Spirituality in Leadership

About Spirituality in Leadership

Spirituality in Leadership features a broad variety of leaders in profound, one-on-one conversations with host Andrew Cohn. Andrew and his guests explore how to bring spiritual dimensions to teams and workplaces, in service of creating more fulfillment, greater success and healthier organizations. Spiritual dimensions may or may not encompass religion, and broadly include one's deepest values, an awareness of the unseen yet certainly felt realms which exist beyond the tangible. This podcast investigates how we can engage these more profound realms and aspects of ourselves in our workplaces, and how we can incorporate the qualities of presence, acceptance, love, forgiveness, and peace in those spaces, because such qualities are needed in the workplace now more than ever before. Therefore, Spirituality in Leadership aspires to “de-dogmatize" and normalize the topic of spirituality, and to elevate its impact on people in the workplace. In each episode, Andrew gathers practical advice from the unique perspectives of his guests on the benefits of practical spirituality in their leadership. He explores how these leaders/teachers combine their own personal practices, development and spirituality to grow and to create better work cultures. Andrew Cohn is the founder and president of Lighthouse Consulting LLC. Andrew is a counselor, executive coach and consultant who drives results through improved individual and team performance. A former attorney, his work helps leaders think more strategically, communicate more clearly and effectively, make better decisions, and lead from their values and personal purpose. Over the course of his career, Andrew has been an indispensable resource for leaders in the corporate world. He understands the drive many of us have to reach out and help people fully express themselves in the workplace; his mission involves supporting leaders who want to use their influence to make the world a better place. The Spirituality in Leadership podcast not only provides access to Andrew’s 25+ years of experience as a counselor and advisor to leaders in a wide variety of business areas, and draws from his extensive educational background in international business, law, and spiritual psychology, but also it brings us each different guest's personal experience and wisdom. These healthy and authentic conversations inspire, encourage and challenge us to do our best work and they provide practical support for stronger leadership and more cohesive teams.

Publisher

Andrew Cohn

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Oct 2023

Latest episode

4 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 71 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   4 Nov 2026

   Catch Someone Doing Something Good: Positive Leadership in Practice, with Dr. Merethe Drønnen

   What if the most powerful leadership tool is simply learning to look for the good in other people? In this episode, we explore how meaning, gratitude, and love can change workplace culture, and why they're good for people and the bottom line. In this episode of the Spirituality in Leadership podcast, Andrew Cohn welcomes Dr. Merethe Drønnen, a leadership educator and author from Norway. Merethe holds a PhD in organizational leadership and previously worked as a personnel manager at a maritime coastal administration, where she helped shift the culture of a workforce that was about 90% men. Before that, she traveled the world as an international model. Across every chapter of her life, she has been drawn to the same question: how do we help people find meaning, purpose, and their full potential? Merethe shares why she believes leaders have enormous influence over whether people thrive, and how practical techniques like gratitude, catching colleagues doing something good, and recognizing character strengths can turn a complaining workplace into a positive one. She explains why lifting up the meaning in every role, from the hospital cleaner to the surgeon, lifts up the whole culture. She also describes how she teaches leaders through experience rather than theory, including a "positive gossip" exercise that lets them feel the impact for themselves. The conversation also explores love as the root of great leadership, how to talk about it across cultures without necessarily using the word, and why these techniques carry over from the workplace to the family dinner table. This episode is for any leader who wants to build a workplace where people feel valued, engaged, and connected to something larger than their task list. Tune in to discover how simple, practical acts of appreciation can create lasting change. Key Takeaways Leaders have great influence over whether people thrive at work, and most are eager to learn how. People feel more engaged and productive when they believe their work has meaning for others. Gratitude is a trainable practice: searching for the good trains your brain to keep finding it, and after about 30 days it becomes more automatic. Simple acts, like a personal thank-you note or "catching" a colleague doing something good, are remembered for years. Every role has meaning, and highlighting it lifts the individual, the team, and the culture. Love is the underlying value beneath compassionate, authentic, and transformational leadership, even when it isn't called love at work. Leaders learn best by experiencing these techniques, not just hearing about them. We are the same person at work and at home, so these skills transfer to families and relationships. Resources and Links Spirituality in Leadership Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spirituality-in-leadership/id1713365406 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spirituality-in-leadership/id1713365406) Dr. Merethe Drønnen Website: https://merethedronnen.com/ (https://merethedronnen.com/) Website: https://linktr.ee/merethedronnen (https://linktr.ee/merethedronnen) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/positivechangeinternational (https://www.facebook.com/positivechangeinternational) Andrew Cohn Website: https://www.spiritualityinleadership.com/ (https://www.spiritualityinleadership.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcohnusa/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcohnusa/) Music: Kodiak: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rURKtnJr3jeHvZ0IVRQCe (https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rURKtnJr3jeHvZ0IVRQCe)

2. 

   14 Oct 2026

   Capacity, Consciousness, and the Spirituality of Leadership, with Fredrik Lyhagen

   Why do we assume that effective managers automatically become effective leaders? In this episode, we explore how true leadership isn't about having all the answers, but about expanding your capacity to hold complexity and enabling others to do the same. In this episode of the Spirituality in Leadership podcast, Andrew Cohn welcomes Fredrik Lyhagen, a leadership development consultant based in Prague, originally from Sweden. Drawing on his years of success in global IT sales and his more recent work with leaders and teams across Europe, Fredrik brings a deeply practical, grounded approach to a topic he once considered an oxymoron: the intersection of spirituality and leadership. This episode is for any leader who wants to understand the difference between reacting and responding, how to deliver tough feedback with compassion, why safety is the leader's responsibility to cultivate, and why the most effective leadership often comes from focusing on what truly makes us human. Tune in to discover how capacity development, self-reflection, and a willingness to examine your own story can transform the way you lead and live. Key Takeaways Spirituality and leadership are not an oxymoron. The best leaders you've met are likely spiritual; they just don't use that word. The "bulldozer" mode is a fear-based, reactive leadership style rooted in ego safety, the fear of being seen as incompetent or of losing your story about yourself. Adult development theory offers a map: from socialized mind to self-authoring mind to transformative mind. The subject-to-object move: lift your emotion out, examine it with curiosity, and ask what story it's touching. A leader's primary role is to create the conditions for people to speak up. In a knowledge economy, silence is lost value. Capacity development is a slow-burn, reflective, inward-looking process, not a skills training you can complete in a week. Rewriting your story: if a story is made up, you can make up ten more. Then choose the most empowering one. In This Episode: [00:00] Fear-based leadership and the bulldozer mode [03:35] Spirituality and leadership as an oxymoron, then and now [05:20] Leadership as forward motion vs. spirituality as presence [09:39] Kegan's stages: socialized, self-authoring, transformative mind [10:25] The bulldozer mode and its consequences [13:20] Case study: the competent director who couldn't hold complexity [15:13] Fear of failure and the stories that justify our behavior [23:40] Ego safety and the brain's inability to tell the difference [24:27] Is it a leader's responsibility to help people feel safe? [26:16] How to open deeper conversations: somatic work and naming emotions [32:36] Case study: the leader who was only loved for doing [38:02] The courage and capacity to deliver critical feedback [40:51] The spiritual dimension: holding tension with compassion Resources and Links Spirituality in Leadership Podcast Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spirituality-in-leadership/id1713365406) Fredrik Lyhagen LinkedIn (https://cz.linkedin.com/in/fredriklyhagen) Website (http://fredriklyhagen.com/) Andrew Cohn Website (https://www.spiritualityinleadership.com/) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcohnusa/) Music: Kodiak: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rURKtnJr3jeHvZ0IVRQCe (https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rURKtnJr3jeHvZ0IVRQCe)

3. 

   23 Sept 2026

   Money Is an Emotion: The 80% of Wealth Management Nobody Talks About, with Gillian Stovel Rivers

   Why do we treat money like it’s just a number when it’s actually one of the most powerful emotions we experience? In this episode, we explore how true leadership in wealth management isn’t about managing billions, but about helping people live their best lives. In this episode of the Spirituality in Leadership podcast, Andrew Cohn welcomes Gillian Stovel Rivers, a senior wealth management advisor based in Toronto. Drawing on her unique background as a former performing artist and a self-described highly sensitive person, Gillian brings a deeply human, person-centered approach to the traditionally technical world of finance. The conversation explores Gillian’s Flourish Framework, a holistic model based on the Harvard Study of Adult Development. It combines the five key factors for a long, healthy life, including positive social connection, meaning and purpose, physical and mental health, autonomy, and growth, with four forms of wealth: time, energy, money, and attention. This framework helps her guide clients to see money not as an end in itself, but as a tool to build a life of fulfillment and connection. Tune in to discover how compassion, artistry, and a focus on purpose can transform the way we think about wealth and leadership. Key Takeaways Spirituality in leadership can look like person-centered service that refuses the status quo. Money is not just currency; it’s an emotion with a physical representation. Ignoring feelings misses 80% of the work. The technical side of wealth matters, but it exists to support meaning, purpose, and connection. The Flourish Framework combines five pillars of well-being with four forms of wealth: time, energy, money, attention. Positive social connection is the #1 factor in long-term health and fulfillment. A powerful “magic question” for deeper conversations about money is: “Tell me about your family.” You can have a lot of money and still feel very, very empty. Resources and Links Spirituality in Leadership Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spirituality-in-leadership/id1713365406 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spirituality-in-leadership/id1713365406) Gillian Stovel Rivers Website: https://flourishfamilywealth.com/ (https://flourishfamilywealth.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillian-stovel-rivers/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillian-stovel-rivers/) Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/gillianstovelofficial/ (https://www.instagram.com/gillianstovelofficial/) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GillianStovelOfficial (https://www.youtube.com/@GillianStovelOfficial) The Flourish Feed Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-flourish-feed-podcast/id1840614313 (https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-flourish-feed-podcast/id1840614313) Andrew Cohn Website: https://www.spiritualityinleadership.com/ (https://www.spiritualityinleadership.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcohnusa/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcohnusa/) Music: Kodiak: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rURKtnJr3jeHvZ0IVRQCe (https://open.spotify.com/artist/4rURKtnJr3jeHvZ0IVRQCe)

Inside a recent episode

The Spirit of Leadership: Aligning Values with Action, with John Mitchell

Published 4 Jun 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] But if I know what their faith is and I know something about their face values and traditions, one of the things that I can often do is literally utilize their faith as a mirror so that they can check in with themselves on how consistent they're behaving not with what I think is important. […]

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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

3,672

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

43

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

60

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