Glass Half Full
Glass Half Full
Transforming Leadership with Kevin Wayne Johnson
In this weeks episode, Chris Levens talks with Kevin Wayne Johnson. Are you ready to have your perception of leadership transformed? In a captivating conversation with the founder and CEO of the Johnson Leadership Group, Kevin Wayne Johnson, we explore the extraordinary blueprint of life that has moulded him into a remarkable leader, loving husband, doting godfather, and caring grandfather. From dealing with personal challenges to nurturing relationships with loved ones, Kevin unravels his experiences and shares his unique insights about life that inspire us to maintain a positive outlook.
In the midst of life's trials and tribulations, the strength of character often emerges. Kevin shares his personal journey of living with asthma and supporting his brother with mental disabilities, revealing how these experiences have shaped his leadership ethos. He also underlines how his role as a father to his autistic son has further honed his ability to recognize and cultivate potential - a key attribute of a successful leader. His experiences serve as a poignant reminder of the enduring power of resilience and compassion in molding an effective leader.
Throughout the episode, Kevin delves into the three core values that have guided his leadership - speaking up against injustices, building connections with others, and understanding the marriage of mind and heart. He impresses upon us the importance of nurturing these values to lead with empathy and effect. Furthermore, the man of faith takes us on his spiritual journey, sharing his prayer practices and reflecting on his transformative visit to Kenya. As he encourages us all to steer our dreams, his inspiring words make this episode a treasure trove for anyone striving to improve their leadership skills. Come, join us in this enlightening journey with Kevin Wayne Johnson, and let his words inspire you to become a better leader.
kevin@thejohnsonleadershipgroup.com
www.thejohnsonleadershipgroup.com
Author - Leadership With a Servant's Heart: Leading through Personal Relationships (2019) *Winner of 9 literary awards / Two-time Amazon New Release Best Seller Leadership with a Servant's Heart: Leading in Your Workplace (2022)
Chris Levens
Host
00:18
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world. Welcome to another episode of Glass Half Full, a podcast and a safe platform where we talk with a variety of teachers, entrepreneurs, spiritualists, uplifters, givers, shakers and serenaders. Everyone has a lesson to learn and a lesson to share. Let's use our life experiences to enrich someone's heart, mind, spirit and soul. Through sharing our experiences, we can be a learning inspiration for one another. I'm your host, chris Levens. Let's welcome today's guest. Today's guest is Kevin Wayne Johnson. Kevin Wayne Johnson is the founder and CEO of the Johnson Leadership Group. Kevin retired from the federal government in 2017, after 34 years of total service. He has been married to Gail for 30, a father of three sons, one goddaughter and two godgranddaughters. He believes that better leaders make the world a better place, so his company creates leaders of excellence at all levels. Let's give a warm welcome to Kevin Wayne Johnson. Good morning, good morning. Good morning. Good morning, good morning good morning.
Kevin
Guest
01:48
Good morning, what an introduction. Wow, nice.
Chris Levens
Host
01:54
Well, thank you, sir. Thank you, thank you. How are you this morning?
Kevin
Guest
01:59
Doing well, doing well, super, super excited. Life has been good and I always tell people within my sphere of influence that positive affirmations make a huge difference and seeing the glass half full makes up the other difference, and I try to everything that I do, I try to encourage people to do both.
Chris Levens
Host
02:21
Yes, I love it. I love it. Well, first we want to thank you for being a guest here. On Glass Half Full. We're definitely happy to have you in today. So thank you for taking some time out and thank you as well. Oh, you're very welcome. You're very welcome. We're going to jump right on in. I like to ask all my guests this first question I believe that our lives are in spiritual design. Can you share your life layout with everyone, your blueprint, how you grew up, your family lifestyle, where?
Kevin
Guest
02:55
Yeah, I'm a native of Richmond, virginia, the son of a US Marine who happened to have been the oldest of seven children, and my mom pursued a career with the federal government, which started me on that journey that ended up lasting 34 years. So what I've learned from early childhood is to watch, listen and model from those that come before you. So dad instilled in me timeliness and discipline, mom instilled with me persistence and patience I mean, how else would you stay with one employer for 34 years? And so that kind of helped. That definitely helped to shape and mold me as I transitioned from a home environment out into the world, and that the world includes the entire marketplace. That would include your neighborhood, your social civic organizations, your church, your workplace, wherever you are.
04:06
Again, dad, as a US Marine, instilled discipline and timeliness, and mom instilled persistence and patience, and, where those two meet, helped me to be the man that I became. And then from there I teach my children and I tell them. The way that they thank me is by telling their children. So that's kind of a summation, really, of who Kevin Johnson is. In part, that's how I have stayed married for 30 years. That's how we have kept a great relationship with our goddaughter, who now has two children, and we're now helping to raise two godgranddaughters. So it's an interesting journey. But I'm a firm believer that if we model and emulate those that deposit things in our lives, we become much better for it. So that's sort of a summation of who I am today.
Chris Levens
Host
05:09
Okay, now let me ask a little deeper Do you have siblings? You got dogs, cats. We want to know a little bit. Are you you know? What are you doing on Saturdays? What are your hobbies? Do you crochet? Do you play badminton? Now that you've given us that, yeah, we want to get on an end.
Kevin
Guest
05:27
What's happening with Mr Johnson?
Chris Levens
Host
05:28
Yes.
Kevin
Guest
05:29
Yeah, close I have. I just have one sibling three and a half years younger than me. So my parents had two sons and his his name is Eric. He was born with a mental disability, so that's another significant way that my life was impacted, because advocating for him, taking care of him, supporting him, serving him taught me really early on about leadership and, interestingly enough, in this season of life, that's my primary journey. So Eric taught me the important characteristics and attributes of empathy and compassion and respect. Okay, because oftentimes people that are different, they don't get that.
Chris Levens
Host
06:16
Yes, so true.
Kevin
Guest
06:17
And so, yeah, and then fast forward many years later I get married and from our union we have three sons, and then my youngest son is autistic, so he was diagnosed with autism at two years of age. So I had two choices, right, get upset and say, listen, I've already been through this journey, why me? Or embrace it and align with it as a father and again start the process of serving, being an advocate, supporting and negotiating on behalf of my son because of his neurological condition. So that kind of helps to make who Kevin Wayne Johnson is today. But, interestingly enough, I kind of laugh when you talked about the dogs and the cats. So we never had pets. We didn't have pets because as a young boy I had asthma and as an asthmatic young child I was allergic to everything. Are you walking around with the?
Chris Levens
Host
07:20
inhaler in your pocket, like you have the inhaler.
Kevin
Guest
07:23
Oh man, this was pre-enhaler days.
Chris Levens
Host
07:26
What did they?
Kevin
Guest
07:26
give you. What was that? Like a bag. What was that? There was next to nothing, right? Oh no, you just had to deal with it. Next to nothing, really. I was allergic to dust, feather, pet hair, all different types of foods. It was really miserable. But the good news is right. Around nine years of age, I outgrew it and I was able to now start to have more of a normal life. But again, those childhood experiences having to be an advocate for a mentally disabled brother, being very, very sickly with asthma just taught me a lot around respect, value, care, empathy and compassion for others who are different. And again now in this season of life, fast forward several decades into the future. This is exactly why I'm walking in the lane that I'm walking because of the experiences from childhood.
Chris Levens
Host
08:26
Yes, this is that spiritual design, that layout. We have no idea how it's already shaping who we are and who we to become, you know. Now let me ask you did you let your sons, did they get a chance to have a pet, since you didn't grow up with a pet? No, okay, okay, all right.
Kevin
Guest
08:44
Here's the moral of the story. So the moral of the story is in part. I didn't want any type of allergic reaction to manifest itself, so that was part of the story. But the bigger part of the story is I know my sons and I know that if they had a pet, who would end up taking care of it?
Chris Levens
Host
09:11
Me, oh, okay, okay, okay, I get it and I did not.
Kevin
Guest
09:14
I did not. I didn't want that responsibility and I didn't think it would be fair to get them the pet that they asked for and then being the person stuck with having to take care of it. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Chris Levens
Host
09:27
No, I mean, when you put it like that, yeah, when you put it like that, it's a whole other thing.
Kevin
Guest
09:33
It's a lot of work.
Chris Levens
Host
09:34
Yeah, look, I get it. Some people are like Pat, so I can't even imagine actually having like real. I don't have any, so yeah, but I've seen how it works.
Kevin
Guest
09:47
We tried the goldfish, but they didn't last very long. So I'm like how are you going to take care of a dog?
Chris Levens
Host
09:53
Oh, wow, yeah, there it is, step by step. Well, at least you tried the goldfish, at least you tried the goldfish.
Kevin
Guest
10:02
I tried, yeah, absolutely.
Chris Levens
Host
10:05
Oh. So thank you for sharing that little bit inside of Kevin's life. Now we have a little bit more of an understanding and connection with you, so thank you for that. Thank you for that. Let's talk a little bit about leadership. I want to ask you. You told us that you had some great leaders growing up and your parents were great leaders and I'm sure that in that time of them teaching you as you probably were a leader, maybe among your friends or peers when you were younger, was this something that you noticed with yourself in growing up from middle school to high school? Were you a leader? Was it something that you were putting forth towards you know, in class or in school?
Kevin
Guest
10:52
I would say, not so much as a child, but then again, when you reflect back on your life and you think about those leadership positions that adults put you in as a child ie our youth group at our church, yep being asked to serve as the chaplain as a freshman in college you oftentimes wonder you know why me?
11:25
But then there's something that people can see in us that we can't always see in ourselves, and what they're doing is they're tapping into our potential. And what I've learned over the years is now our job is to raise our hand and say yes, even when we don't quite understand it, even when we don't quite think we have the experience or if we're even qualified in many instances, but raise your hand and go ahead and say yes, because other people see things in us that we can't always see, even as adults, but specifically as children and as teens and adolescents. So that's really part of the journey. And then after college, as I moved into the workforce you know, even before I started my career, I was selected amongst 25 across the nation to be in a intern program for incoming college students into the government, and I didn't really think much about it at the time.
Chris Levens
Host
12:34
That's big stuff when you say across the nation. Now if you would have said in the state we would have been like oh, ok. But when you say across the nation, like that's big.
Kevin
Guest
12:43
Yeah, we had people from.
Chris Levens
Host
12:44
Texas and.
Kevin
Guest
12:45
California and all of us convened into Philadelphia, south Philadelphia, at the old Defense Personnel Support Center. The facility is still there, but it's been closed down for a while. But as a 23-year-old you don't really think about it from that perspective. It kind of hits you a little bit later. But once we finished the on-the-job training and the classroom training as a part of this three-year intern program, it was a rapid fire promotion for all of us up to a certain level, and I realized at that point that, you know, somebody sees something in me that I didn't necessarily see myself.
13:31
And I began very early on, like within my first three to four years in the government, right out of college, moving into these leadership positions with some pretty good responsibility, which then led to mid-level leadership responsibilities and then ultimately to senior-level leader responsibilities. So, to kind of answer your question, though, at the very beginning people see things in others that they can't see in themselves. And how can we encourage them and motivate them to raise their hand and say yes to what we're asking them to do? And now we're on our way toward fulfilling that purpose and fulfilling that vision for our lives, and that's a responsibility that we all have.
Chris Levens
Host
14:23
All right. Now, you said it yes, yes, yep. All right, mr Johnson, yes, yes, yes, yes, I love it. Now let me ask you how do you know if you have leadership material, like if you feel that you, you know. Sometimes people are wondering am I a leader, am I a follower? Does it make a difference? If I am, am I the follower or if I'm the leader? How do you know if you have leadership material?
Kevin
Guest
14:53
Yeah, I would say. A couple of things come to mind. First and foremost, do you enjoy imparting wisdom into others and do you enjoy the process of developing others? And if the answer is yes, then you have an inclination toward leadership, because that's really what it's all about. You sort of transition away from self and you do. You have much more focus on others, but in particularly developing others and help others to improve and then pouring into them to help them to be the best that they can be. If you're that type of person whether it's on the athletic field, in your family and your social or civic organizations, of course, in the workplace if you're inclined to do that, then that's a good. That's a good sign that you're you're you're a leader and you definitely want to help and you want to encourage, motivate and inspire others to be the best that they can be.
Chris Levens
Host
16:01
Nice. What a great answer.
Kevin
Guest
16:03
Yeah. So let me, let me just piggyback on something.
16:06
And many of your listeners might be aware of this, but from time to time you and I are asked to put a team together, whether it's an academic debate team, whether it's a team for a given project or an assignment or a program, or on the athletic field, and it's not always necessarily the best and brightest person that should be leading, but it's the person that has the most influence over the lives of everybody that's involved. You know it's, it's that person that's able to galvanize and bring people together and encourage the individual gifts that everybody has to come together in a team environment, because team TEAM literally means together. Everyone achieves more, but the team is only going to.
17:04
The team is only going to get as far as each individual contributor on the team, and so it's not always the best player or the most intelligent person, but it's the person that has the most influence in terms of getting people to understand the importance of working together as one so that together, everyone achieves more. If you're that type of person, then you're. You're a leader and you should be the person out front. I didn't say the most intelligent, I didn't say the most intelligent, I didn't say the smartest, I didn't say the most, but the one that has the biggest influence, and that's how you can tell those teams that are really thriving and doing really, really good. They understand that concept.
Chris Levens
Host
17:54
You're right, you're right, nicely put. So do you believe that everyone has this potential?
Kevin
Guest
18:01
No, Many, many people believe they do. Not, everybody does, but the key word in your question is potential. So our job, those of us that are in leadership, our job is to be able to recognize the potential and others before they even realize it themselves. And being able to tap into that potential and help them to understand that they have the potential to lead others is part of the potential. To lead others is part of our charge. But no, everybody is not molded to be a leader, and that's okay, it's not a negative thing, it's not a foul. Many people are just natural followers. That's just how they're built, how they're designed, how they're created. And then others are really structured to be out front and to lead, give instructions, give guidance, give direction and lead by example. So you have to be careful to make sure that we're putting the right people in the right position and at the right time.
Chris Levens
Host
19:10
I know that's right, it's true, you're right. Yeah, you're right about that, absolutely, definitely. Can you tell us what is the difference between leadership and management?
Kevin
Guest
19:22
Yeah, so when you get into, leading you're talking about people.
19:31
Leadership is all about leading people, developing people, helping people, assisting people, being an advocate for them, helping them to improve and to get better, and bringing that potential out of them to be all that they're destined to be. But management gets into managing the things that people need to succeed. So think about in the workplace there are automated systems that need to be managed. There are projects and programs and initiatives that need to be managed. There are actions and tasks that need to be managed. There are tools that need to be managed. There are procedures, policies, guidelines, directives, instructions, regulations. All of those need to be managed so that the people, the human resource, can actually be the best that he or she can be as a result of those systems being in place. But someone has to manage that. So we manage things, but we lead people. We lead people not only verbally, in terms of what we say, but we lead people by being an example and being a role model as well, because people are always watching. So that's the key difference and it's important that we understand it, believe it or not.
21:06
The one thing that we can't manage is time. You don't really manage time because we all have the same 24 hours in a day. We typically have the same eight to nine hours in a workday, so you don't really manage time. Time is finite. You kind of know every day that you're getting 24 hours, so you don't really manage it. But you do manage everything that we need for the human resource to be the best that he or she can be, and that's the key difference between leadership and management. It gets confusing because a lot of leaders have the title of manager and we're trying to encourage people in the workplace that perhaps if you change that title it'll be a little bit less confusing. But what it's all said and done, foundationally and fundamentally, that's the difference between leadership and management.
Chris Levens
Host
22:13
Wow, yeah, you broke it down you broke it down.
Kevin
Guest
22:16
This is what we do. This is what we do.
Chris Levens
Host
22:19
Yeah, it was spoon fed. I love the spoon fed. We can all understand and grasp every piece of it. I think that is important, that good leaders have good communication skills, because communication is the key, and how I can understand and how you can make me understand, and that we can find a common ground of understanding is important in leadership. So you have broken it down. I never really thought about the difference of it, but after you said it, it makes very good sense about the difference between the two.
Kevin
Guest
22:55
And then we're not going to make those up.
Chris Levens
Host
22:57
Absolutely From this point on, can you? Tell us about your top three values. I'm not sure if we've already touched a bottom already, but I want you to tell us about your top three values.
Kevin
Guest
23:10
Yeah, my top three are character, integrity and respect. I mean character is core to who we are. So we're meeting each other for the very first time. Your listeners are hearing me and perhaps meeting me for the very first time, but what you hear is core to who I am. This is just who I am. I always try to present myself as friendly and approachable, whether I know you or not. I try to make sure that I do what I say. I'm going to be where I say I'm going to be and I'm going to be on time.
Chris Levens
Host
23:48
And he was on time. Y'all Just let me just put that out. He was on time for our call, so he's speaking the truth. Go ahead, please continue. Just wanted to touch it.
Kevin
Guest
23:55
Yeah, you know, whether I'm at home and nobody can watch me and see me what I'm doing behind closed doors, or whether I'm out in public having this conversation with you and your listeners, or on a stage behind a podium with a microphone in front of 5,000 people, it doesn't really matter. Character is core to who I am. The next one is integrity having to be that type of person that has the utmost integrity and then wanting to be around others that have the same integrity. So here's the question I always ask people and I don't ask for a response, I just want people to think about it, because it's a self-assessment and a self-reflective type question. Okay, and it goes something like this You're in the grocery store and you're behind someone that you don't know. You've never met them, you've never even seen them. They pay for their food and, out of their pocket and inadvertently, unknowing to them, a $20 bill hits the floor and they don't know it, they don't see it, but you're right behind them and you do. What are you going to do? I tell the audience.
Chris Levens
Host
25:06
Look, I was ready to answer you here, yeah.
Kevin
Guest
25:09
Don't answer. It's just a self-reflective question, because you have a couple of choices and it's just a question of what would you do. That's core to our integrity, right the?
Chris Levens
Host
25:22
same question. Well, there's only one answer. I mean, there's a few answers, but there's really only one right thing to do, correct?
Kevin
Guest
25:32
But you answered it correctly. You started out by saying there are a few options, and there are. The question is what would you do? And then a follow-up question is very similar to that is you have now paid for your groceries and you've paid in cash, and you gave the cashier $50. You gave two 20s and a 10 and it came out to $45. So the cashier only owes you $5 and change, but you look down and you discover that she's giving you $10 instead of $5. So the question would be what would you do? And again, I'm not asking for an answer, but this ties into our integrity. Okay, yes.
26:25
And then, last but not least, number three is respect. And the respect goes back to your earlier question. What has molded my life? Well, I'm the oldest brother of one who's mentally disabled and I'm the father of the youngest son who's autistic, and I've learned that one of my core values is respect, because people who are different are so disrespected. And so what can I do to usher in the importance of respect everywhere I go and with everybody that I deal with, because it's personal. It started in the home and then it translated into the workplace, into church, everywhere that I go, and so those are my core values.
27:12
When I'm around people that I see disrespecting other people, I don't just stand around, but I do something and I say something. Now you can see my t-shirt right. I know your listeners can't, but Congressman John Lewis reminded us to get in trouble good trouble, necessary trouble and what he's referring to is when you see something that's not right, when you see folks getting disrespected, when you see someone who's being marginalized, do something, say something. And yeah, you're going to probably get in trouble, but get in good trouble, get in necessary trouble, because if you do nothing, you're just giving them the green light to continue to disrespect that person or that group of people, and we don't want that to happen. So true, yep. So those are my three top core values.
Chris Levens
Host
28:14
Now, did you grow up with these core values or did you learn them along the way of living life and working with people? Yeah, the latter.
Kevin
Guest
28:23
Along the way. Along the way working with people, I've always scratched my head wondering why people don't take the time to talk to each other, and I was wow. When you have a conversation with somebody, what you're going to find out is how much you have in common. You know you're going to be able to connect on common ground. When you get beyond the physical or the exterior features and get into the heart of a person, you're going to start to discover how much more we have in common. So these are things that I've learned over time. It took time to cultivate and it took time to kind of come up with these three different core values. But I tell you, if you take the time to just have a conversation with another person, you're going to find out how much more you have in common. And now we're all on our way to making the world a much better place.
Chris Levens
Host
29:23
Right, so good, so good, so good. I love your values. Really nice, and thank you for breaking them down. With it. I feel like we all should have some core values. You know, we should be able to turn to everybody and say, hey, what are your core values? At least a few, you know, but these top three are great. Yeah, you hit them on the head, definitely with the information Love it, love it. Can you tell us what's the missing ingredient that most leaders don't know?
Kevin
Guest
29:54
Oh, that's my. This is my favorite question, is it? Yeah, love that? Here's how we miss it. This is where leaders miss it. So, yes, there is an expectation, because of your position and because of your title, that you know your stuff. There's an expectation that you show up with Acumen subject matter expertise as a leader. That gives us credibility. But that's just one portion of the equation.
30:30
In order to be a good leader and here's the part that's missing we don't have enough leaders that understand the alignment between what's in the mind our subject matter expertise and what's in the heart.
30:46
When the heart is not alignment with the mind, then there's a misstep, because see from the heart is where the value, the care, the respect, the nurturing, the empathy and the compassion come from. When we combine that with our know-how as a leader, now we're on our way to being good leaders. That's the missing ingredient with most leaders that I run into, whether it's government, corporate, academic institutions, the church and nonprofits because we're deep in the marketplace, teaching these principles and strategies, because of how we're created and because of human behavior. Every person needs affirmation, every person wants to belong to a tribe and every person wants to know that when they show up. They're going to be included. That's where leaders miss it. Leaders don't pay enough attention to making sure that people get the affirmation that they need and that they actually feel included and that they're a valuable contribution to the team, by demonstration that they care that the person is there. That's where we miss it, so it's all in the heart.
Chris Levens
Host
32:13
It's all in the heart of it.
Kevin
Guest
32:14
Yeah we spend too much time on productivity and performance, which is a key indicator. I mean, that's built into our job description, but we have to help people to get there, because everyone's different, Everyone's in a different place, in a different space in terms of their ability. And that's where leaders come in, and that's why I said a little bit earlier, the difference between leadership and management is that leaders lead people, and when you lead people, you're helping them as best you can to know better, to do better, to improve and to develop. And that's the missing ingredient. And that's why we spend so much time sharing these principles and strategies across the board, because people don't know what they don't know.
Chris Levens
Host
32:59
Hmm, you right. You right about that, for sure. Yep, so have you found your purpose? Is this Mr Johnson's purpose for his life and if so, how do you know?
Kevin
Guest
33:14
Yeah, and this season of life I'm in my lane. This is what I do pouring into lives of men, women, boys and girls, not just here in the United States but across the globe. Our business is scaling and growing. I have a team of 10 people winning new contracts, not necessarily every week, but it seems like at least once a month winning another new contract to pour into the lives of men and women at all levels in the workplace. And, following about 34 years with the federal government, I retired six years ago.
Chris Levens
Host
33:56
Congratulations on that.
Kevin
Guest
33:58
Thank you, thank you. And then stood up the company, yeah, kind of really just recognizing, through really observation, what was missing. And this fell right into my lap and it's a combination of being an author, being a speaker, being a mentor, being a coach and a leadership trainer. So all of it falls under one umbrella and the confirmation is just having a blast, just having a ball. It's work, it's work, but it doesn't feel like work.
Chris Levens
Host
34:33
Yes, that's when you know it's right.
Kevin
Guest
34:35
Yeah, you get paid for what you do and if you do a good job, then people call you back to do more work and it's just a lovely space to be in and that's how you kind of know, oh, I'm in the right place at the right time, doing the right things with the right people. So it's a wonderful, wonderful time to be alive and everything that I can do to help people, because I have that gift of service in addition to leadership, but I love to serve people. It gives me a lot of energy and that's another sign that I'm in the right place at the right time.
Chris Levens
Host
35:16
Yes, I love it. I love it so great, so great. Well, since all that you do, who inspires you to be a better human?
Kevin
Guest
35:29
Really there's three people that come to mind in particular. I mean, there's really a lot of people, but three people in particular. So yeah, nobody's gonna be upset, just tell us who Right right, yeah so America's all-time greatest orator, the late Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Chris Levens
Host
35:49
Oh, okay.
Kevin
Guest
35:50
Nobody can talk me out of the fact that he is America's greatest orator. I mean, when you listen to his speeches, the man was light years ahead of his time and he just oftentimes this kind of moves me to tears just listening to him. Also, the late Dr Pastor Miles Monroe, who founded the Faith Bahamas Ministries International in Nassau, bahamas. He's no longer with us. We lost him in 2014 to a fatal airplane accident.
36:22
But brilliant business mind and a brilliant ministry mind, very, very passionate about who he is and what he does, spoke all over the world and then one of my current mentors, john C Maxwell, considered by many as the number one leadership expert in the world for many, many years, happened to be one of his mentees and I'm part of his organization. Just a very, very phenomenal man who, as a young man in his 20s, pastored one of the fastest growing churches in America when he was in the state of Indiana as a young man in his 20s. So he has had a very impactful life. He's in his 70s now and still doing great things. Does he know you, do you guys Not?
37:14
necessarily know me, but we've met, we've taken pictures together.
Chris Levens
Host
37:20
Does he know that you inspire him, that you're inspired by him?
Kevin
Guest
37:25
Probably not. Not individually, because thousands are.
Chris Levens
Host
37:30
Okay, just wondering, just wondering. Yeah, no, he wouldn't know personally, Okay okay, yeah, nice, I love that and I love that you threw out Martin Luther King. You know, you kind of have that type of I don't know how I can say, but that type of timber in your voice, on how you speak through the phrases, is a similar that you say about Martin Luther King, because you kind of have this type of phrasing. There's similarities. When you said, I was like oh snap, like hmm, yeah, did you know that?
Kevin
Guest
38:05
No, I did not, but.
Chris Levens
Host
38:06
Okay.
Kevin
Guest
38:07
You know, yeah, over the years, different people give me different feedback. I'm not surprised that I might glean from some of how he talks, because he's just so powerful. Like I said, I listen to a lot of speakers, men and women, over the years, but there is no greater American orator than Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. No one can convince me otherwise.
Chris Levens
Host
38:34
Nice, nice, yep, yes. Okay, let's change a little bit. I wanna ask you, I wanna do a little fill in the blank, okay, so I'll read the first part and then you just give me your answer whatever comes to mind. I'm happiest when I Hmm, serve others, hmm, wow.
Kevin
Guest
39:00
Nice.
Chris Levens
Host
39:06
I'm hardest on myself when I find myself judging others. Oh, okay, how do you deal with that with yourself, when you find that you did?
Kevin
Guest
39:24
Yeah, I have to step back, I have to move out of that mode. You know that old proverbial phrase that you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. I have to move away from that because I was much guiltier of that many, many years ago and I had a couple of mentors that advised me of that frailty in my demeanor that I wasn't aware of. Right, I was being too judgmental and I had to learn over several years to kind of back away from that. It took a while and I've gotten much, much better. But I always have to be on my guard to make sure that I don't slip back. Because I'm a high, I believe in high achievement Okay, but I have to also be mindful. Everybody doesn't show up with that same mentality, and that's okay.
Chris Levens
Host
40:17
Yes, this is it. You're right, it's okay.
Kevin
Guest
40:21
They're being who they are. Yes, and it's okay. The way that they show up is perfectly fine.
Chris Levens
Host
40:29
And this is it. We say come as you are, just yep exactly. Yep and the fact that you can be aware, to notice that and feel like, okay, I need to make some adjustments, is huge as a leader, so that's great. I appreciate you sharing your truth on that.
Kevin
Guest
40:45
Yep absolutely.
Chris Levens
Host
40:46
Because sometimes we feel that people who are leaders fall in a sense of perfection. You know, at least from the outside it can seem that way that you know there's a sense of perfection. And when people who are leaders say, no, I am wrong too, or I make mistakes, as everyone else, or I can be corrected, it just lets people realize, oh, you know, they're not, we don't have to put them on this pedestal. No, even though you don't ask to be, there's a pedestal that you put on because of your position. So when you can show that I am just as human as you, it just, you know, really resonates for people to feel like okay, like I can come to regular someone who's on the same level as me.
41:27
You know, as my leader, I always say that, yes, I am in charge, but we're all in the same level, there's no difference. Because soon as we start to put a difference, then there feels that there's an obligation and all these other things come into play. At the end, I know I'm the boss, I don't need to say it like, and everybody else does too, so it's cool. Like we just do what we need to do. You know what I mean. Like let's just get the job done. That's what we're all here for, so we can just be done with this and get on with our lives you know, do what we need to do, you know.
Kevin
Guest
41:59
Well put.
Chris Levens
Host
42:00
Absolutely Nice, nice. Okay, let's keep going.
Kevin
Guest
42:03
Sorry, the strength I'm most proud of is I would say, going back to my earlier comment, persistence and patience. You know things take a while to evolve, so you have to keep working toward it until you see the fruit of your labor, and that requires both.
Chris Levens
Host
42:28
Persistence and patience, and this is from Mom right, the persistence and patience.
Kevin
Guest
42:32
Absolutely Yep you remember.
Chris Levens
Host
42:35
Yes indeed, yes indeed, Awesome, Mmm nice I pray the most for.
Kevin
Guest
42:45
My family. I, specifically I call them by name. My wife's name is Gail, my oldest son is Kevin, middle son is Chris and the baby boy is Cameron. I call them out by name, asking for God's protection, guidance, that they align with their purpose and God's plan for their lives, that they would have a great day, that their hopes and dreams and aspirations would be fulfilled. And that's part of my job. That's part of my job as husband and father to cover my family at a time where they might not be covering themselves. They might not know how. So that's where I step in, so that's a very important one for me.
Chris Levens
Host
43:28
Wow, that was great Yep, that was great Yep. So if you could have a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Kevin
Guest
43:36
Oh, Turks and Caicos by far. Oh, come on.
Chris Levens
Host
43:39
Where'd you say that's the second easiest one?
Kevin
Guest
43:41
Turks and Caicos, that's in the Caribbean island Look.
Chris Levens
Host
43:44
I was like you should have saw my face. I was like where is that? I don't even know. I'm over here in Tokyo. So you say I was like what? Okay, I don't know where this place is. Please explain.
Kevin
Guest
43:54
Yes and yeah, when you get an opportunity, just go to your map and take a look at the Caribbean island and you'll see one of the islands. It's called the Turks and Caicos.
Chris Levens
Host
44:06
Turks and. Caicos.
Kevin
Guest
44:08
Not too far from the Bahamas, not too far from Barbados and St Croix and St Lucia and that same area. It is absolutely phenomenal gorgeous 84 degrees, sunshine, blue skies and there are a couple of times and it's absolutely lovely. So that's the first thing that comes to mind.
Chris Levens
Host
44:31
Wow, okay, I'll have to check it out. Thank you, for I will go to the map.
Kevin
Guest
44:35
I won't waste 24 hours. You'll love it.
Chris Levens
Host
44:37
I learned something new. Yeah, well, I've been learning a lot of stuff on today's podcast, but definitely, yes, okay, nice, nice, nice, nice, great. Now let's change a little bit. I want to ask what has been your greatest awakening? All that you've mentioned about your childhood? With growing up, there might have been a few, a lot of awakenings along the way, but what has been your greatest awakening, and tell us about when it might have happened in your life.
Kevin
Guest
45:09
The greatest awakening. So I travel to Kenya, africa. I started in 2011. Wow, and I'll be going again this September, 2023. So this will be my fifth trip to Kenya. Get out what? Yeah, I go there for mission work. We do church development, leadership development. We work with government officials, we work with entrepreneurs, we work with church leaders, and this time I'm going with a group of six other fellow business owners. I want to go. I have sorry, go ahead. Here's the great awakening.
45:58
So in my country, america, we have an abundance of everything, but people complain a lot. In Kenya, the resources are scarce, from Wi-Fi to electricity, to food, but the people have such joy in their hearts and that was a that's a huge awakening, to the point where, for health reasons, we have to sleep under a mosquito net to avoid contracting malaria. And so a much smaller nation than where I'm from. Many, many resources and abundant of resources here in America, but people complain a lot here in Kenya. Much fewer resources, including working, wi-fi, access to food, electricity, but people are. They have this joy in their heart, this optimism, this hope that I don't always see here in America, and that's a huge awakening, a very huge awakening. You're right.
Chris Levens
Host
47:27
Yeah.
Kevin
Guest
47:28
So I can't wait to go. We'll be there again in September for a full week and again pouring into the lives of entrepreneurs, government officials, church leaders for a full week. We're going to have an absolute blast, but kind of knowing what to expect from a resource perspective and not complaining at all and really mind blowing and life changing.
Chris Levens
Host
47:59
Wow, that's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, I mean, I understand as well. You know, when we live in America, we really don't get a chance to see outside of the bubble that we are in. And you know, living abroad for over a decade, I have traveled to other countries where the people are poor and they are the happiest people they are sharing off their tables when they don't even have to give. It's like it's unbelievable. It's unbelievable, and so I can understand, then, just the joy and the happiness that you know people are able to bring, and you know it's wonderful work that you guys are doing. So that's awesome. That's awesome. I wish I could go. Maybe not this year, but you look, maybe in the future you guys are. Sounds like it's something that's happening, but that sounds awesome.
Kevin
Guest
48:48
This is going to be with this particular group is going to be the beginning of something really, really special. I've already told them I can. I can kind of sense it. And then the other family that I have been adopted into and that I have adopted. I've reached out to them to let them know that I'll be back in their nation in a different capacity, but please be a part of what we're doing. So they've been added to the mailing list and they have a copy of the curriculum and the agenda.
Chris Levens
Host
49:20
Nice.
Kevin
Guest
49:21
And they are more than happy, more than free, to come join us so that we can embrace and keep those relationships going strong as well. But it started out in 2011. And although I'm going to be going at a different capacity this time, they're still my family I love that yes. So, yeah, we're going to connect and look forward to doing some great things together.
Chris Levens
Host
49:42
Nice, let's do the work I love it. Yes, outside in the, in the outside of the United States, yeah, that's awesome you got it.
Kevin
Guest
49:51
That is awesome, you got it.
Chris Levens
Host
49:52
Yeah, this is it, this is it. And now, with the communication and things you know we can, you can reach more people, and not even just in that capacity of going there, but now, with you know, with social media and things you know, we have a chance to be able to reach more people, for them to just have a better understanding of lots of things. So that's nice to hear. Thank you for that, yep, you're welcome, thank you.
Kevin
Guest
50:23
Am I owning the dream that I have, or am I trying to live out someone else's dream?
Chris Levens
Host
50:36
Uh-oh.
Kevin
Guest
50:38
There's a speech that I give and there's a course that I teach, and it's simply titled what is your dream, and it's based upon 10 questions, and one of those questions is are you living your dream or are you trying to live out the dream that someone else has for you? Because there is a big difference. If you don't really own it yourself, you're not going to be the best that you can be, because it's somebody else's dream and it's not yours. So that's really something that I would like to leave with your listeners, because, whatever it is that you're pursuing, you've got to own that thing. You know I own the space that I'm in.
51:28
My heart's desire is that everybody I come in contact with men, women, boys and girls understand right where you are, the principles of leadership and why it's so incredibly important and how it can be used as a means to help to make the world a better place, because it's not just based on what you know, but it's based on how you treat people you know, demonstrating that you care. But whatever your dream is if you want to be a chef, a vice president, a finance if you want to be a surgeon, if you want to be a chemical engineer, if you want to be a astronaut, health manager, whatever it is, you want to be make sure it's your dream and that you're not just fulfilling a dream of somebody else. That's really really critically important to every person.
Chris Levens
Host
52:21
Yeah, you're right. You're right. I mean, I never thought about it that deeply about it. But you're right, because I'm living my own dream, but I never really thought about it from the other side, Like, wow, there are some people living other people's dreams, You're right. They're like, oh my gosh, and maybe still being happy with you know, not saying that it's a horrible thing, but it's not your full fulfillment, and so there's a sense of not being fulfilled. There's some sense of some some not you know something that you're not feeling complete or whole about.
Kevin
Guest
52:55
And that's where parents that's where parents need to be very careful, you know. Be a cheerleader for what your child dreams to be. You want them to go one direction, but they're communicating with you, usually from a pretty early age. This is what I want to be when I grow up. Be their cheerleader and encourage them on. Don't say, oh no, you should do that, you should do that, this, this doesn't pay anything, so you shouldn't do that. No, no, no, no, no. Be responsible as a parent and squashing your child's dream Yep.
Chris Levens
Host
53:33
Speak on that. That is true.
Kevin
Guest
53:34
Yeah, you're right that is real truth at home.
Chris Levens
Host
53:37
Yeah, wow. I like to close with this final question Is your glass half empty or half full?
Kevin
Guest
53:47
Oh, that's the third easiest question. My glass is always half full. That's just the way I see it. It's part of attitude, it's part of demeanor, it's part of outlook and it's part of how we look through our lens at the world. It's how we send positive affirmations and it's how we go about living our life with the attitude that we have. So, yes, the glass is half full, at the same time that it's half empty. But I see it as being half full. That's just the way I see it. And what can I do to get it all the way to the top? So I definitely see the glass as half full in every situation.
54:32
Listen, I've never been an entrepreneur, I've never been a business owner. For all of my life I was laser focused on my government career. So I went into the government right after college, at 23, and I retired at 57. So I've always been laser focused on my career. It wasn't until I was 57 years old that I started my company. And I guess what? I didn't know any other business owners that were focusing on leadership development. I didn't have a mentor, I didn't have anybody to show me how to do it. But I see the glass half full and, without getting into much detail, I have very specific goals over these next 10 years to get the company to a certain level so that I'll be able to sell it and this, live the rest of my life on those fruits and make several trips to Turks and Caicos.
Chris Levens
Host
55:28
I love that. I'm coming, I'm coming. Yes, yes, yes, yes, there you go, I love it, I love it. What a great answer, thank you, thank you. I know you gave a lot of little final thoughts, but I want to know is there anything you want us to be left with to marinate on in this last bit?
Kevin
Guest
55:48
Yeah, I'll leave you with it, and this is sort of.
Chris Levens
Host
55:51
I knew you had some voice. Go ahead, go ahead.
Kevin
Guest
55:54
Yeah, this is the theme for how I live and the training and the coaching that I do for everybody within my sphere of influence. Every one of us, under the sound of my voice, has a responsibility to know better. That comes from learning. But then, when you know better, the next step is to now do better. That's your action plan. So, based upon what you now know, you do, and then the third phase is now to lead better. That's the implementation and the execution. That's always the last word that I leave with everybody. We have a responsibility to know better. Once we know better, then do better. And as a result of doing better, now we can lead better Because, like I said at the very beginning, better leaders help to make the world a much better place, and that's the lane that I'm in. That's my life's mission at this particular point and that's what I do.
Chris Levens
Host
56:59
Yes, you do what you do. Yes, nice. Can you tell everyone how they can reach you if they're interested to find out more about you?
Kevin
Guest
57:10
Yeah, absolutely so. The name of the company is the Johnson Leadership Group LLC. And the website is wwwthejohnsonleadershipgroupcom. And that's all one word.
57:22
And people can get it all one word Yep, they can get in contact with me there. The email is Kevin at the Johnson Leadership Group and I always make an effort that when people reach out I try to respond back within 48 hours, regardless of where you are around the world, and I always look forward to getting to know people better and hopefully get a chance to work with you and, who knows, on this side of the pandemic, actually meet people up close and personal. So through the website, through the email and hopefully some of the listeners will reach out and I'll have a chance to chat with somebody.
Chris Levens
Host
58:00
Awesome, Now do you do one-on-one like leadership coaching?
Kevin
Guest
58:05
Mm-hmm. Yeah, we do one-on-one and group and we work with organizations, teams, across the entire company. We work with a boatload of different people. We tailor everything to that particular audience, and everything that anybody would need to know about what it is that we do offer is right there on the website wwwthejohnsonleadershipgroupcom.
Chris Levens
Host
58:29
Yes, and all of this will be posted under the information for the episode as well.
Kevin
Guest
58:35
So if they didn't, write it out, it'll be there, Kevin.
Chris Levens
Host
58:37
thank you so much for being a guest here.
Kevin
Guest
58:40
Thank you, yes, yeah, absolutely, it was so great. I enjoyed it. Yeah, I enjoyed it very much, and thank you again and all the best to everybody that's listening and, who knows, one of these days we might get a chance to meet in person Now?
Chris Levens
Host
58:52
that would be really awesome for sure. Thank you again. Have a great morning, great early afternoon. We're happy to have had you as a guest here on Glass half full. You take care and have an awesome rest of your day.
Kevin
Guest
59:05
All right, thank you, and you as well.
Chris Levens
Host
59:07
Thank you, bye-bye.
Kevin
Guest
59:09
All right.
Chris Levens
Host
59:11
Bye-bye and thank you to all our listeners listening in to another episode of Glass half full, a podcast and a safe platform for everyone to share their life experiences. Once again, I'm your host, chris Levens. Please subscribe, follow and rate this podcast on Apple Music and Spotify for more learning experiences. Until next time, know you are blessed, see ya.