Hi, my name is Pete Scazzaro. I want to welcome you today to the emotionally healthy leader

podcast. Great to be with you. And today I want to talk to you about leading from who you are,

not who you are not. And looking at John the Baptist, the highly differentiated leader, who leads

out of the integrity of who he is. In fact, John the Baptist is one of my favorite,

if not favorite biblical characters after Jesus. I mean, it was Jesus who said among those born

of women, there was not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Imagine that. Up to Jesus'

time, there was no greater prophet than John the Baptist.

And then Jesus says, yet who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than He.

I mean, what a commendation, but what a challenge for us who were salt and light,

that even those who are least are greater than John because of what's available to us by the Holy Spirit.

And so I'm going to be sharing a message with you that I gave

around this theme out of John 1, who you are and who aren't you, you know, leading out of a highly

differentiated self. And if you remember a few weeks ago, we talked about leadership is the inner

work to define your true self in Jesus. It's not about getting more expertise. And that differentiation

is a lovely term about defining yourself. In other words, remaining connected to people,

yet not having your reactions or behaviors determined by them. It's the ability to be calm and

consistent about who you are, what you think and feel, and not demanding or forcing

others to think and feel the same way. And it's not expertise, but it's a self-differentiation

that makes a leader. And of course, Jesus is 100% differentiated. But we see John the Baptist

in this passage in John 1, amazing, highly differentiated, not living out of a false self that's reflected from

other people at all, not trying to imitate other people.

He is just cutting a fresh path, and it's the source of his authority and power.

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