The Arc of Intentional and Self-driven Leadership | An Interview with Shawn Moon

For over thirty years, Shawn D. Moon has worked with global clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to government organizations. He currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Zerorez. Previously, Shawn was an Executive Vice President at FranklinCovey, a former principal at Mellon Financial Corporation, and was named a 2024 finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

A Wall Street Journal best-selling author, Shawn has published books in multiple languages and frequently speaks to senior leadership audiences globally. His most current book is Roots, Relationships, and Results. He serves on multiple boards, is actively engaged in his community, and currently serves as a married adult stake president in Provo, Utah. Shawn and his wife, Michele, reside in Lindon, Utah, and have four children and 11 grandchildren.

Links

Roots, Relationships, and Results
What the Scriptures Say About Leadership | An Interview with Shawn Moon
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Transcript available with the video in the Zion Lab community

Highlights

This discussion covers foundational leadership attributes compiled from over one hundred interviews with global leaders across various industries. The conversation focuses on intentional personal development, effective relational dynamics, and achieving meaningful outcomes in family and church callings.

Key Insights

• The Leadership Arc: True leadership functions across three integrated categories: establishing internal roots of personal leadership, building deep relational trust, and executing to achieve sustainable results.
• Leading Without a Title: Formal authority is not a prerequisite for impact; some of the most profound leadership occurs when individuals step forward to influence and lift others without holding an official calling or position.
• Emotional Regulation: Effective leaders act as thermostats rather than thermometers. They actively set the emotional temperature and bring stability to a room during high-stress situations instead of merely reacting to the environment.
• Gratitude as a Multiplier: Practicing deliberate gratitude serves as a cognitive interrupter that shifts a leader’s mindset from defensive, reactionary conflict to collaborative, executive problem-solving.
• Extending Trust: While being trustworthy is a basic requirement, exceptional leadership requires actively extending trust to others, which fosters their potential and builds long-term confidence.
• Intentional Time Investment: Human life consists of a finite number of seconds. Leaders must prioritize their weekly focus around essential tasks and specific individuals to build deep, lasting connections.

Leadership Applications

• Implementing the 5×4 Method: Latter-day Saint leaders can organize their weekly schedules by identifying five critical objectives and four specific people to intentionally reach out to and lift up.
• Expressing Written Appreciation: Ward and stake leaders can cultivate a supportive culture by sending regular, handwritten notes of gratitude to members, validating their voluntary service and building deep organizational trust.

The award-winning Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints’ mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Find Leadership Tools, Courses, and Community for Latter-day Saint leaders in the Zion Lab community. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org.

Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Benjamin Hardy, Elder Alvin F. Meredith III, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Kirby Heyborne, Taysom Hill, Coaches Jennifer Rockwood and Brandon Doman, Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 800 episodes.

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