Your Backup Plan Needs a Rehearsal

Your team has a plan, but what happens when that plan stops working? In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson introduces a practical adaptation of tabletop exercises to help leaders prepare for everyday disruptions. Discover how to rehearse a realistic interruption, uncover weaknesses in backup plans, and turn discussion into a specific correction. Whether you lead events, a business, or a ministry, this conversation will help you move from assumed readiness to practical preparation.

Could your team’s next breakthrough come from removing something? In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson explores research showing how people can overlook subtraction when solving problems. Discover how to evaluate recurring requirements, identify work that has outlived its purpose, and test simpler approaches without sacrificing accountability. Before adding another meeting, report, or initiative, consider what your team might benefit from no longer having to carry.

You found the right person, but have you prepared them to succeed? In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson explores how leaders can help new employees, volunteers, and ministry team members find their footing. Discover three practical ways to explain unwritten expectations, create a meaningful first win, and examine the support you provide before judging someone’s performance. Their first week reveals something about your leadership, too.

What if your best-performing employees are also some of your most disengaged? Just because the work is getting done doesn't necessarily mean everything is going well.According to Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace Report, only about one-third of American employees are engaged at work. But why should engagement matter if employees are meeting expectations and producing results?In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson explores the difference between performance and engagement, the hidden costs of disengagement, and how disconnected managers can influence the people they lead. He also challenges leaders to recognize the difference between disengagement and healthy professional boundaries.Discover three practical strategies for creating an environment where employees feel supported, valued, and connected to the mission without sacrificing their wellbeing.Because sometimes, the biggest leadership challenges aren't found in the work that's not getting done. They're found in what we're overlooking while the work is getting done.

How do you lead people whose personalities, experiences, and working styles differ from your own? In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson explores how leaders can distinguish what the mission requires from their personal preferences while creating room for others to contribute. Through practical examples and a faith-rooted perspective, discover how to communicate clear expectations, welcome different approaches, and recognize strengths you might otherwise overlook. Whether you lead in ministry, business, or your community, this conversation will challenge you to consider where your preferences may be limiting your team’s growth.

Clear communication takes more than sending an email or making an announcement. In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson shares practical ways to check understanding, listen without defensiveness, and improve how information moves through your organization. Discover how small changes in your communication can strengthen trust and help your team succeed.

What do you say when everyone is looking to you for an answer, and you don’t have one yet?In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson explores how to lead with confidence while remaining open to learning. He shares practical ways to make decisions with incomplete information, receive correction without becoming defensive, and guide others without pride.Whether you lead a team, a ministry, a business, or a household, this conversation offers a reminder: people can trust a leader who is honest about what they know and committed to finding out what they don’t.

Communication isn’t just about what you say, but it’s about who you say it to. In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson explores why effective leaders take concerns, questions, and challenges to the right person instead of talking around the issue. Discover biblical wisdom and practical strategies for reducing confusion, protecting relationships, and creating a culture of clarity, trust, and healthy communication.

Disagreement isn’t always disrespect, and it certainly isn’t always insubordination. In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson explores how mature leaders can recognize the wisdom hidden in opposing perspectives, distinguish healthy disagreement from genuine disloyalty, and create a culture where people feel safe enough to tell the truth. Sometimes the voice challenging your decision may be the very voice protecting you from a costly mistake.

You don’t have to create dysfunction to become complicit in it. Sometimes, silence, tolerance, and inaction are enough. In this episode of The Leadership Table, Dr. Jonathan Lotson challenges leaders to examine what they may be allowing in their lives, relationships, and organizations simply because confronting it would be uncomfortable. It’s time to recognize when silence stops being neutrality and starts becoming agreement.