Optimising Leader Brilliance: Enabling Calm, Confident, Strategic Leadership

This episode explores the journey from burnout to recoverywith resilience coach Tracy Doyle, who bravely shares her story of overcoming profound personal challenges. Please note this episode contains discussions of sexual abuse, suicide, and mental health struggles. Listener discretion isadvised. Tracy reveals how life experiences shape the beliefs driving burnout and introduces her transformative...

Winning your first hour each morning is the secret tostaying calm under pressure—and it all starts with biology, not personality. In this episode, Dr. Robert Carter, international bestselling co-author of  The Morning Mind  and the upcoming  The Convenience Trap , shares a neuroscience-backed morning routine that resets your nervous system, thehidden convenience traps draining your resilience, and...

Why do high achievers often feel stuck despite theirsuccess? In this episode, Dr. Judith Wright, a neuroscientist and coach featured on Oprah and Good Morning America, shares her insights on the hidden patterns that keep leaders trapped in burnout, conflict, and underperformance. Discover how “soft addictions” and unmet deep yearnings silently sabotage your leadership potential. Learn practical st...

Feeling invisible in rooms where your leadership should shine? This episode dives deep into leadership visibility and how to raise your profile authentically. Discover why many leaders struggle with imposter syndrome, fear of failure, or uncertainty about how to present their leadership presence confidently. Host Estelle Read chats with Katie Radel, CEO of Ripple Consulting Group, about proven str...

In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach Estelle Read dives into the "Overachiever" saboteur—the relentless drive to prove worth through endless achievements and output. Discover how this pattern creates burnout, toxic work cultures, and personal exhaustion by tying your value solely to performance. Drawing on over two decades of coaching, Estelle reveals the emo...

In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach Estelle Read explores the “Chronic Harmonizer” leadership saboteur—a pattern where leaders avoid difficult conversations to keep the peace, often at great cost to their teams and businesses. Learn how this tendency to avoid conflict stems from deep emotional triggers and childhood survival mechanisms, and discover the neuroscience-b...

In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach Estelle Read unveils the hidden leadership saboteur known as the "Strategic Procrastinator." Discover why many leaders get trapped in chaotic busywork as a way to delay critical, high-stakes decisions. Learn how underlying fears and old survival patterns block bold action and stunt your business growth. Drawing on over two...

Do you live in a permanent state of frantic panic — forever putting out fires, running on adrenaline, and never quite reaching the strategic work that would actually move your leadership forward? If busyness has become your badge of honour, you may be trapped in the "Constant Firefighter" saboteur. In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach and bestselling author E...

Do you hold yourself back from big opportunities even when the evidence says you're more than capable? If you've ever felt like a fraud waiting to be found out, you're not alone — 34% of leaders report this "doubting imposter" as their number one barrier, and it's quietly keeping careers, businesses, and incomes stuck below their true potential.  In this episode of  Optim...

In this episode of  Optimising Leader Brilliance , coach and bestselling author Estelle Read unpacks the Relentless Perfectionist — the leadership saboteur that currently affects 4% of leaders and quietly sits in fifth place on the saboteur charts. If you recognise that endless urge to tweak, refine, and chase flawless work, this one's for you. Estelle reveals why impossibly high standards act...

In this episode, Estelle reveals how this unconscious pattern creates a false ceiling on your leadership potential — leading to burnout, disengaged teams, and stalled projects. She shares the neuroscience behind why willpower alone rarely fixes micromanagement, introduces the transformative Havening technique for resetting your nervous system, and gives you three practical, actionable strategies t...

In this episode of  Optimising Leader Brilliance , Estelle Read sits down with author and mental health advocate Bryan Sachetta to unpack high-functioning anxiety — the hidden struggle that drives so many ambitious leaders to appear confident and in control while internally battling stress, perfectionism, and relentless overthinking. Bryan, author of the  Get Out of Your Head  book series, reveals...

In this powerful episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, Estelle Read sits down with mental health speaker and former HR professional Laura Iles to explore what it really takes to move from surviving to thriving. Laura shares her personal journey through fibromyalgia, complex PTSD, and ADHD — and introduces her Triple A framework (Acceptance, Accountability, Authenticity) as a practical roadmap f...

What if the biggest threat to your strategy isn't a lack of data or intelligence — but your own brain? In this episode of  Optimising Leader Brilliance , I sit down with Marja Fox — ex-McKinsey consultant, PhD chemist, and founder of Marja Fox Consulting — to uncover the evolutionary wiring that quietly sabotages executive decision-making. Known as the "executive team whisperer," Mar...

In this inspiring episode of  Optimising Leader Brilliance , leadership coach Estelle Read sits down with Lawrence Armstrong, artist, architect, bestselling author, and seasoned CEO, to explore whole-brain leadership. Lawrence shares his journey from building a company through recession and fear to mastering a creative, analytical, and balanced leadership style. Learn how cultivating both sides of...

In this heartfelt episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, embodiment coach Maddie Brenner-Roach and host Estelle Read explore the vital connection between body awareness and leadership resilience. Discover how tuning into your body’s signals—like tension in the shoulders or tightness in the chest—can reveal hidden stress and guide you toward deeper self-trust. Maddie shares her transformative Inn...

In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach Estelle Read dives into science-backed, practical strategies to manage stress and reclaim control over your state of mind. Discover how shifting your inner dialogue can rewire your mindset, how simple changes in your body posture can instantly reduce stress hormones and boost confidence, and how everyday habits—from feeding birds to...

In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach Estelle Read unpacks the essential final piece of personal effectiveness: stress management. Discover what stress really is by understanding your nervous system’s gas and brake model, uncover hidden childhood triggers fueling your stress, and explore DISC-based stress triggers tailored to your personality type. Delve into the five t...

In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach Estelle Read takes you deeper into time optimization by teaching how to align your diary with your natural energy levels, beat procrastination through accountability, and protect your time to boost productivity without burning out. Drawing from personal experience and practical strategies like time blocking, mono-tasking, and energy...

In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach Estelle Read dives into time optimization—sharing the one word that can save you hours every week, practical systems to cut overwhelm, and why blending time management with assertiveness can dramatically reduce stress. Drawing on personal stories and proven frameworks like the rocks, pebbles, and sand metaphor, Estelle guides you th...

Unlock the power of assertive communication to reduce stress, protect your time, and build stronger relationships—at work and beyond. In this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, leadership coach Estelle Read guides you through balancing passive and aggressive communication with confident assertiveness. Learn the PAC model of communication, explore how past experiences shape your style, and di...

Explore executive presence and creative leadership through a unique lens with Simone Jenkinson, a master of movement and community-driven creativity. In this episode, Simone shares how breathwork, meditation, and mindful movement can cut through corporate noise, help regulate your nervous system, and empower you to lead with calm clarity. Drawing on decades of experience directing global productio...

Join Estelle Read and special guest Asterios Drosos, Food and Beverage Director at Sani/Ikos Group, as they explore leadership lessons inspired by hospitality. Drawing from powerful life stories, including Asterios’s experience of staying calm during a storm and his lifelong commitment to kindness and service, this episode reveals how empathy, patience, and leading by example create magical guest...

On this episode of Optimising Leader Brilliance, EstelleRead sits down with Steve Pendleton, leadership and personal development expert at Network Rail and author of  The Flip: Turning Issue into Opportunity . Discover how shifting your mindset from problem-focused to opportunity-driven can transform leadership challenges into paths for growth. Steve shares practical strategies to pause, gain clar...

Join Estelle Read on the Optimising Leader Brilliance podcast for calm, confident, and strategic leadership insights. In this episode, Selma Delic shares her inspiring journey from marketing manager to operations partner, revealing how embracing diverse perspectives and turning difference into strength can enable brilliant, high-performing leadership. Learn science-backed strategies and mindset sh...