Episode 67: The Power of Stability with Colleen Rouse

What are the hidden secrets to creating a stable and long-lasting leadership legacy?
In this episode of the Thrive Today podcast, host Natalie Born sits down with Colleen Rouse, the founder of Thrive Today, to discuss the principles that have enabled Colleen and her husband to lead Victory for over 30 years with a long-tenured staff. Colleen shares her insights on the importance of valuing people, creating an environment where it's okay to make mistakes, and fostering a sense of family within the team. She emphasizes the significance of humility, intentionality, and trust in leadership, and offers practical advice on how to communicate value to team members and challenge them to grow.
Author Colleen Rouse founded ThriveToday birthed from the support of John Maxwell’s Thrive initiative. She coaches leaders and speaks at churches and organizations across the world with her expertise on biblical truths for women in leadership.
Colleen co-pastored alongside her husband at Victory Church for over 30 years building a church of over 16,000 multicultural members with multiple church campuses and 140 nations represented. Colleen’s leadership skills have been instrumental in leading the Victory organization toward its success today.
Colleen advocates both locally and abroad in support of efforts to end human trafficking, working to help provide places of safe refuge for those who have been exploited.
She also serves on the board of directors for Street Grace-- an abolitionary non-profit aiming to end domestic sex trafficking. When Colleen is not traveling and speaking, you’ll find her at home in Georgia writing and enjoying time with her family.
00:00:00 - 00:03:59 - Turning Negative Experiences into Positive Leadership
- Colleen and her husband learned from their experience under toxic leaders and decided to lead differently
- They focused on conveying value and appreciation to their staff
- Making the decision to be strengthened, rather than scarred, by negative experiences
00:04:00 - 00:06:59 - The Importance of Humility and Intentionality in Leadership
- Defining humility accurately and living with a sense of ease
- Being able to laugh at oneself and create an environment where mistakes are allowed
- Intentionally investing in people and buying up opportunities to address individual needs
00:07:00 - 00:09:59 - Caring for People: Investing in Your Team
- Care requires intentional investment in people
- Treating everyone like a "10" and challenging them to grow
- Implementing an honor code to set expectations for all staff members
00:10:00 - 00:13:59 - Dealing with the Undercurrent: Surfacing the Heart
- Being sensitive to the undercurrent within the team and asking questions
- Creating open highways of communication by making people feel seen and heard
- Investigating and uncovering issues that may be hidden beneath the surface
00:14:00 - 00:21:59 - Building Trust and Creating a Legacy of Stability
- Trust is earned through decisions and sticking to core values
- Building trust by holding true to standards, even when it hurts
- Encouraging longevity by valuing people, fostering creativity, and creating a sense of family
Quotes:
"Humility is an accurate assessment of who you are, what you can do, what you can't do, your strengths, your weaknesses, and how bad you are and how big God is in your life." - Colleen Rouse
"When people feel seen, they will also feel heard. And you create some open highways." - Colleen Rouse
Connect with Colleen:
Instagram: / cwrouse
LinkedIn: / colleenrouse
Website: thrivetoday.com/
Follow Thrive Today on Instagram (@thrivetodaywomen) and visit our website at Thrive Today.
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