Brazen Leaders - The Human Edge

Feedback is the topic I’ve been asked to teach more than any other since 2017, from first-line managers to CEOs. And six months after a session, most people are still bad at it. So I went back to the research instead of the training catalogue, and found a number nobody puts on a slide: in more than one case out of three, feedback makes performance worse. Not neutral. Worse.

In this episode:

• The study that pulled together 607 experiments on feedback, and what the spread shows
• Why how you say it is not what decides whether feedback helps or hurts
• The one kind of feedback managers use the most, and why it ranks last
• The step I added in front of my own method (the method stays)
• The rule I now open every session with

Written version, with every study linked: https://ameliebeerens.com/blog/feedback-makes-people-worse
The feedback formula, the full method this episode complements: https://ameliebeerens.com/blog/how-to-give-and-receive-feedback-in-7-easy-steps

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

I left the best service I ever paid for in four hours. Not because it got worse. Because leaving got cheap.

Somebody above you is about to ask the same question about a vendor, an agency or a programme on month fourteen: “can’t we just build it ourselves now?” I asked it of myself in September, acted on it, and the answer was not what I expected.

In this episode:

• Why nothing about Showit changed the day I left, and what that says about every retention dashboard
• The research on switching costs: your satisfaction score matters least where customers are most locked in
• The renewal email that finally made me go, and the Stanford study showing cancellations jump four times the moment a customer is forced to decide
• What Belgium’s energy regulator keeps finding, year after year, even during the crisis
• Klarna, Salesforce and Workday: the same story with more zeros
• What the four hours actually sat on, and why the rebuilt site was a perfect copy of the thing that wasn’t working
• The study from Finland on why the most AI-literate people overestimate themselves the most
• Three things to use before Friday: the sentence for your ExCo, a ten-minute test for any build request, and how to split your retention number in three

The line to take upstairs: the build was never the slow part.

Written version with all the sources: https://ameliebeerens.com/blog/cant-we-just-build-it-ourselves

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

For fifteen years, nine of my client conversations out of ten ended in a yes. Then six months at zero, every rejection arriving as one empty sentence. In this episode: what happened when I ran my own diagnosis on myself in public, what I found I'd been getting wrong, and what I rebuilt because of it.

Full written version, with every source linked: ameliebeerens.com/90-to-0

The Nerve, where this continues every week: ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

You walk out of a meeting. Something was said — or not said. A decision was made that shouldn't have been. And you smile, nod, and say "no worries."

On the inside? Something tightened.

That tightening isn't the problem. It's information. Precise, accurate, and pointing directly at something that needs to change.

But here's the trap nobody's talking about: the system gives you two options for that anger. Express it — and get penalised. Suppress it — and burn out. The advice to "stay professional" sits right in the middle and solves exactly nothing.

In this episode, I go deep on what the latest research actually says about anger at work — and it's not what you've been told.

We cover:

→  Why anger is the most hopeful emotion in your emotional vocabulary — and why most people have it completely wrong

→  The research contradiction that overturns 20 years of workplace advice 

→  The one distinction between two types of coping that separates leaders who burn out from leaders who drive results

→  Three structural shifts  (not emotion management tips ) to start using immediately

No meditation. No "breathe through it." No toxic positivity.

Just an honest conversation about what anger is actually telling you — and what it costs you to keep ignoring it.

References: Brené Brown — Atlas of the Heart | Hebrew University & Princeton (2024) | Crucial Learning (2024) | APA Work in America (2024) | Frontiers in Psychology (2025)

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

You hired external expertise to move faster.

So why does your team feel heavier?

Why is trust more fragile?
Why are meetings more political?
Why are employees quieter?
Why are freelancers slightly detached?

This isn’t about freelancing as a trend.

It’s about psychological contracts colliding inside your team.

In this episode, I unpack:

– Why fairness becomes fragile when contracts differ
– How unclear ownership quietly fuels burnout
– Why psychological safety drops in blended teams
– The hidden risk of capability hollowing
– And what strong leadership actually looks like in that tension

If you’re managing employees and contractors at the same time — and feeling the emotional weight of it — this episode will put words on what you already sense.

Because the real problem isn’t hiring external talent.

It’s leading the complexity that comes with it.

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

Courage is not boldness.
It’s not charisma.
And it’s definitely not something you’re born with.

In this episode, we dismantle the myth of heroic courage and replace it with something far more useful: courage as agency under uncertainty.

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Most leaders don’t hesitate because they’re weak.
 They hesitate because uncertainty reduces perceived control.

And when perceived control drops, your nervous system shifts.

In this episode, we unpack why smart leaders freeze, how loss aversion disguises itself as prudence, and why clarity — not consensus — builds real authority.

This is not a motivational pep talk.

It’s a structural breakdown of how courage works in real leadership environments.

If you’re an ambitious leader who wants more decisiveness without becoming reckless — this episode will shift how you understand yourself.

And once you understand that courage is contextual, not personal…
You stop shaming yourself.
You start designing differently.

Research Referenced

• Stephen Porges – Polyvagal Theory (neuroception, safety & threat responses)
• Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky – Prospect Theory (loss aversion research)
• McKinsey & Company – Research on decision velocity and organizational performance
• Amy Edmondson – Psychological Safety & performance
• Social Baseline Theory (Coan & Sbarra) – Social support reduces perceived threat

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

Most leaders say they value open communication.

And yet, conflict is the one thing they consistently avoid.

Not because they don’t know how to handle it.
But because stepping into conflict threatens their image, their comfort, and their sense of belonging.

In this episode of Brazen Leaders – The Human Edge, we talk about what conflict avoidance really is:
not emotional intelligence, not maturity, but a quiet abdication of leadership responsibility.

You’ll hear why:

• avoiding conflict creates false peace and stabilizes broken systems
• “letting people sort it out themselves” is not neutral leadership
• silence reshapes power long before anything explodes
• psychological safety without truth is just politeness in disguise
• and why leaders who disappear from conflict always pay later

This is not an episode about “having difficult conversations.”
It’s about what leadership actually costs when you choose comfort over clarity.

If you’re competent, well-intentioned, and exhausted by carrying things you shouldn’t be carrying anymore, this one will hit close to home.

Listen with curiosity.
Stay until the end.
And ask yourself the question most leaders avoid.

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

Eight years in business did not make me wiser.
It made me faster at spotting bullshit — especially my own.

Running a business is not a strategy game.
It’s a soul journey with invoices.

In this episode, I share six learnings I spent years waiting to hear out loud.
Not frameworks.
Not inspiration.
The kind of lessons you only learn once you’re already leading, deciding, paying, and living with the consequences.

We talk about:
– why confidence only comes after exposure
– why doubt never disappears and why that’s not a flaw
– how money impacts your nervous system and why privilege matters in this conversation
– why perception is not branding fluff but leadership responsibility
– how standards protect you — and what happens when you’re the one who slips
– and finally, what to do when you’re stuck with impossible people and power games you didn’t choose

This episode is not for beginners.
It’s for people who are already carrying weight — and feeling the quiet cost of leadership.

If theory stopped helping lately, this will land.

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EPISODE TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – When theory dies

02:10 – Confidence is a side effect, not a prerequisite

06:30 – Discomfort and doubt are permanent

11:20 – Money, privilege, and nervous systems

17:30 – Perception, influence, and consistency

22:30 – Standards, disappointment, and repair

27:40 – Impossible people and the cost of staying

32:00 – The real takeaway

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

In this episode, we’re flipping the script on overwhelm. It’s not about managing your time better or trying to juggle more—it’s about recognizing that overwhelm is a choice and learning how to take back control. We dive into what really causes that feeling of drowning in responsibilities and how you can shift your mindset to lead with clarity and power. This is for the ambitious leaders who are tired of spinning their wheels and are ready to stop letting overwhelm call the shots.

What You'll Learn:

• Why overwhelm isn’t what you think it is—and how to break free
• A radical approach to regaining control of your time and energy
• The surprising key to making overwhelm disappear (without doing more)
• How saying 'no' like a pro can transform your leadership

Useful Links:

• Blog Post: Get more tips on reclaiming control and saying goodbye to overwhelm on the blog.
• Want to dive deeper? Join the Brazen Leaders Incubator and take the first step to leading with confidence, without the chaos. Let’s connect and make it happen.

Stay bold, stay brazen, and let’s stop overwhelm in its tracks!

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting

In this episode, we’re calling out the biggest myth about alignment – that it’s easy. Spoiler: it’s not. 
But the rewards? Game-changing. 
We’ll get into why self-leadership is the foundation of authentic success, how to stop betraying your own values, and why those tiny, everyday choices are what really determine your direction. No fluff, just raw, actionable insights to help you live and lead unapologetically aligned.

What You'll Learn:

• Why living out of sync messes with your confidence (and how to fix it)
• How small, aligned decisions build unstoppable momentum
• The key to leading yourself so you can lead others with conviction
• A practical habit you can start today to feel more in control

Useful Links:
Blog Post: Dive deeper into self-leadership and alignment in our latest blog.
Need support? DM me and join the Brazen Leaders Incubator, where leaders grow, reclaim their time, and lead with confidence. Stay bold, stay brazen, and take the first step toward living aligned.

The Nerve, my weekly newsletter on transformation under real conditions: https://ameliebeerens.com/the-nerve
Work with me: https://ameliebeerens.com/consulting