Authentic Life & Leadership
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Most recent blog post…
5 Ways Leaders Can Stop Taking Things Personally and Lead with Confidence
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in leadership is that if I take everything personally, it will exhaust me. Leadership puts you in the path of so many opinions, emotions, disagreements, criticism and misunderstandings. And if you absorb all of that...
Two Leaders, One Marriage:
(5 Things We Learned the Hard Way)
When two leaders live under one roof, it can be powerful. It’s also complex. After 38 years, Larry and I have a little experience in this. This is not our first rodeo. Both of us carry significant responsibility. We each have strong convictions, instincts, and...
Why Giving Up Isn’t the Answer
(Especially When You’re Tired as a Leader)
I’ve wanted to give up on important things in life and leadership more times than I can count. And by the way, it’s not wrong to want to give up. It’s normal. For clarity, when I talk about giving up in this post, I’m not simply referring to stepping down from a...
The Different Kinds of Tired
(And How to Move Forward)
Have you found yourself thinking, “I’m more tired than I’ve ever been before?” You’re not alone. There are different kinds of tired… and not all of them are fixed by sleep. Sometimes you’re tired because you truly need rest. You’ve been running hard, working long,...
We Are Never at the End…
Until We Are
I know that sentence can sound heavy, but I actually find it freeing. We are never at the end, until we are. Maybe you're reading this today and you are discouraged. For whatever reason, you you feel you've come to the end of something. Maybe it's your leadership...
Were Humans Meant to Look at Themselves?
What Mirrors Reveal About Self-Criticism, Faith, and Identity
So I was listening to Jay Shetty’s latest podcast featuring Mel Robbins, and it honestly rocked my world. The topic was How to Stop People Pleasing Without Feeling Guilty. And during the conversation, Mel made a statement that stopped me in my tracks: humankind was...
Let Them and Let Me
(Boundaries, Freedom & Emotional Health)
The book The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins has been my most impactful book of 2025. It will be one I will revisit in the future to remind myself of the important truths it contains...ones that are key to my everyday peace. The wisdom of the book has been weighing...
Invite Deanna to speak at your next event!
Deanna is invited to return and speak at many of the same places time and again because the result has been an overwhelmingly positive experience with lives changed, and people encouraged.
BIO
Dr. Deanna Shrodes
Dr. Deanna Doss Shrodes is an author, speaker, and leadership mentor known for helping women lead with courage, integrity, and deep faith. Her work has been featured by CBS News, People Magazine, The New Yorker, Woman’s World, GOD TV, and HuffPost. She holds a Master’s in Ministerial Leadership and a Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern University, where she also serves as an adjunct professor.
Dr. Shrodes currently serves as Women’s Ministries Director for the Pen Florida District of the Assemblies of God and leads the Stronger Leadership Network, where she mentors pastors and leaders through coaching, spiritual formation, and leadership development. The author of five books and a contributing writer to five others, her most recent work, Uncommon Answers, was released by Chosen Books (a division of Baker Publishing Group) in April 2025.
Known for a warm pastoral presence and practical, thoughtful teaching, Dr. Shrodes speaks at conferences, churches, and leadership gatherings on spiritual formation, prayer, women in leadership, discernment in decision-making, and cultivating healthy ministry cultures.
She is married to her college sweetheart, Larry. Together they have three grown children and five grandchildren.
Areas of Focus:
Spiritual formation & prayer
The work of the Holy Spirit
Leadership development
Women in leadership
Mentoring and calling
Healthy ministry culture
Leadership transitions
Marriage and ministry life
Become Your Most Authentic Self
Free E-Book
Are you tired of being who and what others expect you to be, instead of who God created you to be?
If you find the pressure of other people's expectations exhausting and you are ready to be the authentic YOU that you were always meant to be, Deanna would like to gift you with an ebook, 29 Ways to Become Your Most Authentic Self.
It's time to break free and finally live according to your divine design!
