Creating and Empowering Leaders Through Ward Council | An Interview with Louie Hamner

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 Dare to Lead, by Brene Brown The Power of Vulnerability (Brene Brown TED Talk) Mindset, by Carol Dweck