📺 Videos

This week’s coaching questions are inspired by my latest Optimising Leader Brilliance podcast episode called: Laura's Triple A Framework: Acceptance, Accountability, Authenticity

Grab your journal (or download my free one in the bio/comments) and let’s:
⏸️ Pause. 🪞 Reflect. ▶️ Act.

🎙️ Full episode ➡️ link in bio or search for the Optimising Leader Brilliance Podcast


#leadershipcoach, #leadershipskills, #leadershipmindset

Your nervous system isn't like a phone battery — it doesn't just go from 100% to 0% in a straight line. It surges, crashes, and sometimes looks charged when it's actually empty. Learning what fills YOUR battery is everything. 💡

🎙️ Full episode ➡️ search for the Optimising Leader Brilliance Podcast.

🏷️ @Surviving2Thriving_Laurailes | @Surviving2Thriving

#BurnoutRecovery #NervousSystemHealth #EnergyManagement

This isn't typical tiredness. This is your whole body and brain shutting down without warning. Laura shares the moment everything came crashing down — and why her story matters.

🎙️ Full episode ➡️ search for the Optimising Leader Brilliance Podcast.

🏷️ Surviving2Thriving_Laurailes | @Surviving2Thriving

#BurnoutRecovery #NervousSystemHealth #MentalHealthAwareness

The evolutionary fear of being cast out is what silences necessary debate in boardrooms. Marja Fox explains why groupthink isn't a character flaw — it's biology. And it's killing your strategy.

🎙️ Full episode ➡️ search for the Optimising Leader Brilliance Podcast.

#Groupthink #LeadershipPsychology #ExecutiveTeams

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 for leaders navigating chronic illness, trauma, and burnout. Packed with honest insight on workplace mental health, trauma-informed leadership, and nervous system regulation, this conversation challenges the myth that personal and professional lives stay neatly separate — and offers a compassionate, actionable path toward healing out loud, leading with empathy, and reclaiming your identity when it's been stripped away.What You Will Learn


💡 The Triple A System unpacked — how Acceptance, Accountability, and Authenticity form a step-by-step framework for shifting from survival mode into genuine thriving, and why skipping any stage keeps you stuck


💡 Why your nervous system holds the answers — how chronic conditions like fibromyalgia and PTSD connect to unprocessed trauma, and the practical energy-management strategies Laura uses to work with her body instead of against it.


💡 How to lead through mental health conversations without getting it wrong — Laura's three tips for leaders: listen to understand (not to respond), validate feelings without fixing, and offer reassurance without shame — so your team feels safe, seen, and supported

Here’s to your leadership development and personal growth!

Estelle Read

Bestselling Author, Leadership Coach & Speaker


Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:14) Welcome & What to Expect

(02:29) Episode Overview & Content Warning

(02:29) Interview – Meet Laura Iles

(16:32) Laura's Story – Living with Chronic Illness, Trauma & Burnout

(1:18:20) Pause, Reflect & Act – Mini Coaching Practice

(1:18:51) Coaching Questions with Laura Iles



⚠️ Content Warning

This episode contains open and honest discussions about childhood sexual abuse, suicide ideation, complex trauma, and chronic illness. These topics are discussed with care and intention, but please look after yourself as you listen.

If anything in this episode brings up difficult feelings for you, support is available:

Samaritans — Call 116 123 (free, 24/7, UK & Ireland)

NAPAC (National Association for People Abused in Childhood) — 0808 801 0331

MIND — 0300 123 3393 | mind.org.uk

Crisis Text Line — Text SHOUT to 85258


⭐Download My Free Journal & Self-Coaching Tool:

mailchi.mp/...ance-outer-shine-journal

⭐Follow or Contact Laura Iles:

IG: @Surviving2Thriving_Laurailes

FB: '@Surviving2Thriving

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/...ura-iles-4767981a/


⭐Follow Estelle Read:

linktr.ee/EstelleAtBeee


⭐Access Resources or Book a Free Discovery Call:

⁠estelleread.com/resources/⁠


⭐Estelle Read’s Coaching Programmes:

⬆️⁠The Optimised Leader Programme: NEXT LEVEL⁠

🎇⁠The Resilient Leader Programme: SHINE⁠

⭐Buy Estelle Read’s Bestselling Book:

⁠Inner Brilliance, Outer Shine: 10 Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome, Workaholism and Stress ⁠


⭐Subscribe to Estelle Read’s Blog:

⁠Receive my free workbook: 10 Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome, Workaholism & Stress, when you sign up. ⁠

⭐Help Us Keep Growing & Going:

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe wherever you listen or watch, leave a review or share it with someone who might benefit. Thank you ❤️.


⭐Listen or Watch on YouTube:

🎧Listen on your favourite podcast platform here: estelleread.com/podcast/

📺Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/...stelleRead/podcasts


⭐Disclaimer:

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional for specific advice.

#CalmConfidence, #MentalHealth, #SurvivingToThriving, #TripleAFramework, #LeadershipBurnout

This week’s coaching questions are inspired by my latest Optimising Leader Brilliance podcast episode called: Why Smart Leaders Can't Decide

Grab your journal (or download my free one in the bio/comments) and let’s:

⏸️ Pause. 🪞 Reflect. ▶️ Act.

🎙️ Full episode ➡️ link in bio or search for the Optimising Leader Brilliance Podcast

#leadershipcoach, #leadershipskills, #LeadershipMindset

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," Marja brings behavioural economics out of the textbook and into the boardroom, revealing why leaders default to loss aversion, groupthink, and short-term thinking — and how to break free. If you've ever felt stuck in circular strategic conversations or paralysed by the fear of being wrong, this conversation will transform how you lead with clarity, confidence, and decisive action. A must-listen for senior leaders ready to upgrade their strategic thinking and leadership mindset.

What You Will Learn:

💡 Why your brain's evolutionary shortcuts — like loss aversion and fear of ostracisation — are the hidden derailers of smart strategic decisions, and how to recognise them in real time.

💡 The practical facilitation techniques Marja Fox uses to move executive teams from ego wars and endless debate to decisions that actually stick.

💡 How to apply a simple stakeholder analysis to uncover the human dynamics behind any "stuck" business problem — and why doing nothing is often the most dangerous decision of all.

Here’s to your leadership development and personal growth!

Estelle Read

Bestselling Author, Leadership Coach & Speaker


Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:47) Welcome to Optimising Leader Brilliance

(01:13) Episode Overview – Three Light Bulb Moments

(02:24) Meet Marja Fox – The Story Behind Her Name

(06:54) Marja's Average Day & Non-Negotiable Routine

(16:25) How Marja Got Here – From Chemistry to Consulting

(24:32) The Problems Marja Helps Clients Solve

(41:25) Designing Conversations That Combat Decision-Making Biases

(56:30) Pause, Reflect & Act – Mini Coaching Practice


⭐Download My Free Journal & Self-Coaching Tool:

mailchi.mp/...ance-outer-shine-journal



⭐Follow or Contact Marja Fox:

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/marjafox/

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@marjafox



⭐Follow Estelle Read:

linktr.ee/EstelleAtBeee

 

⭐Access Resources or Book a Free Discovery Call:

⁠estelleread.com/resources/⁠

 

⭐Estelle Read’s Coaching Programmes:

⬆️⁠The Optimised Leader Programme: NEXT LEVEL⁠

🎇⁠The Resilient Leader Programme: SHINE⁠

 

⭐Buy Estelle Read’s Bestselling Book:

⁠Inner Brilliance, Outer Shine: 10 Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome, Workaholism and Stress ⁠

 

⭐Subscribe to Estelle Read’s Blog:

⁠Receive my free workbook: 10 Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome, Workaholism & Stress, when you sign up. ⁠



⭐Help Us Keep Growing & Going:

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe wherever you listen or watch, leave a review or share it with someone who might benefit. Thank you ❤️.



⭐Listen or Watch on YouTube:

🎧Listen on your favourite podcast platform here: estelleread.com/podcast/

📺Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/...stelleRead/podcasts



⭐Disclaimer:

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional for specific advice.

#StrategicLeadership #LeadershipPsychology #ExecutiveDecisionMaking #BehavioralEconomics #OptimisingLeaderBrilliance

Ex-McKinsey strategist Marja Fox reveals the predictable, biological reasons teams get stuck — loss aversion, groupthink, distorted time perception. Your brain was built for survival, not business strategy. This episode changes how you run meetings.

🎙️ Full episode ➡️ search for the Optimising Leader Brilliance Podcast.

#OptimisingLeaderBrilliance #Podcast #Leadership

The biggest reason leaders stall? They won't develop their number two. Lawrence Armstrong reframes it simply: if you want to grow, you have to protect the role behind you. Your promotion depends on it — and so does your company's future.

🎙️ Full episode ➡️ search for the Optimising Leader Brilliance Podcast.

🏷️ @lawrencerobertarmstrong

#TalentDevelopment #LeadershipGrowth #SuccessionPlanning

Buying a struggling company during a recession, gripped by fear — Lawrence Armstrong says that was when he learned everything that mattered about building a business. Hard seasons don't break you. They build you.

🎙️ Full episode ➡️ search for the Optimising Leader Brilliance Podcast.

🏷️ @lawrencerobertarmstrong

#FearOfFailure #ResilienceInBusiness #EntrepreneurJourney