Shane Jackson on How Great Leaders Steward Influence, Impact and Trust

Jackson Healthcare president Shane Jackson joins Jeff Bond, host of The Steward Chair podcast, to discuss what it means to lead for impact, not control, exploring how trust, long-term thinking and radical vulnerability shape a leadership style that’s not about you — it’s about what’s been entrusted to you.

Listen in here, or watch the full episode above or on YouTube. 

Presented by Chat With Leaders and End of the Line Productions

Jeff Bond (00:08:00):
Shane, here we are again. Welcome to The Steward Chair.

Shane Jackson (00:08:03):
Yeah, great to be here—and great to see you again, Jeff.

Jeff Bond (00:08:06):
It’s always a gift to be with you. I’m so excited to unpack your views on leadership through the lens of stewardship. I really look at you as a model of that. In our friendship, and in the way I’ve gotten to know you as a leader—walking through the halls of Jackson Healthcare in Alpharetta, this incredible campus full of joy-filled people—thank you for spending this time and sharing your wisdom with me today.

Shane Jackson (00:08:32):
Well, thanks for the invitation and the very kind words. I appreciate that.

Jeff Bond (00:08:36):
I want to start here. I’ve been quietly thinking about leadership through the lens of stewardship for years. It’s been on my heart, and I’ve refocused our show—Chat with Leaders, which you’ve been on before—to dive into this concept of stewardship and the future we won’t personally see. You know, we belong to the chair; the chair doesn’t belong to us. We’re just keeping it warm for the next person.

We define stewardship as the long-term responsibility of a leader to care for what’s been entrusted to them—whether that’s people, a mission, a company, a community, or all of the above—not for personal gain, but for the flourishing of others and the health of future generations.

But when I say the word “stewardship” to you, how do you define it? What kind of emotions does that word evoke for you?

Shane Jackson (00:09:21):
I think that’s a pretty good definition you just gave—hearing it for the first time—but some of the elements you hit on are really important, starting with this idea of “long-term.” To me, stewardship is the understanding that you’ve been entrusted with things—assets, resources, responsibilities—that don’t belong to you. They’re yours to care for temporarily.

The term “steward” goes way back. In the Middle Ages, a steward was someone appointed by a king or lord to manage an estate in their absence. That’s where the idea comes from.

And I think the applications of stewardship are broader—and maybe more uncomfortable—than we realize. You start thinking, “Okay, I manage some things, but I own some things too, right?” Well, yes—technically—but only for a period of time. The hard truth is, everything you own will someday belong to someone else. Tangibly, that’s stewardship.

More broadly, you’ve also been given stewardship over a certain amount of time—your life—and the opportunity to choose how you spend it. You didn’t create your life. You were given it. The question is: How will you use it? What do you want the result of all your choices to be?

Jeff Bond (00:11:37):
That’s a beautiful reflection. So, tell the listener: What are the most important things that have been entrusted to you today? Give us a flyover of your leadership responsibilities and what you’re stewarding right now.

Shane Jackson (00:11:56):
As a leader—especially a business leader—I see stewardship in two categories: the stewardship of people and the stewardship of assets and resources.

Let’s start with people. Historically, leadership was based on power dynamics—kings, generals, chiefs. You followed them or faced consequences. But in today’s world, especially in the knowledge economy, that’s changed. The people I get to lead are incredibly talented and sought after. They don’t have to work here—they choose to. That’s significant.

They’re giving me influence over how they spend their time, their growth, their compensation—their life. That influence is a gift, and I view it as something I must steward carefully. I don’t lead them because I have power—I lead because they’ve granted me their trust.

On the other side, especially for business owners or executives, you’re stewarding resources—capital, infrastructure, opportunities. Even if you’re the founder or sole owner, you only get to wield that influence for a finite period of time.

I think constantly about what I want the outcome of that stewardship to be. That’s how we focus our business. We’ve built this organization and have the ability to direct resources toward solving real problems. But I only get to do that for a while. So the question becomes: What do I want to create? What legacy do I want to leave?

Jeff Bond (00:15:43):
I love that as a daily lens for decision-making. Long-term stewardship helps anchor us against the short-term pressures we face. You’ve led Jackson Healthcare for over a decade—an amazing organization that serves thousands of associates and touches millions of lives globally. It’s humbling how grounded you are, both in the business and in your personal life—coaching 30+ youth teams, staying in incredible shape, being a husband and father.

One thing I loved talking about at your book launch was how you frame life, joy, and purpose—and how that all starts by thinking about the end. I know that might scare some people, talking about death, but it’s such an important reality to consider. How has that shaped your leadership?

Shane Jackson (00:17:07):
I think having a healthy and honest understanding of death can really help prioritize how we want to live. For highly driven, successful people, it exposes how much time we spend chasing things that ultimately won’t last.

Years ago, I was doing estate planning. You realize quickly: You can’t control anything after you die. Not people’s behavior. Not what they do with your things. So, release that.

Legacy is important, but it can also become an idol. We chase these noble outcomes we’ll never get to witness, and we convince ourselves that’s the goal. But we won’t be here to experience it.

What we do have is now. We get to experience life. So instead of focusing on what I leave behind, I focus on the experience I want to have today—and the impact I can make right now.

Legacy, to me, is not about controlling the future. It’s about the present impact I have on others. That’s where joy and purpose really show up.

Jeff Bond (00:20:17):
Have there been seasons in your life where that clarity wasn’t present? What helped awaken that reality for you?

Shane Jackson (00:20:29):
Oh, for sure. Life is a journey of learning what actually matters.

In my 20s, everything felt exciting—traveling for work, staying in hotels, eating out. That stuff was fun at first. But now? I hate business travel. I’ll avoid it whenever I can.

Eventually, you realize that those trappings are temporary. The excitement fades fast. And you start seeing how much time and energy you spent chasing things that felt good for a moment but left you empty afterward.

What lasts are relationships. The impact you have on people. That’s where richness really is.

Jeff Bond (00:22:42):
Something I hear about you often is how strategic this kind of thinking is in your business—how it’s embedded in a multi-billion-dollar healthcare workforce company like Jackson Healthcare. I loved interviewing you at your book launch for This Is the Thing. You signed my copy with a note that said: “Thanks for choosing to impact others. You’re creating ripples that will go well beyond what you will see. Thank you for owning your purpose.”

I imagine you say similar things to others as well. How important is it for you to pass that encouragement along to your associates and fellow leaders—to help them also experience that sense of purpose and joy?

Shane Jackson (00:23:48):
Yeah, thank you for that. It’s personally very rewarding for me. I love the ripple metaphor—throwing a rock in the pond, not knowing how far the ripples will go. That kind of impact is powerful to think about.

But I’d also argue that this kind of thinking isn’t just personally meaningful—it’s a strong business strategy. Stewardship and long-term thinking create trust. Trust builds great businesses.

A few years ago, I rolled out what we call our “definition of success” at Jackson Healthcare. Everyone here is expected to think strategically. Our definition of strategy is simple: it’s the answer to the question, “How do we win?”

In business, winning can mean different things to different people. So we needed a baseline. For us, success is defined as:
Sustainable growth and meaningful impact.

At the end of the year, we ask:
Did you make decisions that lead to sustainable growth over time—not just short-term wins?
And did you have a meaningful impact—on customers, associates, stakeholders?

Usually, when you do the second well, the first tends to follow. This clarity helps keep us focused. And yes, we still have budgets and short-term goals, but they all serve that bigger vision.

Jeff Bond (00:28:21):
I love how you take something complex and make it simple. Your three core values—Others First, Wisdom, and Growth—are simple phrases, but deeply impactful. Same with your leadership messaging: “How do we win?” That clarity around long-term impact is powerful.

But there are still metrics—P&L, EBITDA, revenue—and sometimes things go flat. How do you and your leadership team stay focused on the long-term in the face of short-term pressures?

Shane Jackson (00:29:20):
Simplicity creates clarity. Honestly, I have to break things down that way because if there are more than three things, I forget them! If my wife gives me more than three items for the store, I have to write it down.

I think one of the mistakes we make as leaders is trying to do too many things at once. I was helping a friend with his business once, and they had ten core objectives for the year. No one could remember them. If you can’t remember them, how can you execute them?

So we work hard to narrow things down to two or three core focuses. Once you know the essentials—core values, key objectives—then you can apply them across the board. That clarity helps people know how to act in every situation.

Jeff Bond (00:30:59):
That’s great advice. I’ve worked with amazing purpose-driven organizations that still have vision, mission, values, 14 guiding principles, and more—it can be overwhelming. Like you, I rely on shared lists!

You’ve talked about values-based leadership and how it produces real business outcomes. Has anything surprised you about leaning more into your values, faith, and purpose as you’ve seen Jackson Healthcare succeed?

Shane Jackson (00:32:19):
Yes—how the market has rewarded it.

When you operate out of integrity and alignment with your values, you often have to say no. The assumption is that will limit your growth. And in some cases, it does.

But thinking long-term, putting others first, and recognizing you’ve been entrusted with resources has helped us build tremendous trust with our customers. And that trust has led to long-term reward, in ways I never imagined.

I remember hitting a big financial milestone and calling my dad, our founder. I told him, “I never imagined we could build a business like this.” He laughed and said, “We passed what I dreamed of years ago.”

One of the best real-world confirmations of this was during the Great Recession of 2008–2009. It was such a difficult time, but I told my leadership team: “We’re going to survive in ways others won’t. And when the market comes back, we’ll grow faster than anyone else.” Why? Because customers had choices—and they would choose the people they trust. And we had built that trust.

That’s exactly what happened. From 2010 to 2012, we saw some of our fastest growth ever.

Trust is the real currency of business. People do business with those they trust. If they don’t trust you, they’ll leave the first chance they get.

Jeff Bond (00:36:44):
That ripple effect of trust—or mistrust—can spread far. Especially during uncertain economic times, like now. Your example shows how core values and trust can keep businesses strong even in volatility. What else have you learned—maybe countercultural truths—that business leaders should start or stop doing to unlock growth or momentum?

Shane Jackson (00:37:21):
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the importance of radical vulnerability and radical transparency in leadership.

A couple of years ago, a close friend—an incredibly smart, successful tech entrepreneur—emailed a group of us with an update. Things weren’t going great in his business. I reached out to check on him, and he admitted, “It’s getting really hard to be the optimist.”

And I challenged that. I said, “Your team doesn’t need an optimist right now. They need a realist—with a plan.”

As leaders, we think that being open about our concerns or failures will make people lose confidence in us. But often, the opposite is true. If things are clearly not going well, and the leader is just spouting blind optimism, people start to wonder: “Does this person get it?”

But if you say, “Yes, this is tough. I’m concerned about this. But here’s the plan. Here’s how we’ve always operated. Here’s what we’re going to do next”—that’s validating. People feel seen. And then they feel confident. Because they know you’re grounded in reality, not denial.

That kind of honest leadership builds loyalty and engagement in ways false confidence never could.

I think leaders underestimate how much they can actually share. We keep too much behind the curtain. There’s more we could be saying—and when we do, it builds trust.

Jeff Bond (00:41:36):
That’s probably the best reflection on vulnerability I’ve heard in a business context. So freeing—and powerful. We’ve covered so much today. If you had to distill it down, what’s one final takeaway you hope listeners leave with about stewardship?

Shane Jackson (00:42:17):
I was reflecting before this conversation and remembered a moment from a few years ago, probably around 2021.

We were doing more on-campus events post-COVID, trying to bring people back together in person. We had a big barbecue outside with music and tables set up under a tent. I went down to grab lunch and walked out into the tent—looking for somewhere to sit.

And I had this flash of panic. It felt like middle school in the cafeteria—not knowing who to sit with. But in this case, it was worse. Everyone there knew who I was—and no one wanted to sit next to the boss.

I walked around awkwardly, didn’t know anyone at the tables, and eventually sat by myself, ate quickly, and went back up to my office.

When I got back, I felt shame. I thought, “Wow, that’s not good. I should know these people. I need to be more accessible.”

But then that shame turned into gratitude. Because I realized: This isn’t about me.

There were 150 people out there—all doing the work that makes this place great—and I didn’t even know them. That was a humbling and beautiful realization. This whole thing is bigger than me. And it’s working—because of them.

So, to answer your question:
Wherever you are in life—especially if you’re leading something—remember: it’s not about you.

Jeff Bond (00:45:23):
That’s incredible, Shane. Everyone, pick up his latest book, This Is the Thing: About Life, Joy, and Owning Your Purpose. Shane, it’s a gift to know you. Thank you for sharing this time, this wisdom, and this encouragement with all of us on The Steward Chair.

Shane Jackson (00:45:32):
Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it, Jeff.