Why good leaders go off track - A People Soup special #1

Why do good people do things they later regret?It's a question that's fascinated me for years.Before I became a coach, studied organisational psychology, or discovered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), I spent years in HR leadership. One of my roles was leading the Conduct and Discipline Team in a large government department in the UK Civil Service. In that job I became increasingly curious about what really drives human behaviour.In this special solo episode, I share my working hypothesis about leadership:Under pressure, leaders often default to behaviours designed to reduce discomfort rather than create impact.I explore six common patterns of psychologically inflexible leadership and introduce my leadership framework, built around three core skills topped and tailed by the Pause and the Review Loop:PauseAwarenessAuthentic ActionAdaptabilityand the Review Loop.Along the way, I share stories from my own leadership journey, including:What I learned from conduct and discipline casesA memorable disagreement with a tech startup founder about the value of pausingThe conversation with my husband that changed what I paid attention toLessons from coaching senior leaders through moments of challenge and transitionWhy authenticity became such an important part of my leadership philosophyThis episode is both a reflection on leadership and an invitation to consider what might be running you when pressure shows up.In this episodeWhy leaders are not exempt from being humanSix common ways leaders can drift off courseWhy the pause is a leadership superpowerThe importance of awareness and noticing what mattersValues, authenticity and courageous actionAdapting without abandoning yourselfWhy reflection turns experience into wisdomWhat ACT has taught me about leadership and human behaviourKey quote"Pressure doesn't reveal who we are. Pressure reveals what's running us."Reflection questionWhen pressure rises, what patterns show up most often for you?ResourcesYou can find an illustration of my ACT-based Leadership Framework in the show notes.People Soup: Real conversations about work, leadership, and being human — grounded in behavioural science, with practical ideas you can actually use.If you’re enjoying People Soup, hit follow so you don’t miss future episodes.Leadership beyond autopilot - The McIntosh ACT Leadership FrameworkVisit Ross' Website.Connect with Ross on LinkedInPeople Soup on Instagram which also features plenty of Ross' photos of the Andalusian lifeHe's now also on BlueskyThe People Soup Website on CAPTIVATE