that you are born to lead, how will you live as leaders for him?