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Psychologically Speaking Podcast with Leila Ainge
It was such a genuine pleasure to join psychologist and researcher Leila Ainge on her podcast Psychologically Speaking. Our conversation went far beyond “imposter syndrome” as a buzzword and risky business in the leadership sense and delved into something far more personally reflective.
We explored the relationship between legitimacy, trust, risk taking, and leadership under pressure. The messy reality of being visible, making decisions in ambiguity and learning when to trust yourself even when your threat system is kicking off.
One of the things I care deeply about in my work is helping leaders distinguish between fear that is protective and fear that is prohibitive.
We talked about psychological safety, gut instinct, strategic judgement, rumination versus reflection, and the emotional labour of leadership in complex systems. Including a very honest conversation about me walking away from a major contract despite financial pressure because every part of me knew something was off.
The older I get, the more I believe leadership is not about silencing doubt. It is about developing the emotional regulation, self-trust, and discernment to hear multiple signals at once without falling into panic, performance or people pleasing.
A huge thank you to Leila for such a thoughtful, psychologically rich conversation. I think this episode will resonate with leaders, founders, freelancers, coaches, and anyone who has ever wondered: “Who am I to be here?”
Having reflected on my chat with Leila, today I am asking “What have I survived, learned, and noticed that means I absolutely should be here?”