The Collective Growth Podcast: Inner Work

The Founder Your Business Actually Needs (Part 2 with Dave Munson)

There’s a moment in every founder’s life when someone holds up a mirror they didn’t ask for. Sometimes it’s a coach. Sometimes it’s a spouse. Sometimes — the moment Dave Munson is most honest about — it’s an employee saying something you didn’t see coming. In Part 2 of our conversation with Dave Munson, founder and CEO of Saddleback Leather Co., MaryAnn Means-Dufrene continues the discussion that started in Episode 28 — but this half goes deeper into the unseen work of becoming the leader your business actually needs. Dave shares a 2010 lunch with Zig Ziglar that reframed everything (“court your spouse, encourage everyone, help others succeed”), the 2015 moment a Christian employee told him he was “one of the most prideful people I know,” and the research project that followed — fifty “signs of pride” lists categorized into twenty-four jars on his table. He talks about saying out loud to his wife that he was the problem in the business, the moment his teenage daughter refused to grab him a fizzy water and what it exposed, and the Rick Warren line that quietly reframed humility for him: humility is saying what’s true. He also talks about writing his award-winning book They’ll Fight Over It When You’re Dead (Audiobook of the Year 2025), the three and a half years he spent without a smartphone, and his refusal to use AI for creative work — a hand-written newsletter included. If you’ve ever quietly suspected that the business you built has been shaping you more than you’ve been shaping it, this conversation will land. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 01:17 Meeting Zig Ziglar 02:45 Three Life Principles 03:57 Learning to Serve Family 06:26 Called Out for Pride 08:54 Redefining Pride 10:06 Signs of Pride List 14:59 Humility vs Pride 16:18 False Humility Explained 17:06 Saying What Is True 17:33 Humility Versus Pride 18:27 How Pride Shapes Business 19:56 Marriage Kids Business Growth 21:07 Book Story And Awards 22:27 Writing Process And Lessons 27:34 Enneagram And Storytelling 28:37 Going Smartphone Free 30:50 AI Boundaries Handwritten Newsletter 31:37 Closing Thanks And Book Reminder About the guest Dave Munson is the founder and CEO of Saddleback Leather Co., the global leather goods company known for heirloom-quality designs and a 100-year warranty. He is the author of They’ll Fight Over It When You’re Dead — winner of Audiobook of the Year 2025 — and has designed leather interiors for the Toyota Tundra and Sequoia. Through Africa New Life Ministries, he and his wife Suzette have brought more than 400 people to Rwanda to support sponsored children and local communities. Dave’s “signs of pride” research, posted on the Saddleback site, draws roughly 1,200 readers a day. 👉 Ready to stop leading from burnout? Book a call with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call #leadershipdevelopment #innerwork #executiveteams #founderleadership #humility

The Founder Your Business Actually Needs (Part 1 with Dave Munson)

Most leaders hit a moment when the business they built can’t keep growing through them alone. Not because the work changes. Because they have to. In this episode of Inner Work, MaryAnn Means-Dufrene sits down with Dave Munson, founder and CEO of Saddleback Leather Co., for an honest conversation about confidence, control, and what it actually takes to lead a company you’ve outgrown. Dave built Saddleback from a sketch he drew of “what kind of bag would Indiana Jones carry,” through years of sleeping on a $100-a-month apartment floor in Juárez, into a global leather goods brand with a 100-year warranty and a factory that now makes interiors for Toyota Tundras and Sequoias. Along the way, he had to face something most founders avoid: the moment outsourcing leadership stops working, and the founder has to step back in. He talks about the coach who quietly built his confidence by refusing to give him answers. The 70% rule that finally let him delegate. The two questions that reshaped how he leads — What do you think we should do? and By when? And the quiet, uncomfortable truth that most wisdom in leadership is built in the bad decisions, not the clean ones. If you’ve ever felt the gap between the leader you are and the leader your business now requires, this conversation will challenge how you think about confidence, delegation, and the long road to wisdom. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 01:25 Welcome and Guest Intro 02:30 Origin of the First Bag 03:24 Scrappy Mexico Startup Years 04:18 Meeting Suzette and Building the Factory 05:49 Faith Driven Company Mission 07:17 Hiring Culture and Tolerance 10:51 Ministry Work in Africa 13:14 Naming Saddleback Leather 14:34 Painful Lessons and Inner Growth 17:21 Marriage Counseling as Leadership Training 18:14 Scaling Challenges and Delegation 19:18 Delegation vs Control 21:13 Clarity Is Not Micromanaging 22:29 Truthful Feedback Culture 24:18 Growth Mindset at Home 25:58 Strengths and Self Awareness 30:04 Coaching Confidence Through Questions 34:50 Delegating the Zone of Genius 37:16 Make Decisions Then Improve About the guest Dave Munson is the founder and CEO of Saddleback Leather Co., the global leather goods company known for heirloom-quality designs and a 100-year warranty. What started as a bag designed for a teaching job in Mexico became a category-defining brand built on durability, faith, and a “people company cleverly disguised as a leather bag business” mission. Dave is the author of They’ll Fight Over It When You’re Dead and has designed leather interiors for the Toyota Tundra and Sequoia. Through Africa New Life Ministries, he and his wife Suzette have brought more than 400 people to Rwanda to support sponsored children and local communities. 🔗 Connect with Dave: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-munson-736600141/ If you’re a founder or executive standing at the edge of what got you here and what’s needed next: 👉 https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call

Why High Performers Struggle When They Step Into Leadership - Part 2

You can be talented, driven, and deeply capable — and still spend years choosing paths that are easier than the one you were meant for. This is the episode about what happens when you stop choosing comfort, and start trusting yourself to do the thing you actually love. In this episode of Inner Work, MaryAnn sits down with Emily McAnelly — VP of Strategic Growth at Collective Growth — for an honest, warm, and surprisingly funny conversation about identity, deserving, and what it really means to build something that matters. Together, they explore: * Why we resist doing what we love most (and call it "not deserving it") * What changes when you flip the script and build toward freedom instead of safety * The loneliness of leadership — and why having the right person in your corner changes everything * How old narratives quietly define you until you decide they don't anymore * And what it looks like to find discipline that actually feels like purpose    This isn't a polished success story. It's a real conversation between two women building something from scratch — with a puppy barking in the background and everything.   HERE’S A GLIMPSE OF WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: * 00:41 Do What You Love  * 01:42 Making Joy a Career  * 04:59 Freedom and Ambition  * 07:41 Yin Yang Partnership  * 09:24 Mission of Collective Growth  * 11:02 From Founder Led Selling  * 12:48 Loneliness of Leadership  * 19:11 Stoic Mindset Shifts  * 21:49 Rapid Fire and Discipline  * 27:54 Closing Thanks and Next Steps   ABOUT THE GUEST:  Emily McAnelly is the VP of Strategic Growth at Collective Growth, where she leads business development and go-to-market strategy. With experience across AI startups, Fortune 100 partnerships, and financial systems, she builds scalable, transformational growth engines. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family and brings both strategic rigor and irreplaceable human warmth to everything she touches. 🔗 Connect with Emily: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-mcanelly-99442233/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-mcanelly-99442233/] If you've ever wondered whether you actually deserve the thing you most want to do — this one's for you. 👉 Book a 1:1 call with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call [https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call]

Why High Performers Struggle When They Step Into Leadership - Part 1

You can be high-performing, and still feel completely unprepared for what leadership demands next. This is the side of leadership development no one prepares you for. In this episode of Inner Work, MaryAnn sits down with Emily McAnelly, for a raw conversation about what it really takes to step into leadership when the stakes are real. Emily didn’t just change roles, she chose to walk away from the “path of least resistance” and into a version of herself that required discipline, ownership, and facing the fear of failure head-on. Together, they unpack: * What it feels like to build something that actually matters * The pressure of stepping into leadership before you feel ready * How faith and failure reshape your definition of success * And why scaling a business is really about scaling who you are This isn’t a conversation about tactics. It’s about identity, pressure, and the inner work required to lead at the next level.   HERE’S A GLIMPSE OF WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: * 00:40 Welcome and Introduction * 02:10 Blending Two Podcasts * 03:46 Why Emily Joined * 08:13 Scaling and Partnership * 11:34 Working With Family * 12:55 Fear of Failure * 20:07 Discipline and 10x Habits * 23:10 Sales Engine and Faith * 29:09 Ed Story and Wrap Up ABOUT THE GUEST: Emily McAnelly is the Vice President of Strategic Growth at Collective Growth, where she leads business development and go-to-market strategy. With experience across AI startups, Fortune 100 partnerships, and financial systems, she builds scalable, transformational growth engines. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family and brings both strategic rigor and human insight to leadership. 🔗 Connect with Emily: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-mcanelly-99442233/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-mcanelly-99442233/]  If you’ve ever felt the tension between who you are and who leadership requires you to become, this episode is for you. 👉 Book a 1:1 call: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call [https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call]

Healing Trauma to Lead Others Better

Most leaders are trained to manage strategy, performance, and results. Very few are taught how unresolved trauma quietly shapes the way they lead. In this episode of Inner Work, MaryAnn Means-Dufrene sits down with Carol Klocek, CEO of the Center for Transforming Lives, for an honest conversation about the deeper side of leadership development, the inner work that shapes how leaders show up for their teams, families, and communities. Carol brings more than 35 years of leadership experience in the social sector, along with her own lived experience growing up in poverty and trauma. That perspective has shaped her commitment to trauma-informed leadership, psychological safety, and building systems that create long-term transformation for women and children. This conversation explores the hidden realities many leaders carry: shame, burnout, survival patterns, and the internal voices formed early in life. Carol shares how working with a trauma-informed executive coach helped her shift from relentless performance to sustainable leadership grounded in self-awareness and resilience. She also reflects on a defining moment during COVID when her organization was losing $50,000 per week, and how choosing to prioritize people over productivity became a turning point in her leadership. If you’re a founder, executive, or team leader navigating growth, pressure, and responsibility, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership development and the personal work that sustains it.   HERE’S A GLIMPSE OF WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: * 00:42 Introduction to Carol Klocek and the Center for Transforming Lives * 02:42 Trauma-informed leadership and psychological safety * 04:42 How childhood trauma shapes the brain and behavior * 11:12 Personal healing as a leadership prerequisite * 13:12 A career-defining moment: hiding her story early on * 15:42 Learning to share lived experience with courage * 18:12 Trauma-informed executive coaching and transformation * 19:12 Why self-care is essential for sustainable leadership * 21:42 Reframing negative self-talk and burnout patterns * 23:42 Parenting, discipline, and raising resilient children * 27:42 A reluctant healing journey and health wake-up call * 32:42 Leading through crisis during COVID * 33:42 The turning point: putting people first as a leader * 35:42 Recognizing unexamined trauma in leadership * 38:42 Books, values, and daily practices for inner work    ABOUT THE GUEST: Carol Klocek is the Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Transforming Lives. Having experienced poverty and trauma herself as a child, Carol brings both lived experience and more than 35 years of leadership in the social sector to her work. Under her leadership, the organization applies a two-generation approach, partnering with women and children to disrupt cycles of poverty through housing, counseling, early childhood education, and economic mobility services.   🔗 Connect with Carol: linkedin.com/in/carol-hunter-klocek-2126584 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-hunter-klocek-2126584/] 🔗If you’re navigating your own leadership evolution and want support in that journey:  https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call [https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call]