Good Leader Podcast

Recorded live at Summit 2026, Will Van Der Hart sat down with church leader and pastor Jonny Hughes for a deeply honest conversation about calling, friendship, leadership and the unexpected ways God shapes our lives.Johnny reflects on his surprising journey into ministry, despite once vowing he would never follow in his father's footsteps. Together they explore the tension between ambition and surrender, the importance of deep friendships, the role of play and joy in preventing burnout, and why many leaders are quietly struggling with isolation.

What does it look like to lead with genuine compassion without burning out?Recorded live at Summit 2026, Will Van Der Hart speaks with Justin Dowds from Compassion UK about poverty, responsibility, emotional resilience and the role of the local church in transforming communities. Justin shares powerful stories from Haiti, Uganda and beyond — including the moment God changed his life forever through one child living in extreme poverty.

In this episode of The Good Leader Podcast, presented by Will Van Der Hart and Will James, we sit down with Kitty Kay Shuttleworth—who has spent 22 years serving the global Alpha movement—to explore what it really takes to lead for the long haul.From a simple prompting at 23 to shaping leadership conversations on a global stage, Kitty reflects on the quiet foundations that have carried her: a daily rhythm of prayer, deep friendships, self-awareness, and the courage to lead without ego.This is a conversation about vision that evolves, leadership that is shared, and the kind of inner life that keeps you steady when the pressure rises.If you want to build something that lasts, this episode is for you.

In this episode of the Good Leader Podcast, Will is joined by veteran church leader Nick Cuthbert, whose ministry spans more than fifty years.
Nick reflects on the explosive growth of his early ministry in Birmingham, the hidden dangers of apparent success, and the personal crisis that forced him to rethink everything about leadership, identity, and significance.
Nick shares how burnout in midlife exposed deeper questions about ego, validation, and calling. From that point on, his leadership changed — becoming less about productivity and more about fruitfulness, less about individual responsibility and more about team.

In this episode of The Good Leader Podcast, Will Van Der Hart and Will James are joined by Patrick Regan, founder of XLP and pioneer of urban youth work in London, whose work placed him at the heart of knife crime, gang violence, and community trauma for over 22 years.
From mobile youth buses and MTV projects to hospital beds and panic attacks, Patrick shares honestly about what sustainable leadership really requires — and why going gently isn’t weakness, but wisdom.