In this solo episode of the Faith-Driven Leader Podcast, Ann Eileen Thompson invites you into a deeper question than career strategy or next steps:

Who is actually authoring your career—you, or God?

Drawing from her own winding professional journey—from early leadership roles, to Procter & Gamble, entrepreneurship, failure, rebuilding, and discernment—Ann reflects on how easily care for our work can turn into control, and what changes when we release authorship back to God.

This episode isn’t about career advice or formulas. It’s about trust. Identity. And learning to see your work as part of a larger story God is already writing.

If you’ve ever felt successful and grateful—yet still unsettled—this reflection is for you.

In This Episode, We Explore

• Why the pressure to “get your career right” often creates anxiety instead of peace

• How ambition and faith can quietly drift into control

• Lessons from Ann’s career across retail, corporate leadership, and entrepreneurship

• A defining dream that reshaped how she understood trust, abundance, and calling

• What changes when you stop trying to author your career and let God lead the story

• Why discernment often matters more than momentum

• How recognizing the season you’re in can bring clarity—even before action
  

A Key Reflection

Your career isn’t something you have to solve—it’s a story God is telling.

When we loosen our grip on control and return authorship to Him, clarity doesn’t always come faster—but peace often does.

About the Book

This episode also marks the release of Ann’s new book, Faith at Work: A Practical Guide to Aligning Your Career with Who God Created You to Be.

Written as a companion rather than a prescription, the book helps readers:

• Identify the season of career transition they’re in

• Discern God’s voice amid ambition, fear, and uncertainty

• Navigate decisions around roles, networking, interviewing, and next steps with faith and clarity

At its core, the book returns to a simple but grounding truth: God is not absent from your work—He is deeply invested in it.

Resources & Links

• 📘 Get the Book: Faith at Work → [Click here]
  

• 🧭 Career Transitions Quiz: Not sure what season you’re in? This short quiz can help you name it. → [Take the Quiz here]
  

• 🌐 Learn More About Ann’s Work: → [Click here]
  

• 📬 Connect or Reach Out: → [Book here]
  

A Final Invitation

As you listen, consider this question: Where might you be carrying responsibility for your career that God never asked you to hold?

Whether you’re striving, waiting, wondering, or preparing to step forward, you’re not alone. The Author of your story sees the whole path—even when you can only see the next step.

Thanks for listening to the Faith-Driven Leader Podcast.

In this inspiring episode, Ann sits down with Dr. Jen Bennett, an educator, author, and host of She Impacts Culture, whose career has been anything but linear. From youth ministry to entrepreneurship, from the classroom to higher education leadership, Jen’s story is a beautiful reminder that God’s calling rarely follows a straight line.

Together, Ann and Jen unpack how to recognize God’s hand in the unexpected turns of your career, the importance of rooting your identity in Christ rather than your title, and why fear often signals that you’re standing on the edge of something holy. Jen shares practical tools for discerning next steps, including a journaling exercise that can help you quiet the noise and hear God’s direction more clearly.

Whether you’re in a season of uncertainty, transition, or possibility, this conversation will remind you that God’s plans are always purposeful—and that your pivots might just be His preparation.

🔑 Three Key Takeaways1️⃣ Your career path doesn’t have to be straight to be sacred. God uses every detour, delay, and pivot to shape your character and calling.

2️⃣ Your identity isn’t your job title. When your worth is grounded in who—and Whose—you are, you can take risks without losing yourself.

3️⃣ Peace is often the green light. You may not have all the answers, but you can have peace. Trust it more than certainty.

✍️ Quote Worth Remembering“I never want to get to the end of my life and wonder what could have been if I hadn’t let fear stop me.” — Dr. Jen Bennett

📚 Resources & Mentions

• #BeWorthFollowing by Dr. Jen Bennett

• She Impacts Culture Podcast

• Miami University’s Center for L.I.F.E. — Leading the Integration of Faith & Entrepreneurship

• Faith at Work: A Practical Guide to Aligning Your Career with Who God Created You to Be by Ann Eileen Thompson
  

🎧 Listen & Share

If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend or colleague who’s navigating a transition or discerning a new direction. Subscribe to Faith-Driven Leader wherever you listen to podcasts—and keep leading with faith, courage, and purpose.

In this powerful and practical episode, Ann sits down with Lyle Wells, president of Integrus Leadership, former pastor and college basketball coach, and author of the new book Easy to Follow: Trading Toxic Leadership for the Love of Christ.

Lyle shares a refreshingly simple framework: leadership isn’t a title—it’s a behavior that influences others and creates outcomes. Together, Ann and Lyle unpack what it truly means to lead like Jesus, exploring how diligence, humility, and service shape leaders who are both faithful and effective.

They also dive into why servant leadership is about helping others learn, grow, dare, and change, how to craft an 8–10 word mission statement that actually guides your decisions, and how to become a lighthouse leader—someone who brings direction, connection, and protection to those they lead.

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to model your leadership after Jesus in today’s world, this conversation will equip and challenge you to start right where you are.

🔑 Three Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Leadership is behavior, not position. The way you act—not your title—determines your influence and impact.

2️⃣ God measures diligence and service, not perfection. Faithful, persistent service is the true mark of leadership that pleases Him.

3️⃣ Clarity beats complexity. A short, memorable mission statement—what Lyle calls your “tweet or tattoo”—keeps your leadership grounded and consistent.

✍️ Quote Worth Remembering: “Jesus was easy to follow—but He wasn’t easy on His followers.” — Lyle Wells

📚 Resources & Mentions

• Easy to Follow: Trading Toxic Leadership for the Love of Christ by Lyle Wells

• Integrus Leadership — leadership training, coaching, and resources

• The Five-Day Leader by Lyle Wells

• StoryBrand by Donald Miller

• Scripture references: Deuteronomy 3:28 and Luke 9:51–56

• Bob Goff’s Writing Workshops

🙌 Connect with Ann

• ⁠Website⁠

• ⁠Instagram⁠

• ⁠LinkedIn⁠

• ⁠Join the Launch Team⁠ for Faith at Work: A Practical Guide to Aligning Your Career with Who God Created You to Be → ⁠Sign up here