Resolutions fade because they lean on willpower; real change sticks when it starts with who we choose to be. We open the year by replacing frantic goal lists with identity-based leadership intentions, narrowing focus to what truly moves the needle, and committing to the next small step that creates momentum. Drawing on two decades of coaching CEOs and senior teams, plus lessons from pioneers like Sir John Whitmore and Peter Bluckett, we map a practical path from inspiration to follow-th...

The rush to close the year can drown out the one habit that multiplies growth: reflection. We press pause to turn a demanding 2025 into hard-won wisdom for 2026, sharing a practical framework you can complete in 30–45 minutes that transforms experience into better decisions, calmer leadership, and clearer priorities. Lois recaps the forces that shaped the year—AI accelerating from promise to reality, ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, and the tension inside hybrid work—then gets candid about t...

Leadership shouldn’t feel like driving with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. When uncertainty stacks up and decisions never stop, your nervous system stays on high alert and your best thinking goes offline. We unpack what burnout really is—biology, not a character flaw—and show how to reclaim clarity, energy, and courage without sacrificing results. We start by breaking down what chronic stress does to the brain: the prefrontal cortex dims, the amygdala takes over, and judgment...

In this weeks episode we explore why selective vulnerability strengthens leadership and how trust turns honesty into performance. My guest this week is Daniel Taylor and he shares stories and tools leaders use to reduce isolation, build team confidence, and make better decisions in hybrid, high-change environments. • coaching as a thinking space for complex challenges • moving beyond hero myths to collaborative leadership • trust first, then intentional vulnerability • practical tips fo...

Real leadership lives in the grey areas—where you don’t have perfect information, emotions run high, and the playbook doesn’t fit. We take audience questions head-on, from how to own mistakes without losing authority to navigating toxic cultures, selective vulnerability, and the sting of a boss who seems to be cutting you off at the knees. We start by dismantling the myth of the flawless leader. You’ll hear a simple framework for admitting errors with speed and integrity, turning a bad call i...

Building Connection Across Distance Feeling like you’re “leading ghosts” on Zoom while trying to keep culture alive across office days, home desks, and time zones? We dig into the real reason hybrid feels hard: it’s not a scheduling problem—it’s a leadership evolution. Across this candid, practical conversation, we break down the habits that no longer serve us and share the ones that do, so your team can feel connected, clear, and engaged wherever they work. We start by challenging the ...

Most leaders can recite every misstep but struggle to name what they did right. That imbalance isn’t a personal flaw; it’s the brain’s negativity bias. We dig into how that bias distorts self-perception and culture, and we offer a practical, repeatable way to rebalance your attention so you can lead with clarity and confidence. Lois shares her path through 25 years of leadership coaching, including lessons from early mentors who shaped her belief that real growth depends on what we reme...

Perfection promises safety, but it quietly drains momentum, frustrates teams, and lets faster competitors win. We pull back the curtain on the perfection trap and show how courageous action, not flawless planning, drives real results. From stress drivers that kick in under pressure to the subtle fears that keep smart leaders stuck, we map the patterns that stall execution and offer a practical path forward. Lois unpacks the critical difference between excellence and perfection. Excellen...

Strategy doesn’t fail because the ideas are weak; it fails because our nervous systems spin up at the worst moment and pull us into reflex over reason. We pull back the curtain on the leadership advantage most people overlook: the ability to regulate your internal state so your best thinking is available when stakes are high. We start with a candid client story: a brilliant director who alternated between force and frantic pivots under pressure. His board lost confidence, his team felt whipla...

When the calendar is full and the title looks impressive, why can the work still feel empty? Lois digs into that uneasy gap between outward success and inner drive, sharing a candid story of a senior leader who looked unstoppable on paper but felt depleted in practice. The conversation moves from recognition to action, showing how small, practical shifts can restore meaning without blowing up your career. We start by getting honest about what changed. Early joy often came from learning, solvi...

What if the smartest move a leader can make is to stop solving first? We share a candid story from a senior executive who could out-think any business problem, yet couldn’t keep great people. His blind spot wasn’t strategy—it was impact. By noticing the reflex to jump in with answers and learning to pause, ask questions, and make space for his team’s thinking, everything changed. Attrition slowed. Engagement soared. Most importantly, the team felt trusted enough to bring real challenges...

Speed feels productive—until it doesn’t. We open up a counterintuitive path to better leadership by making space for short, structured reflection that turns noise into insight and motion into meaningful progress. With a candid story about Fiona, a newly minted director drowning in 70-hour weeks, we trace how a 15-minute weekly ritual and three simple questions exposed learned helplessness on her team and sparked a shift from doing to leading. Across the conversation, we break down why r...

Perfection is a convincing mask—and a costly one. We explore how the fear of getting it wrong quietly caps performance, stalls innovation, and isolates leaders from the very insight they need most. Starting with a raw early‑career misstep during a high‑stakes change program, we trace the moment a blunt admission—“I got it wrong”—transformed a tense, silent room into a creative surge that rebuilt the plan and delivered a stronger outcome. From there, we break down why psychological safet...

Fear lurks in the shadows of every leadership journey, yet it's rarely discussed in corner offices or leadership programs. What if the very fears holding you back actually contain the intelligence needed for your next breakthrough? Drawing from 25 years of executive coaching experience, this episode tackles the universal yet often unacknowledged challenge that even the most accomplished leaders face: transforming fear from a paralyzing force into a catalyst for exceptional leadership. We expl...

Finding the sweet spot between challenge and burnout is perhaps the most critical skill for today's leaders. In this deeply insightful exploration of what I call the "stress-pressure performance dynamic," I unpack a transformative leadership concept that emerged from my 25 years coaching executives through their most challenging periods. Pressure and stress are fundamentally different—a distinction that can revolutionize your leadership approach. Like a perfectly tuned violin string, the righ...

Ever wondered why some leaders thrive through crisis while others burn out? The secret might surprise you. Leadership resilience doesn't come from gritting your teeth and pushing through hardship—it flourishes when you embrace joy, play, and curiosity as strategic leadership tools. I've spent 25 years coaching executives through their toughest challenges, and I've consistently found that the most resilient leaders have cracked a code that many others miss entirely: they've learned to harness ...

What carries us through our most challenging moments? It's not our strategies or systems, but our people and the quality of our relationships with them. Welcome to the fifth episode in our resilience series where we dive deep into how strong working relationships form the foundation of resilience for both individuals and organizations. Through my work with hundreds of leadership teams, I've identified five critical elements that distinguish resilient teams from those that crumble under pressu...

What does it take to lead effectively in a world of constant uncertainty and rapid change? Lynn Scott, executive coach and international bestselling author of "Leader Unlocked," joins Lois Burton to tackle this pressing question through a deeply human lens. Leadership today requires navigating a perfect storm of challenges—from AI advancement and geopolitical instability to workforce fatigue and change resistance. The most profound question emerging from these complexities is deceptively simp...

Navigating uncertainty demands more than resilience—it requires cognitive flexibility that transforms challenges into opportunities. After six months of podcasting, I'm diving deep into the fourth pillar of resilience: flexible thinking, the leadership capability that separates those who merely survive change from those who harness it to create something better. The neuroscience is fascinating. When stress hits, our brains default to rigid "system one" thinking exactly when we most need creat...

What propels exceptional leaders forward when everything around them says "stop"? After two decades coaching senior executives across sectors, I've discovered that thriving leadership doesn't stem from intelligence or experience alone—it comes from resilience, particularly the critical third pillar: inner drive. This episode unpacks the transformative power of inner drive through the story of Sadia, a senior executive whose major digital transformation project hit devastating setbacks. ...