137: Jamie Winship — How Great Leaders Handle Fear, Conflict, and Difficult Conversations

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Learn more about Jamie Winship and his work: https://www.identityexchange.com/

Get Jamie's new book, The War of Worldviews: https://www.identityexchange.com/books

Jamie Winship returns to the Intentional Leader Podcast for a deep and honest conversation about fear, identity, conflict, truth-telling, and what it means to lead from love instead of self-protection.

Jamie is a former CIA officer, conflict mediator, speaker, and author of Living Fearless and The War of Worldviews. In this conversation, Jamie shares vulnerably about his own fear of being a disappointment, how leaders often use self-protection and self-promotion to cover insecurity, and why truth-telling is one of the most powerful tools for resolving conflict.

We also explore how leaders can help people in conflict, why anger is often connected to fear, and why leaders must model the freedom they want to create in others.

Jamie is a Christian, and this conversation includes discussion of faith, prayer, Jesus, and Scripture. Whether or not you come from that faith background, this episode offers powerful insight into what it means to be human, to face fear honestly, and to lead with courage, love, and truth.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why fear is valuable but should not make decisions for us How leaders self-protect and self-promote when they feel afraid Why conflict is usually rooted in fear How to tell the truth without weaponizing vulnerability Why leaders must do their own inner work first How to help people in conflict reconnect as human beings Why love, not fear, is the better leadership motive How to stay grounded in high-stress situations 00:00 Introduction

01:37 Jamie's core fear: being a disappointment

04:47 How fear shows up in leadership