Calm in Chaos and the Cost of Success with James Ackerman

Today on the Servant Leadership Podcast we welcome James Ackerman. James previously served as CEO of Prison Fellowship, the largest Christian nonprofit supporting prisoners, former prisoners, and their families. In this episode, James shares how his leadership journey was shaped by personal loss, deep faith, and a calling to serve some of the most overlooked people in society. He talks about the tension between compassion and accountability, the importance of humility in leadership, and why servant leadership is not soft leadership, but the most demanding form there is.

Timestamps:

00:00 Opening

00:14 James Ackerman Intro

01:11 Welcome James Ackerman

01:38 James’ Journey - Avoiding His Father’s Shadow

02:46 The Road To Being A CEO At 33

04:28 A Career Built Around Faith

05:54 Servant Leadership - Remaining Calm During Crisis

08:02 Major Turning Point - Leading A Public Company

09:56 Butting Heads With His Team

11:15 Growing From The Worst Years

12:32 Becoming Very Intentional To Repair His Life

13:29 Recommendations For Those In The Valley

15:18 Don’t Sacrifice The Most Important Things In Life

15:56 The Road To Prison Fellowship

16:38 Called By The Holy Spirit To Prison Fellowship

19:07 Leadership Opportunity In Prison Ministry

21:55 Servant Leadership - Seeing Value In Convicts

23:45 Prison Fellowship And Showing Love To The Incarcerated

25:22 “You Can’t Keep Me Out Of Prison”

26:43 How To Leave A Company In Good Hands

28:15 The Life Of A “Fix It” CEO

29:26 The Lord’s Message From An Inmate’s Mouth

32:13 From Prison Ministry To New Canaan Society

33:39 Ten Rapid-Fire Questions

35:31 Importance Of A Servant Leadership Podcast

36:16 Closing

Learn more about James and the ministries he has been a part of:

https://www.jamesjackerman.com/

https://www.prisonfellowship.org/

https://newcanaansociety.org/

Servant Leadership:

URL: https://servantleadershippodcast.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServantLeadershipPodcast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servantleadershippodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servant-leadership-podcast/

X (Twitter): https://x.com/servant_podcast