Got questions or comments? Text them to me!

Leadership pressure is unavoidable. Expectations, decisions, criticism, responsibility—it all adds weight. Most leaders spend their energy trying to reduce pressure, avoid pressure, or escape pressure.

But what if pressure isn’t just something to eliminate?

In this episode, we explore a different lens from James 1: pressure produces something in us. When handled well, the very things that squeeze leaders can actually shape their character, deepen their faith, and strengthen their endurance.

Instead of asking, “How do I get rid of this pressure?” we learn to ask a better question:

“What is God forming in me through this?”

If you're leading anything—a church, a team, a family, or a ministry—this conversation will help you see leadership pressure in a whole new light.

1. Pressure Reveals What’s Already in Us

Pressure acts like a spiritual MRI. It exposes what’s happening inside our hearts—our fears, our trust, our patience, and our insecurities. What rises under pressure shows us where God is still forming us.

2. Pressure Builds Leadership Endurance

Strength rarely grows in comfort. Just like muscles develop under resistance, leaders develop perseverance through the weight of responsibility and the challenges they face.

3. Pressure Deepens Our Dependence on God

Pressure has a way of reminding leaders that the mission isn’t sustained by our strength alone. The moments that push us hardest often pull us back toward deeper reliance on God.

James 1:2–4
“Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

Luke 6:45
“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

2 Corinthians 1:8–9
“This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God.”

Instead of asking “How do I escape this pressure?”, try asking: “What might God be producing in me through this?”

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Thanks for listening to The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to read the stuff I'm writing on my blog.

Rather watch the video? Head over to The Reluctant Leader Podcast on my YouTube channel.

Got questions or comments? Text them to me!

What if the very thing you think is protecting you as a leader is actually holding you back?

In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul sits down with Natasha Skolny, a former professional ice skater who is now a leadership coach and founder of The Leadership Cabin. It's a wide-ranging, deeply practical conversation about authenticity, nervous system regulation, resilience, and what it really takes to lead people well.

Natasha introduces the idea of “corporate armor”—the protective persona leaders put on to look competent, composed, and in control—and explains why that armor quietly erodes trust instead of building it. Together, Paul and Natasha explore why leaders are often promoted for control, but succeed long-term through connection.

The conversation moves from boardrooms to locker rooms to ice baths, unpacking:

• Why vulnerability actually increases credibility
• How control and discipline are not the same thing
• What professional athletes understand about emotional regulation
• Why breathwork, movement, and even cold plunging help leaders stay grounded
• How stored emotion shows up in surprising (and often destructive) ways
• Why the best leaders invest in coaches—and keep doing it
• How Natasha helps young women reconnect with their voice, values, and direction

This episode is honest, hopeful, and highly practical—especially for leaders who are tired of pretending they’re fine and ready to lead from a healthier place.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Armor creates distance; humanity builds trust
• What got you here won’t get you there
• Regulation beats repression—every time
• Resilient leaders train their nervous systems, not just their skills
• You were never meant to lead alone

🔗 Connect with Natasha

• Website: theleadershipcabin.com
• LinkedIn & YouTube & Instagram

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Thanks for listening to The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to read the stuff I'm writing on my blog.

Rather watch the video? Head over to The Reluctant Leader Podcast on my YouTube channel.

Got questions or comments? Text them to me!

In a world more connected than ever, leadership has quietly become more distant.

We have constant access to people—texts, emails, meetings, metrics—but proximity isn’t the same as presence. And when leaders begin leading from a distance, something subtle but serious happens: our decisions start to lose their soul.

In this episode of The Reluctant Leader Podcast, Paul Jenkins reflects on an often-overlooked moment in Exodus 28:30, where God instructs the high priest to wear the breastplate—the place of discernment—over the heart.

That detail is more than symbolic. It’s formative.

This episode explores why:

• Good decisions flow from a well-connected heart
• Leadership always moves in two directions—toward people and toward God
• Distance shows up first in our decisions
• Vulnerability isn’t a soft skill, but a leadership necessity

When leaders close the gap emotionally, relationally, and spiritually, people stop being projects and start being people again. Stories stay close. Pain stays human. Growth stays personal.

If you’ve been feeling cynical, sharp, or detached in your leadership, this episode offers a hopeful invitation—not to work harder, but to move closer.

Closer to God.
Closer to people.
Closer to the heart.

Key Takeaways

• You can be around people and still not be with them
• Discernment belongs near compassion, not distance
• Leadership breaks down when either people or God drift from the heart
• Vulnerability keeps decision-making human and God-honoring
• The heart must stay involved for leadership to remain effective

Scripture Referenced

• Exodus 28:30

Leadership Practice for the Month

Wear the breastplate again.
Let decisions be shaped by love.
Lead with people, not over them.

If this episode encouraged you, share it with someone you’re leading—or another leader who needs the reminder. And as always, keep giving God your best, and He’ll do the rest.

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Thanks for listening to The Reluctant Leader Podcast with Paul Jenkins! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to read the stuff I'm writing on my blog.

Rather watch the video? Head over to The Reluctant Leader Podcast on my YouTube channel.