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Most leaders work harder when results stall. The top 5% do something different. In this episode, Dex explores the habits, mindset shifts, and practical changes that separate exceptional leaders from the crowd.  Through real client examples, you'll discover how better leadership doesn't come from more effort, but from removing obstacles, improving people skills, increasing energy, and creating stronger systems that make success easier and more sustainable. When you lead from awareness, authenticity, and courage, you stop trying to earn leadership and start embodying it.  Ask Dex AI Coach "What's the quickest way to open up new leadership potential in me?" at https://tinyurl.com/DexAICoach Subscribe for more leadership actionable insights →  https://tinyurl.com/leaders1001 Refs: https://tinyurl.com/3aytr4j2 and https://tinyurl.com/p98e5ku5 -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Stop being the hero, start building heroes. The strongest leaders aren't the ones who solve every problem. They're the ones who develop others to solve problems without them. In this episode, Dex explores why high-achieving professionals often become the bottleneck in their teams, the hidden costs of being indispensable, and five practical ways to build ownership, initiative, accountability, and leadership capacity in others, for a team that excels. -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Discretionary effort is the gap between what people have to give and what they choose to give. Research consistently shows that most leaders are leaving 20–30% of their team’s capacity on the table — not because of skill shortages, but because of environment. In this episode, we draw on six of the world’s most influential thinkers on leadership and performance to give you a practical, layered framework for unlocking the effort your team already has inside them. The question isn’t how to push people harder. It’s how to create the conditions where they choose to give more. I’ve practised all of these myself, in low-functioning teams, and can personally attest to the spectacular rise that’s possible when you are deliberate about applying them. The Six-Layer Discretionary Effort Stack Layer/Thinker: The Question to Ask Yourself Positivity/Shawn Achor:Am I creating an environment where people feel good? Clear Direction/Greg McKeown: Do people know exactly what matters most? Strengths/Dan Sullivan: Is everyone working in their Unique Ability? Safety/Timothy R. Clark: Can people speak up without fear? Purpose/Simon Sinek: Do people know why their work matters? Right People/Jim Collins: Are the right people in the right seats? Ask Dex AI Coach for leadership strategy e.g. "My team are underperforming - how can I find out why?" https://app.coachvox.ai/share/DexRandall Subscribe for more leadership and burnout recovery insights →  https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7393784577229709312 -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Leadership growth isn't about working harder. It's about thinking bigger. MUCH bigger. In this episode, Dex shares five practical shifts that help professionals and leaders create more influence, impact and freedom at work. Learn how to take ownership of your future, define a compelling direction, stop wasting energy on other people's opinions, focus on your highest-value contribution, and communicate in a way that consistently produces results. If your career feels stalled, pressured or smaller than it should be, this episode offers a different path forward. Refs: 10x is Easier Than 2X, Dan Sullivan Essentialism, Greg McKeown -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

If your success comes from technical excellence but also being dependable, capable, and always available, this episode is for you. Dex explores how chronic overload quietly erodes clear thinking, emotional regulation, creativity, and decision quality in high performers.  Modern work culture rewards urgency and over-functioning, but the future belongs to leaders who can stay calm and think strategically under pressure.  Learn the practical shifts that restore energy, authority, perspective, and sustainable high performance, so you can excel and be recognised for it in the years ahead.  -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Your leadership habits are reshaping your brain right now — for better or worse. Dex breaks down the neuroscience behind five common leadership behaviors that damage brain health. High performers often normalize habits that steadily erode their sharpness, resilience, leadership presence, and even future cognitive health — while still believing they’re “doing what it takes.” -How chronic stress shrinks the brain’s decision-making centers -Why overwork initially improves performance before turning destructive -The link between leadership stress, cortisol, memory loss, and emotional reactivity -How sleep deprivation impairs empathy, judgment, and cognitive function -Why decision fatigue creates brain fog and poor leadership choices -How harsh self-talk keeps the brain trapped in threat mode -Practical ways to protect your brain while improving leadership performance If your brain feels overloaded, foggy, reactive, or permanently “ON,” this episode will explain why — and what to do about it. 🔗 Ready to recover? leadership.dexrandall.com 🔗 Research links: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z_KIxsW1yBrgk_A6o6qN9rcDhX1yaZAgPWvq8MtA3uY/view -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Burnout doesn't fix itself — and changing jobs won't solve it either. In this episode, Dex breaks down the three core drivers of burnout (exhaustion, fed up, and anxious), why high achievers are most vulnerable, and the precise internal shift that makes lasting recovery possible. Why burnout is skyrocketing — and who's most at riskThe 3 things being stripped from high performers: efficacy, belonging, and performanceWhat separates people who burn out from those who don'tHow to fix exhaustion, fed up, and anxious — practicallyWhy championing yourself is the foundation of recovery🔗 Ready to recover? leadership.dexrandall.com -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

If you're having a bad day - foggy brain, short fuse, overcooked - as a leader, it's helpful to recognise that and adjust. Don't keep pushing for new decisions, quick output and critical conversations, as if you're at your best. You can measure your OCEAN scores, but they don't tell the whole story!  In this episode we'll explore how circumstances might overtake your normal leadership personality and strengths, and how not to compound the problem. Resources: The Power of Introverts TED Talk, Susan Cain Big Five Personality Test -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

AI is making work faster — but it may also be making your thinking weaker. In this episode, we break down the hidden cognitive cost of AI: how small, everyday reliance is quietly eroding focus, depth, and decision-making in high performers. At the same time, companies are racing to adopt it, pouring in investment without clear ROI — and no one’s entirely sure what “good” looks like yet. Or if they'll lose their job. Yet the pressure builds: use it more, move faster… don’t fall behind. This episode cuts through that noise — and shows you how to use AI without handing over the one thing that actually makes you valuable: your thinking. -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Resentment might be the clearest early warning sign of burnout—and most people completely miss it. In this episode, we break down why resentment shows up, why it sticks around, and how it quietly drains your energy, focus, and performance. Resentment isn’t weakness. It’s a signal that something feels wrong and you don’t feel able to resolve it. Left unchecked, it keeps your nervous system on high alert, fuels overthinking, and blocks recovery. You’ll learn:  What resentment actually is (and why it repeats)  How stress and perceived threat amplify it  Why it makes you feel stuck and powerless  The hidden cost of “being right”  Practical steps to release resentment and regain control  How emotional intelligence replaces reaction with leadership This isn’t about suppressing how you feel. It’s about understanding it—and using it to take your power back. -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Listen if you’ve ever wondered why you perform best under pressure, struggle with consistency, or feel like your focus doesn’t always match your ambition. In this episode, Dex explores a common but often unspoken pattern among high-performing leaders — traits associated with ADHD — and how they show up in leadership, performance, and burnout. This is not about diagnosis. It’s about recognising a leadership operating style, understanding its strengths, and learning how to work with it more effectively. Dex walks through:  Why this pattern shows up in high achievers  The strengths that often drive success  The hidden costs that can lead to inconsistency and burnout  Practical adjustments to improve performance and sustainability  How to protect recovery and build a leadership style that works with your mind, not against it Key takeaway: Energy management is leadership performance. Precision matters more than intensity. -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Content Warning This episode includes discussion of depression and suicidal ideation. If you are currently in distress, please seek support from your local crisis services before listening. Dr Tim Strauman outlines an exciting new approach to tackling teen depression. We dive into how schools, hospitals, and social services can work together to prevent suffering before it escalates, empower teens to understand their own emotional patterns, and build real-world skills to support mental well-being. Dr Strauman shares how innovative technologies and programs can help teens: Recognize early signs and patterns of depressionDevelop skills to manage emotional challengesNormalize conversations about mental health among peersBoost agency and self-confidenceTrack progress and measure outcomesAccess coordinated support from schools, health services, and social networksIf you’re interested in how science, technology, and community can intersect to change the trajectory of teen mental health, this episode is packed with insights and actionable ideas. Self-System Therapy - to understand how you're evaluating yourself, ask: What do I want? What am I doing to try to get it? What's going wrong? What can I do differently? Subscribe for more leadership and burnout recovery insights →  https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7393784577229709312 Contact Dr Tim Strauman: [email protected] -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

What will leadership actually look like in 2026? Technology is accelerating everything, but the leaders who win won’t simply be the most technical or the fastest decision-makers. They’ll be the ones who know how to lead people well in an environment of constant change. In this episode, Dex Randall breaks down five leadership traits that separate high-performing leaders from the rest: human-centred performance, AI fluency, disciplined focus, decisiveness under pressure, and the ability to create purpose and meaning for teams. Because while AI may scale systems, great leadership still scales people—and trust can’t be automated. -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Dex Randall explains how chronic stress keeps the body in survival mode through ongoing cortisol activation, damaging brain function, health, and longevity even when you feel “fine” today.  He contrasts normal stress (fight/flight followed by reset) with chronic stress (no reset).  Over the long term, stress dysregulates the nervous system, increases inflammation, accelerates aging, and is linked to diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression,  and neurodegeneration.  He outlines strategies to re-regulate the nervous system at work (boundaries, priorities, stopping after hours) and at home (morning daylight, movement, eating early, delaying caffeine, slow breathing, social connection, “no emotional escape,” and vagus-nerve box breathing.) Ask Dex AI Coach "How can I recover from fight-or-flight?" at https://app.coachvox.ai/share/DexRandall Subscribe for more leadership and burnout recovery insights →  https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7393784577229709312 Refs #1 https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/61405/20260303/hidden-impact-stress-what-stress-science-reveals-about-cortisol-effects-mental-health-biology.htm #2 https://thriveworks.com/help-with/feelings-emotions/dysregulated-nervous-system/ #3 https://www.brainzmagazine.com/post/workplace-stress-impact-on-your-nervous-system #4 https://www.healthline.com/health/telomeres#significance #5 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-human-brain-may-contain-as-much-as-a-spoons-worth-of-microplastics-new-research-suggests-180985995/ -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links

Anxiety is not a flaw — it’s a future-focused alarm system that can become a learned habit in the brain and body.  In this fast, practical episode, Dex breaks down what anxiety really is, why it becomes chronic, and the hidden loops that keep it alive.  You’ll learn why logic alone can’t switch it off, what makes it addictive, and how early environments shape your threat response.  Most importantly, discover simple, real-time ways to calm your nervous system, regain sovereignty, and retrain your brain for safety, connection, and grounded leadership — at work and at home.  Ask Dex AI Coach for tips on your specific anxiety issue, e.g. "How can I reduce anxiety about getting a task done by the deadline?" https://app.coachvox.ai/share/DexRandall Subscribe for more leadership and burnout recovery insights →  https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7393784577229709312 -----------------------------------  Resources: Leadership Performance Coaching https://dexrandall.com LINKEDIN: @coachdexrandall YOUTUBE: @dexleadercoach See https://linktr.ee/coachdexrandall for all links