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Louie D. Hamner III has served with bishoprics as a ward clerk, finance clerk, and executive secretary, as a bishop and a bishop’s counselor, as a Young Men president, and in the elders quorum. He grew up in a farming community in Mount Auburn, Indiana, and graduated from Utah Valley University in Accounting. Today he owns Vanguard Title Insurance Agency, one of the largest title companies in Utah, and Acclaimed Title in Texas. Louie and his wife Vivian have three children.
Highlights
5:00 A lifelong learner reading and attending training programs; learned skills for his work that he sought to apply in his role as a bishop 7:35 Realized that he needed to be good at helping people solve problems; the bishop’s office doesn’t work the same as a business owner’s office 10:50 Leading with Vulnerability
- Sought to create a culture that would ease the pain points
- Realized that if he could share his struggles as a bishop, it would make it okay for everyone else to share where they are struggling as well
- First made Ward Council a safe place
- Shared about his relationship with his parents in a 5th Sunday meeting
- Made a point of recognizing when someone was being vulnerable
20:20 Stimulating more vulnerability in a youth setting
- Bringing out the struggles and walking through them together
- This is a skill that has to be practiced with vulnerability
- Ask questions and talk about it
- Acknowledging their experience instead of simply correcting and creating shame
27:50 Creating Safety
- Studied books in Ward Council and applied what they were learning to gospel situations
- Allowing vulnerability in ward council created an environment where people could feel safe
- Discussion after a singing testimony
37:40 Creating a Growth Mindset Culture
- 37:30 Sharing vulnerable personal experiences to help the ward grow
- 39:00 Young man who had decided not to go on a mission: created a growth plan
- 47:40 Young man with a porn addiction: this is progress
51:15 Creating a Vision
- His vision of teaching people how to lead
- What will you do beyond checking the boxes?
- President Nelson’s call to identify what sign you are going to give to God
- 56:00 God wants you to be the instrument you are
1:00:00 Leading with Empathy
- The baptismal covenant is a covenant of empathy
- A choice to go into that person’s pain the way they are experiencing it
- Appreciate and understand that person’s model of the world
- Recognize the emotions they are experiencing
- Convey understanding of those emotions
- No judgment
- 1:03:55 Taught this in ward council and then as a 5th Sunday lesson
1:08:00 Building Leaders
- Solve problems as a presidency first before bringing failures to Ward Council
- Leadership lessons in Ward Council helped the members grow as leaders
- Challenging them to identify what they are supposed to do as a leader in that role
1:12:20 Realized he is always on a path to become greater, and that path involves pain
Links
The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown Daring Greatly, by Brene Brown Dare to Lead, by Brene Brown The Power of Vulnerability (Brene Brown TED Talk) Mindset, by Carol Dweck Crucial Conversations, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler Planted, by Patrick Mason Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast Note: This transcript was machine-produced. We would be grateful for help correcting errors. You can help! Simply copy/paste the transcript text into a document, make the corrections, and then copy/paste the corrected text into a comment on the page (below) and we will get the corrected text published!
This was a great podcast. Although several topics were addressed, I think the most important part was woven through all the stories that he is “apt to teach.”
He gave great examples of how he taught the Ward Council and others. President Hinckley taught, “Effective teaching is the very essence of leadership in the Church.” Yet I think this is a struggle for many leaders to teach in the Savior’s way. His effort in taking information out of good books and relating it to scripture and teachings of the prophets was great. Brigham Young, Joseph Smith, and Dallin H. Oaks taught that we should do this.
Great discussion! I have read many of the books Louie suggested and appreciated his acknowledgment that good information for leaders can come from other sources besides church resources. The gospel of Jesus Christ is so amazing and there is so much opportunity for growth and understanding as leaders and members. Kurt, thanks for putting such great information out into the world! It has expanded my “classroom” and I cannot get or learn enough.
Great interview and content. Louie mentioned 5 books he shared with the ward council. He specifically mentioned 3. Which other books did he share or read with the ward council to build leaders?
Thank you for the great work
Here are the books!
1. Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown
2. Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
3. Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny
4. Planted by Patrick Mason
5. Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck
Loved this presentation!
Louie you said some great words in particularly and I’m paraphrasing very poorly!
About pain with understanding is joy and pain without understanding is suffering? I thought the word sacrifice was in there but I did not write it down when I heard it word for word.
Thank you for listening to the episode. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions at Lhamner3@gmail.com.
Pain + Meaning = Joy
Pain with no meaning is suffering.
I don’t recall anything about sacrifice.
Hi Louie,
Thanks for that!
Love it ??
Sorry Louie,
I couldn’t remember if you had said sacrifice or not – my bad.
Thank you for your presentation I learnt so much and shared it with friends.