Lisa Ann James

The first thing that comes to mind is God.

For me, this season is about obedience, surrender, and learning how to be led. It is the daily reminder that I am not in control of every situation, every outcome, or every next step — and that my strength is not found in trying to be.

Right now, I am studying and reflecting on the relationship between a shepherd and a sheep. I have never naturally thought of myself as a sheep, but the more I sit with that image, the more I realize how much I need God’s shepherding. I have places in me that wander, worry, resist, overthink, and try to protect myself. I also have places that need guidance, covering, correction, rest, and reassurance.

I am learning that being sheep-like is not weakness; it is an invitation to trust. It is recognizing that I need a Shepherd who sees farther than I do, knows what I cannot know, and leads me with both protection and love.

One of the most impactful pieces of advice I ever received from a leader was, “Learn how to have a difficult conversation.”

At the time, I was a young executive assistant, still learning how to navigate workplace relationships, professional discomfort, and my own emotions. When I felt offended by something or knew an uncomfortable conversation needed to happen, my instinct was often to shut down. I would retreat inward, sit behind my desk, and avoid addressing what needed to be said.

A leader I deeply respected, who is still a close friend today, saw that pattern in me and cared enough to challenge it. She told me, “That is going to impact you. You have to learn how to have difficult conversations. You have to learn how to take your emotions out of the driver’s seat and still communicate when things are uncomfortable.”

That advice has stayed with me for years.

It helped me grow professionally, emotionally, and as a leader. It taught me that avoiding hard conversations does not protect relationships; often, it delays clarity, creates distance, or allows misunderstanding to grow. I learned that difficult conversations can be handled with respect, humility, and maturity. They do not have to be combative to be honest, and they do not have to be emotional to be meaningful.

That lesson has carried into the way I lead, coach, train, and build community. It has helped me create spaces where people can speak honestly, address challenges, and move forward with greater understanding. I believe everyone can benefit from learning how to have difficult conversations because so much of our growth, leadership, and healing depends on our willingness to communicate with courage and care.

I would say, “Be the change you want to see.”

That phrase means a lot to me because it connects directly to the heart of who I am and the work I have been building for years. A long time ago, I started a business called Focus Haven, and the foundation of that work was rooted in one truth: I cannot produce, create, or thrive if I do not feel safe.

For me, safety has always been connected to productivity. I cannot fully show up, think clearly, or operate in purpose when I feel unsupported, unseen, or emotionally unsettled. As I have grown, that truth has not changed. If anything, I understand it even more deeply now.

That is why I want to create the kind of space I needed when I was younger. I think about the younger version of myself — the single parent, the woman trying to figure out who she was, the one who did not always have everything she needed, but still had purpose inside of her. I want to be a resource, a safe place, and a kind of one-stop shop for that young woman who is trying to build, heal, learn, and become.

When you are trying to determine who you are and what you are called to do, it is easy to get distracted by comparison, recognition, or the pressure to be seen. But I believe alignment comes from paying attention to what consistently stirs you, burdens you, or moves you to action. The things that uniquely agitate your spirit are often connected to the places where you are called to make a difference.

When you keep showing up for that, you stay aligned. You find yourself positioned exactly where God needs you to be so that your life, your work, and your experiences can have impact.

So my advice would be this: be the change you want to see. Do not get derailed from that. Stay close to what matters, stay faithful to what God keeps placing on your heart, and keep building the spaces you once needed.

In my field right now, I believe one of the biggest challenges is the confusion around the value AI actually brings. We are all approaching it from different generations, backgrounds, industries, and levels of comfort with technology, so the conversation can easily become divided between excitement and fear.

The reality, as I see it, is that AI is only as effective as the person prompting it. We can become so fascinated by how quickly AI produces content, ideas, summaries, and technical solutions that we forget it is still responding to the thinking, context, judgment, and creativity we bring to it. AI may generate the output, but human intelligence shapes the input.

That is where I believe people are beginning to lose themselves. Some are becoming so overwhelmed by what AI can produce in seconds that they are backing away from their own critical thinking. Others are using it recklessly, without slowing down to evaluate accuracy, ethics, context, or impact. To me, that is a real threat — not because AI exists, but because people may stop trusting or developing their own ability to think, discern, create, and lead.

In a field that is constantly changing, there is always a next tool, next system, next best idea, or next innovation. AI has only accelerated that pace. But I believe the opportunity is for leaders to become more collaborative, not less human. With so much power being placed in everyone’s hands, leaders have a responsibility to create environments where people are not devalued, dismissed, or replaced in spirit simply because a tool can produce faster outputs.

I think part of what we are seeing in the job market is fear — fear about how people are being treated, fear about being replaced, and fear about whether human contribution is still valued. Organizations can invest billions of dollars into AI, but without people, wisdom, intuition, judgment, creativity, empathy, and lived experience, they are still operating at a loss.

For me, the opportunity in this moment is to become more human, not less. AI should support our thinking, not replace it. It should help us work with more clarity, not disconnect us from the people and purpose behind the work. The leaders and organizations that will thrive are the ones that learn how to use AI responsibly while still honoring the intangible human qualities that technology cannot duplicate.

I would say integrity is one of the qualities I value most.

I deeply respect people who do what they say they are going to do. And when they are not able to follow through, I value the maturity and accountability it takes to come back and say, “This is what happened, and this is why I was not able to do it.” To me, that kind of honesty speaks volumes about a person’s character.

I also value people who maintain their strength of character as they grow. As they climb the corporate ladder or gain more responsibility, they do not lose themselves, compromise their values, or become disconnected from the people around them. Instead, they become a better, wiser, and more grounded version of themselves.

Servant leadership also resonates deeply with me. I consider myself a servant leader, and I value leaders who understand that they do not have to be the smartest person in the room. They recognize the importance of the team, they make space for other people’s strengths, and they lead in a way that builds trust rather than fear.

Integrity, accountability, and servant leadership are the qualities I connect with most because they reflect both character and impact. They show up not only in what a person accomplishes, but in how they treat people while they are accomplishing it.