The Quiet Strength of a Heroic Leader: Brett Powell on Influence, Fatherhood, and Leaving a Legacy
Brett Powell doesn’t fit the Hollywood image of a leader. No high-stakes boardroom drama. No fiery speeches from the frontlines. His voice is calm, his words measured. But beneath that steady exterior is the weight of a man who knows what real leadership costs—and what it’s worth.
A father of eight, a seasoned leader in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, and now the host of Leadership Where It Matters Most, Brett has spent decades navigating the trenches of family life, church renewal, and organizational leadership. But as he makes clear, true leadership isn’t about titles, authority, or charisma. It’s about influence. The kind that shapes hearts, earns trust, and quietly leaves a mark long after you’re gone.
We sat down with Brett on Heroic Hotline to unpack what it means to be a man of influence today—in your home, your church, and the messy, chaotic world beyond.
1. Leadership Isn’t a Title. It’s How You Show Up.
“Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less,” Brett shared, quoting the well-known leadership thinker John Maxwell. It’s a simple line, but like most truths worth living, it runs deep. Influence doesn’t come from a corner office or a uniform. It comes from how you carry yourself, how you walk with others, and whether people trust you enough to follow.
“We can complicate it,” Brett admits. “But if you present yourself in the world and engage with others in such a way that you inspire them to become more of who God created them to be—then yeah, you’re a leader.”
The danger, he warns, is falling for the counterfeit versions of leadership—where position or power become the goal. “Jesus was clear. The rulers of this world lord it over their people. This will not be for you.”
Real leadership, as Brett reminds us, looks like a towel and a basin of water. It looks like Christ on His knees, washing feet. It looks like sacrifice.
And it starts at home.
2. The Most Important Boardroom? Your Living Room.
If there’s one arena Brett believes every man needs to lead with purpose, it’s his family.
“The family is—and always will be—the most important institution in the world,” Brett said firmly. “Married love and family life can literally change the world.”
It’s a conviction born not just from theology but from experience. As a father to eight kids, Brett knows the chaos, the exhaustion, the constant demand for presence and patience. But he also knows the stakes.
Everything good—ambition, holiness, the desire to serve—can be planted within the four walls of a home. And everything broken in society often starts when fathers check out, drift, or lead with fear instead of love.
That’s why Leadership Where It Matters Most, Brett’s new podcast, focuses on two battlegrounds: the family and the church. “Our mission in the church has eternal consequences,” Brett reminds us. “We have a moral obligation to engage with effective leadership to carry that out.”
It’s not about grand gestures or flawless strategy. It’s about the quiet, ordinary decisions made daily—how you speak to your wife when you're tired, how you discipline with love, how you show up for your kids when the world pulls at your time and energy.
“Some of those relationships are built with glass,” Brett shared, quoting wisdom from an older mentor. “You never drop them.”
3. Want to Lead? Earn Their Trust.
In a world obsessed with quick fixes and viral influence, Brett’s leadership philosophy feels refreshingly ancient—and profoundly challenging. Leadership, he says, boils down to one currency: trust.
“We live in a trust economy,” Brett explained. “Either you’re building trust, or you have nothing.”
How do you build it? It’s not complicated. But it’s hard.
Keep your commitments.
Do what you say you’ll do.
Own your mistakes—and apologize.
It’s that last one that trips up many men. “So many leaders think admitting they’re wrong is weakness,” Brett said. “But it’s actually strength. You’re modeling humility. You’re telling your people—it’s okay to make mistakes here.”
That applies whether you're commanding a squad in a riot, as host Sean Lynn reflected from his police days, or leading a dinner table conversation with your kids.
Brett's seen both worlds—the secular leadership sphere, where influence protects public safety, and the private realm of family, where trust builds futures. And the lesson cuts across both: leadership without character is a house of cards. Leadership rooted in virtue—prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude—is the only kind that lasts.
“We have to lead ourselves first,” Brett emphasized. “You can’t lead your family, your church, your team—if you’re not leading your own life with integrity.”
The Legacy You Leave
Throughout the conversation, Brett returned to one sobering but motivating image: your funeral.
“Think about who you want there,” he challenged. “What do you want them to say about your life? That shapes how you live today.”
It’s not about chasing titles or external achievements. “On your deathbed, 'Chief' or 'Superintendent' won’t mean much,” Sean reflected. “It’s Dad. Grandpa. Papa. Those are the titles that matter.”
Brett agreed. “Ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things. Extraordinary people living very ordinary lives. That’s real leadership.”
In a world hungry for heroic men, Brett Powell reminds us—being heroic isn’t about glory. It’s about quiet influence, sacrificial love, and daily choices that form the next generation.
It starts at home. It starts with you.
“Some relationships are built with glass… you never drop them.”
—Wisdom from Brett’s mentor
“If your actions inspire others to be more, do more, become more—then you are a leader.”
—John Quincy Adams, as quoted by Brett Powell
“We live in a trust economy. Either you’re building trust—or you have nothing.”
—Brett Powell