with Alec Pearson, Nick Sellers and Gemma Dawe.

When you hear “starting a business during Covid”, it’s easy to assume it was a brave leap.

But sometimes it isn’t a leap at all, it’s being kicked off a cliff and choosing to build on the way down.

In this episode Alec and Nick speak to Gemma, a business owner who launched a specialist relocation and buying-agent service in September 2020, right in the middle of uncertainty, restrictions, and a property market behaving in ways nobody could predict.

What follows is a conversation about how credibility is really built. Not through polish, shortcuts, or having the perfect plan, but through consistency, trust, and staying in your lane when distractions start shouting.

We discuss:

• Redundancy as a trigger and what it takes to act before you feel “ready”

• The buyer’s perspective, and the psychology behind major decisions

• Building credibility through consistency, opinion, and trust

• Staying in your lane: opportunity vs distraction

• Time, boundaries, and networking as a long game

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with Alec Pearson.

In this solo episode, Alec reflects on something many leaders are quietly feeling but struggling to name - why leadership feels heavier, even when nothing is technically “wrong”.

Drawing on his recent Aftershock Era series on The Strategic Leader on Substack, Alec explores how accumulated pressure, rather than dramatic crisis, is shaping decision-making, energy and strategic clarity across organisations.

In this conversation Alec explores:

1. Why leadership can feel heavier even in the absence of visible crisis
2. The difference between tired teams and thinning teams - and why it matters
3. How soft burnout quietly affects judgement, not just wellbeing
4. Why organisations can be busy yet feel like nothing is really moving
5. The subtle shift from strategic growth to cultural caution
6. How external fragmentation and AI acceleration are thinning the signal leaders rely on
7. The difference between decisions made from clarity and decisions driven by pressure
8. A simple discipline to restore focus, capacity and momentum when drift sets in

If you’re a CEO, founder, partner or senior leader sensing that something feels slightly off - not broken, just heavier - this episode offers language, structure and reflection to help you regain orientation.

For the deeper thinking behind this episode, explore the full Aftershock series on The Strategic Leader on Substack: https://thestrategicleader.substack.com

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with Alec Pearson, Tiffany David and Graham Da Costa.

When pressure hits, most of us think we’re responding logically.

But often, something else is running the show.

In this episode Alec is joined for the first time by R Tiffany David and Graham Da Costa to explore what happens internally when stress builds, decisions feel heavier, and that familiar inner voice starts to comment on everything we do.

Using the framework of Positive Intelligence (PQ), the conversation looks beneath behaviour and performance to the inner patterns that shape how leaders think, react and show up - especially in demanding moments.

Rather than treating PQ as a label or a trend, this episode explores it as a practical lens for understanding self-sabotage, emotional reactions and the quieter choices available to us under pressure.

In this conversation, we discuss:

1. What really happens in our minds when stress takes over
2. The inner voices that undermine confidence, focus and judgement
3. Why good intentions don’t always translate into good outcomes
4. How awareness creates choice — even in difficult moments
5. The link between mental fitness, leadership presence and trust
6. Why this inner work matters for teams, relationships and wellbeing

This episode isn’t about positive thinking or fixing yourself.

It’s about understanding what’s driving your reactions and how leaders can respond with more clarity, calm and intention when it matters most.

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with Alec Pearson, Tiffany Barnard and Nick Sellers.

Relevance is a question many people don’t ask until something shifts.

A role changes.

Technology accelerates.

Expectations move, quietly at first, and suddenly what once felt solid doesn’t anymore.

In this episode Alec, Nick and Tiffany have a candid conversation about relevance, not as a buzzword, but as a lived experience in today’s workplace and beyond.

Rather than focusing on age or technology alone, the discussion explores what sits underneath: awareness, resistance, communication and the choices we make, or avoid, as the world around us changes.

In this conversation, we explore:

1. What relevance really means and who gets to define it
2. Why age is often blamed, and what might actually be going on
3. How communication shapes connection across generations
4. The quiet impact of comfort, resistance and standing still
5. Why self-awareness keeps resurfacing in leadership conversations
6. What gets missed when reflection and boundaries slip

This episode isn’t about keeping up with everything.

It’s about noticing what’s changing - in the world, in work, and in ourselves - and deciding how we want to respond.

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with Alec Pearson, Lizzie Cousins and Chelsea Dickinson.

In this episode, Alec Pearson speaks to Lizzie Cousins and Chelsea Dickinson from C&D Debt Recovery to uncover how a moment that could have stopped their careers instead sparked a bold new chapter.

After finding themselves redundant, Lizzie and Chelsea took a leap many think about but few commit to — building a business of their own. What follows is a grounded conversation about resilience, partnership and the practical realities of starting again.

In this conversation we explore:

1. How redundancy became the catalyst for launching C&D Debt Recovery
2. The early decisions, preparation and homework that set them up for success
3. Why communication and shared values are the backbone of their partnership
4. The leadership qualities they lean on most — honesty, integrity and confidence
5. The balance between working in the business and building on it
6. Strategy, growth and the importance of taking steady, sustainable steps
7. What they’ve learned — and what they want others to know before making the leap

Whether you're considering a business of your own, navigating uncertainty or simply curious about the realities behind a start-up story, this episode offers encouragement, insight and practical takeaways.

You can find out more about C&D Debt Recovery at: https://candddebtrecovery.co.uk/

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with Alec Pearson, Ellen Putz and Nick Sellers.

In this episode, Alec is joined by Nick Sellers and owner of EP Talent Search and Executive Coach Ellen Putz, from the Netherlands, to explore the real and often hidden pressures of leading from the top.

In this conversation we explore:

1. Why imposter syndrome shows up even when you wear the CEO title
2. How leaders handle the pressure to appear confident and certain when they’re not
3. What vulnerability looks like in senior roles — and whether it strengthens or weakens leadership
4. The delicate line between being liked and being respected
5. How CEOs balance communication across investors, boards and their own teams
6. Why delegation can feel harder the higher up you go
7. The surprising loneliness of leadership — and how leaders cope with it
8. Where senior leaders find support, space and perspective when the stakes are high

Whether you're already in a senior role, preparing for one, or simply curious about what happens behind closed boardroom doors, this episode lifts the curtain and sparks reflection on what leadership really demands.

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with Alec Pearson, Nick Sellers and Tiffany Barnard.

In this episode, we explore why patience — something we’re taught to value — can sometimes get in the way of progress. We look at the moments where waiting becomes hesitation, where caution becomes procrastination, and where leaders unintentionally stall their own momentum.

In this conversation, we explore:

1. The fine line between patience and procrastination — and why they’re not the same thing.
2. How fear, perfectionism and lack of confidence shape timing in ways we don’t always recognise.
3. Why leaders often wait for the “perfect moment” — and why that moment rarely arrives.
4. When patience fuels sustainable progress and when it becomes a subtle form of avoidance.
5. How passion, purpose and process influence our ability to act with clarity and conviction.
6. Simple practices to judge timing more effectively so you don’t miss out on opportunities that matter.

If you’ve ever found yourself waiting… and not quite sure why, this conversation will help you see patience in a new light — not as a fixed virtue, but as something we need to use deliberately, not automatically.

Follow Beyond Leading on LinkedIn for episode clips and updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyond-leading-podcast

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with Alec Pearson.

As we step into 2026, many leaders aren’t lacking ambition — they’re carrying sustained pressure.

Motivation has dipped. Clarity feels harder to access. And simply pushing harder no longer works.

In this short solo episode, Alec Pearson invites you to pause before you plan. Not to retreat — but to reset how you lead.

Drawing on recent conversations with senior leaders and his own experience of stepping back to think clearly again, Alec explores why motivation returns through clarity, not force — and how small, deliberate shifts can restore energy, judgement, and direction.

This episode reflects on:

1. Why many leaders feel tired and demotivated, even after a break
2. The strategic power of pausing in a high-pressure environment
3. How clarity changes team ownership, trust, and accountability
4. Why progress often comes from doing the basics properly
5. Rethinking strategy and innovation for 2026 through experimentation, not acceleration

If you’re entering the new year feeling the weight of responsibility, and wondering how to lead with more purpose, focus, and sustainability, this episode is for you.

Follow Beyond Leading on LinkedIn for episode clips and updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyond-leading-podcast

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