Is there space to think, breathe, or connect in your workday? In this episode, I talk with leadership thinker and mindfulness researcher Megan Reitz about the tension between doing and being – and how fear, power and pressure keep us stuck in overdrive.

Megan is an Associate Fellow at Oxford’s Saïd Business School and co-author of Speak Up and Speak Out, Listen Up. Her latest research explores spaciousness - a different kind of attention that opens up creativity, connection and compassion.

Together we examine how workplace culture often rewards busyness over awareness - and what we lose when we constantly prioritise speed, certainty and performance.

We explore:

• How anxiety shapes attention - and limits creativity
• The impact of power, status and unspoken dynamics in leadership
• Why language matters - and what gets lost when we only speak in targets and metrics
• How spaciousness can release compassion, curiosity and insight
• Practical ways to bring more space into work, leadership and life

This is a thoughtful, expansive conversation that doesn’t just talk about making space - it invites you to feel it. Grounded in both research and lived experience, it helps us examine our defaults, rethink productivity, and reconnect with what matters.

If you’ve ever said, “I’d love to slow down… but I just don’t have time,” this one’s for you.

• Continue the conversation with Grace here: gracemarshall.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gracemarshall/
• Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarshallninja/

About Guest

Megan is Associate Fellow at Saïd Business School, Oxford University and Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult International Business School. She focuses on how we create the conditions for transformative dialogue at work and her research is at the intersection of leadership, change, dialogue and mindfulness. She is on the Thinkers50 ranking of global business thinkers and HR Magazine’s list of Most Influential Thinkers.

Her books include Speak Up and the updated Speak Out, Listen Up, shortlisted for the CMI Management Book of the Year. Her TED talk on employee activism has been viewed over 1.5 million times, and her research has been featured by the BBC, CNBC, Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan.

She is mother to two wonderful teenage daughters who test her regularly on her powers of mindfulness and dialogue.

Find out more at https://www.meganreitz.com/

What if leadership isn’t about the hero – but the ecosystem? In this conversation, I talk with leadership coach and TED Fellow David McQueen about fear, ego, and why we need systemic leadership now more than ever.

David is an international speaker, business advisor and author of The BRAVE Leader: More Courage, Less Fear, Better Decisions for Inclusive Leadership. His work spans global corporations, nonprofits and public sector organisations – helping leaders make braver, more inclusive decisions in a world that often rewards speed, certainty and control.

Together, we unpack how fear shows up in leadership, risk-taking, and organisational culture – and how to move beyond performative leadership into something more purposeful, sustainable and real.

We explore:

• The difference between bravado and bravery
• Leadership as a function, not a title
• How fear limits inclusion and diversity
• The myth of the hero leader – and what systemic leadership really looks like
• Why fast decisions aren’t always brave decisions
• Questions that challenge our defaults: What are you really afraid of?

If you’ve ever felt the pressure to prove yourself, lead from the front, or react fast – this episode invites you to lead differently: from courage, not control.

• Continue the conversation with Grace here: gracemarshall.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gracemarshall/
• Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarshallninja/

About Guest

David McQueen is a leadership coach, international speaker and facilitator. He is the co-founder of professional development company Q Squared Ltd, the host of The BRAVE Leader podcast, and a blogger on all things leadership and culture change.

David’s work has taken him all over the world, working in both profit and non-profit sectors. His clients include Aviva, JP Morgan, Bloomberg, Google, Facebook, Mercedes-Benz, Tate & Lyle and UnLtd. He is also a three-time TEDx speaker and a TED Fellow.

He is the author of The BRAVE Leader: More Courage. Less Fear. Better Decisions for Inclusive Leadership - a practical guide to navigating leadership with integrity, clarity, and courage.

Find out more at https://davidmcqueen.co.uk/

What does neuroscience tell us about trust, fear, and how we work together? In this episode I chat with Dr. Paul Zak to explore how the brain responds to fear and stress – and what that means for leadership, teamwork and performance at work.

A pioneer in the neuroscience of trust, Paul shares insights from two decades of research into what drives collaboration, motivation and emotional fitness in the workplace. From high-stakes trading floors to Silicon Valley, he reveals why fear is a poor long-term motivator – and how trust, connection and challenge are key to building high-performing teams.

We discuss:

• Why trust is more productive than pressure
• The brain science behind motivation, burnout and recovery
• The difference between challenge stress and chronic stress
• How hierarchy and dominance displays erode engagement
• Practical ways to create cultures of trust, safety and shared purpose

We also explore how Paul’s research helps us recognise and rethink High-Functioning Fear – when fear hides behind overperformance, people-pleasing or control – and how organisations can move from survival mode to spaces where people truly thrive.

If you’re curious about the science of human connection, emotional fitness and what makes work truly work – this one’s for you.

• Continue the conversation with Grace here: gracemarshall.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gracemarshall/
• Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarshallninja/

About Guest

Dr. Paul J. Zak is a neuroscientist, author and Distinguished University Professor at Claremont Graduate University, ranked among the top 0.3% of most cited scientists. His two decades of research on trust, fear and human connection have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms and remote villages in Papua New Guinea.

He’s the author of several books, including The Trust Factor and Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and the Source of Happiness, and is the founder of Immersion Neuroscience. A four-time tech entrepreneur and regular TED speaker, his work has featured in The New York Times, The Economist, and Scientific American. His latest project, Your6, is a free app that helps people track happiness using neuroscience.

Find out more at https://pauljzak.com and https://your6.com