In this episode, Dr. Dan sits down with Dr. Garland Vance and Dorothy Wood Vance, co-founders of AdVance Leadership and co-authors of Unleashed Leadership: How to Solve the 7 Issues Holding You Back from Your Greatest Impact. Garland and Dorothy met studying creative writing in college and have spent more than two decades since developing leaders together, learning firsthand how much good and bad leadership shapes the people around it. At the center of their work sits a distinction they call leashed versus unleashed. Being leashed happens when the gap between what a role demands and what a leader currently has the ability, resources, or capacity to deliver keeps widening, a pattern common among high achievers who respond to strain by pushing harder until they hit frustration, exhaustion, and burnout.

Garland and Dorothy walk through why working harder rarely closes that gap. Real change starts with self-awareness and a willingness to look at the leader before trying to fix everyone around them. Their Decide, Discern, Deliver framework offers a structured path: decide that change is worth pursuing, discern the root cause instead of reacting to symptoms, then deliver through consistent action. The conversation moves into marriage, family, boundaries, faith, and what it costs to lead people well, closing on a belief that grounds their entire practice: people deserve great leadership.