What if the key to influence isn’t knowing—but admitting you don’t? Could the most powerful leaders be the ones most willing to learn and be changed by what they hear?

In this episode, former wartime interrogator Eric Maddox and business president David White reveal how empathetic listening proved equally effective in the hunt for Saddam Hussein and in rebuilding trust with a frustrated community. Together, they show that genuine influence begins when we let go of needing to know and instead listen with deep curiosity and care to the people closest to the problem.

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What if the very pain we hide is what could heal us? And what if the people who trigger our pain are the ones we most need to connect with?

In this part two of this Summit 2022 session, Nate Mitchell and participants wrestle with what it means to “become part of we.” Through personal experiences and reflection, they reveal how connecting with others through our pain opens the door to the connection we crave.

Ideas we explore:

2:15 – Peace and pain can coexist.

5:20 – We remember who we are through friction.

7:10 – You are not enough—but we are.

13:00 – The antidote to loneliness.

19:50 – The courage to connect through pain.

28:45 – The gifts we need come to us through others.

To learn how you can apply these ideas within your team and organization, schedule a strategy session!

If connection is what makes us human, why do we keep pulling away? And at what point does hiding my pain become more painful than the pain itself?

In this episode, we take you inside one of our past Summits as Nate Mitchell explores the idea that humanity isn’t something we carry inside ourselves but exists in the space between us. Through stories and raw conversation, he reveals why isolation feels unbearable: because it’s not human. We only truly exist—as selves, as souls, as human beings—in connection.

Ideas we explore:

2:55 – Humanity lives in the space between us.

6:50 – Pain isn’t the problem—disconnection is.

9:50 – If we’re made for connection, why do we run from it?

21:45 – Fire needs friction and so do we.

27:30 – The two ways to get out of isolation.

To learn how you can apply these ideas within your team and organization, schedule a strategy session!