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As we close out 2025, this special highlight episode of The Leadership Vision Podcast brings together powerful moments from our year-long conversation series around Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane by Dr. Linda Schubring and Brian Schubring.

Drawing from episodes focused on both individual and team transformation, this compilation explores the five core themes of the book—Dream, Play, Try, Fly, and Home—and offers listeners practical reflection questions to carry into the new year.

This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and step into 2026 with greater clarity, courage, and compassion.

In This Episode, you’ll Learn Just a bit About:

• Why dreaming is essential to leadership and growth
• How play functions as practice in disguise
• Why trying is not weakness—but the path to greatness
• What it means to “fly” even when fear is present
• How returning home restores leaders and teams

Key Quotes:

• “Dreams point us to our greatest possibility.”
• “Play is practice in disguise.”
• “Trying is not weak.”
• “What does flying mean to me right now?”
• “Home is a return to our authentic self.”

Resources Mentioned:

• Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane
• Leadership Vision Consulting — https://leadershipvisionconsulting.com

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🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!

Support the show

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Read the full blog post here!

CONTACT US

• email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Leadership Vision Online

ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.

Send us a text

Have you ever been part of a weekend that you know you’ll carry with you forever?

In this conversation, Nathan is joined by Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring to reflect on their time in Brussels celebrating the 20th anniversary of Serve the City International—a global movement built on a simple idea: many people doing small things together can make a big difference.

Leaders from 35 countries across 6 continents gathered to mark two decades of kindness in action. Linda and Brian opened the event with their keynote experience, “Unfolded: The Transformative Power of Serving,” and led a breakout session on how to approach challenge, change, and uncertainty as leaders who serve.

In this episode, they talk about:

• The energy of bringing together leaders from around the world who are deeply committed to serving their cities
• Why they began the conference with a mindfulness practice—a shared moment of stillness, open hands, and collective breathing
• How acts of service shape leadership: rolling up your sleeves, being in need, and receiving help
• What 3.5 million volunteer hours and 10 million lives impacted in 2024 say about the power of consistent, small actions
• How Carleton Deal and the Serve the City team use simple, repeatable phrases (“serving revolution,” “cross the line,” “know them by name”) to create a scalable, sustainable movement
• The idea of volunteers as “hope artists” in a world filled with uncertainty and negativity
• Their breakout session on challenge, change, and uncertainty, and how to help leaders remember the internal certainty they already carry
• Why serving outside the office can unlock deeper compassion and care inside the workplace
• What it takes to sustain a volunteer movement for 20+ years—and why the Serve the City vision will continue long after its founders

The episode culminates with a powerful quote Brian and Linda wrote in a Paris café as they prepared for their time in Brussels:

Key Themes & Topics:

• Serve the City International – 20-year anniversary
• Serving with open hands
• Leadership and service
• Challenge, change, and uncertainty
• Global volunteer movements
• Sustainable vision beyond the founder
• Compassion, kindness, and team culture
• Mindfulness and preparation to serve
• The “map” metaphor for navigat

🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!

Support the show

-
Read the full blog post here!

CONTACT US

• email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Leadership Vision Online

ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.

Send us a text

What does your leadership voice communicate—before you even get to the content of your message? In this episode, Nathan, Brian, and Linda talk with Dr. Laura Sicola, cognitive linguist, executive communication coach, and author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice.

Laura has spent over two decades helping leaders transform technical brilliance into real leadership impact. Together, we explore three big themes:

1. Personal branding as a promise,
2. Authenticity and the “prismatic voice,”
3. How leaders can create engagement, clarity, and connection in virtual settings.

This conversation is full of practical tips, mindset shifts, and language tools that help leaders show up with presence, confidence, and intentional influence.

1. Your Brand Is a Promise

A personal brand isn’t a slogan—it’s the experience of you. If you don’t intentionally create it, it will create itself.

2. Authenticity Requires Flexibility

Genuine authenticity isn’t rigidity. It’s being able to flex different facets of yourself depending on context—your “prismatic voice.”

3. Avoiding Leadership Binaries

“Strong or kind,” “direct or approachable”—these false binaries limit leaders. Laura shows how to break free from either/or thinking.

4. Language Patterns That Undermine You

Words like “always,” “never,” and “everyone” trigger defensiveness and derail conversations—often without leaders realizing it.

5. Leading in a Virtual World

Engagement doesn’t happen by accident. Expectations, vocal presence, audio quality, and meeting structure all shape the room.

6. Fear of Judgment, Not Fear of Speaking

Most communication fear isn’t fear of speaking—but fear of scrutiny. Leadership requires the courage to take calculated risks.

• Speaking to Influence by Dr. Laura Sicola
• Dr. Sicola’s TEDx Talk: Want to Sound Like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right
• Leadership Vision Podcast episodes on communication, presence, and team culture

🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!

Support the show

-
Read the full blog post here!

CONTACT US

• email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Leadership Vision Online

ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.

Send us a text

In this special Thanksgiving episode of The Leadership Vision Podcast, Nathan Freeburg reflects on the leadership posture of holding long-term goals and present-moment gratitude simultaneously. Drawing from themes within Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring’s book Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane, Nathan explores why transformation grows slowly — through small, daily practices that shape who we become over time.

This episode offers a grounding, accessible reflection for leaders, teams, and anyone hoping to reconnect with purpose, gratitude, and the meaningful work unfolding in their lives.

Reflection

Take a few moments to pause and appreciate and express gratitude for both:

1. The things you’re doing right now, however ordinary they may feel.
2. The things you’re working toward, however far away they may seem.

What You’ll Learn

• Why gratitude is a fundamental leadership skill
• How ambition and appreciation work together in healthy leadership
• Why transformation happens through small, consistent habits
• A practical Thanksgiving reflection to use personally or with your team

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane — Dr. Linda & Brian Schubring
• Leadership Vision Website: https://www.leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• All Podcast Episodes: https://www.leadershipvisionconsulting.com/podcast

🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!

Support the show

-
Read the full blog post here!

CONTACT US

• email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Leadership Vision Online

ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.

Send us a text

In this episode, we explore Chapter 5 (“Home”) from Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane. Brian and Linda discuss how leaders can create a sense of “home” in the workplace—a space of belonging, safety, and shared growth.

They unpack what happens when a transformed individual re-enters their team, why that can create tension, and how leaders can respond with empathy and openness. Topics include:

• Reclaiming the word home for organizational life
• Creating psychological safety and emotional trust
• Understanding when it’s time to “move neighborhoods”
• Inviting transformation through storytelling

📘 Learn more about Unfolded → https://amzn.to/43TFVlG

🎧 Subscribe to The Leadership Vision Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite app.

💬 Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook @LeadershipVisionConsulting

🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!

Support the show

-
Read the full blog post here!

CONTACT US

• email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Leadership Vision Online

ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.

Send us a text

What happens when you’ve been changed by a powerful experience—growth, success, or transformation—and then return to the same environment that hasn’t changed with you? In this episode of The Leadership Vision Podcast, Nathan Freeburg talks with Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring to unpack Chapter 5 of Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane. Together, they explore what it means for leaders to come “home” after transformation—to re-enter familiar places with new eyes, integrate learning without losing authenticity, and respond to misunderstanding or resistance with grounded self-acceptance.

You’ll discover how to navigate post-growth tension, recognize the “maps” that guide your next chapter, and turn personal insight into collective growth. For leaders who want to grow without leaving others behind, this episode reframes home as the true beginning of impact.

Episode Overview

This conversation invites leaders to think of home as a metaphor for integration—the moment when transformation becomes an integral part of daily life. Nathan, Linda, and Brian reflect on how growth changes our inner landscape and why it can feel disorienting to return to familiar roles or teams afterward. Using the story of OC, the origami crane, they explore how to balance confidence with humility, courage with rest, and individuality with community.

Key Takeaways

• Growth requires reintegration. Real transformation isn’t complete until you’ve learned how to bring it home.
• Self-acceptance sustains flight. You don’t need to prove your growth—own it, rest in it, and live from it.
• Criticism often follows courage. Expect pushback after change; learn to listen without losing your center.
• “Home” restores and relaunches. Renewal, reflection, and rest give leaders the capacity to serve again.
• Your “map” was always within. The wisdom, strengths, and potential you need have been part of you all along.

Things to Think About While Listening

• When have you returned to a familiar place or team after a period of personal or professional growth?
• How did others respond—and how did you respond to their reactions?
• What practices help you effectively reintegrate new learning without minimizing its impact?
• Where are the “maps” in your own leadership story that guide your next chapter?
• How can you create space for others who are returning home changed?

Notable Quotes

🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!

Support the show

-
Read the full blog post here!

CONTACT US

• email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Leadership Vision Online

ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.

Send us a text

Pioneering technology executive and Leadership Vision advisor Deb Dixson joins Nathan to unpack how leaders move teams from dependence on one person to interdependence—through mission clarity (“we sell lettuce”), Strengths-based roles, and a culture where fast, safe learning is encouraged. Drawing on her 30+ years as a CISO, CIO, and executive coach, Deb shares stories of building resilient teams, empowering others to lead, and offering timeless guidance for leaders navigating change.

Deb also wrote the forward to Unfolded, and we are so grateful for her continued investment in our team.

What we discuss

• From hero to builder: Why great leaders aim to make themselves unnecessary—and how Deb did it.
• Mission clarity: Connecting daily work to the outcome (“we sell lettuce”) so everyone sees how they serve the customer.
• Strengths in action: Placing people where they’re wired to excel; using a common language to handle conflict and change.
• Safe failure → faster learning: Celebrating responsible experiments, shortening feedback loops, and avoiding “death-march” projects.
• Finding the gaps: Spotting unowned work and empowering people to own it (including Deb’s CISO origin story).

Resources & Links

• Leadership Vision Consulting – services, podcast, newsletter: https://www.leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane (Brian & Dr. Linda Schubring)
• CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder)
• Dale Carnegie training
• Connect with us on social & subscribe to the podcast

🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!

Support the show

-
Read the full blog post here!

CONTACT US

• email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Leadership Vision Online

ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.

Send us a text

In this episode, we explore Chapter 4 of Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane. Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring unpack what it means for teams and organizations to “fly” — to embrace risk, trust, and transformation as they step into new levels of growth.

Topics Covered:

• Recognizing when your team is in the fly stage
• Why trust is the foundation of all growth
• How leaders create safety and courage for flight
• Balancing support and risk in team development
• Celebrating progress (and crashes) together
• The leader’s role as the “Eagle” — seeing and affirming others

Resources:

• Unfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane (Book)
• [Previous Episode: Fly 1: Why Every Transformation Needs a Little Courage to Take Flight
• Leadership Vision Consulting Website

🎉 Unfolded is a National Bestseller!
#1 in Business & #5 Overall on USA Today
#17 on Publisher’s Weekly Nonfiction
📘 Grab your copy + get the FREE Reflection Guide!

Support the show

-
Read the full blog post here!

CONTACT US

• email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Leadership Vision Online

ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.