Everyday Leadership

Everyday Leadership

By Sope AgbelusiBusinessEntrepreneurshipCareersManagement
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Everyday Leadership episodes

  • You Don't Have a Time Management Problem | Sope Agbelusi

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    Most leaders think being busy means they need better systems, better priorities or more discipline.
    Sometimes that's true.
    Sometimes the real problem is that you've built a working life around being needed.
    In this episode, I unpack what Shopify's decision to remove thousands of recurring meetings taught me about defaults, Parkinson's Law, and why the behaviours that made you successful can eventually make you the bottleneck.
    I also look at why teams become dependent on leaders, why delegation advice often misses the point, and what your calendar reveals about what you value, avoid and refuse to release.
    Your calendar may not be the problem.
    It may be the evidence.
    28 min
  • He Failed as a Leader at 24. Then Sold 12 Million Books | Thomas Erikson

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    You can be brilliant at your job and still be terrible at leading people, because the skills that get you promoted are not always the skills that help other people perform.
    Thomas Erikson learned that at 24 when he became a manager and, in his own words, “messed it up badly.” That failure pushed him into a 30-year journey of self-awareness, communication and human behaviour. Years later, publishers told him Surrounded by Idiots was a stupid idea. He published it anyway. The book went on to sell 7 million copies, with the wider series reaching 12 million worldwide.
    In this conversation, we unpack why self-awareness comes before communication, why first impressions can mislead you, what pressure reveals about your behaviour, and why understanding people may become even more valuable as AI takes over more of the work machines can do.
    This one will make you question how well you really understand the people around you, and yourself.
    1 hr 9 min
  • What 20 Years of Marriage Taught Me About Leadership

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    I have been married for 20 years, and some of the most important leadership lessons I have ever learned did not come from a boardroom.
    They came from home.
    Marriage taught me how to listen when I felt misunderstood. It taught me that repair matters more than being right, and that presence cannot be replaced by provision.
    In this solo episode of Everyday Leadership, I share 20 leadership lessons from 20 years of marriage and how those lessons have shaped the way I lead, advise founders, work with executives and think about trust, conflict, pressure, communication and responsibility.
    This is not a perfect marriage masterclass.
    It is still a work in progress. I am still a work in progress.
    But after 20 years of marriage, I can say this honestly: home has been one of my greatest leadership classrooms.
    In this episode, I explore:
    • Why being right is not the same as being trusted
    • Why tone carries the message first
    • Why home is a leadership classroom
    • Why avoidance always collects interest
    • Why you cannot lead someone you keep trying to control
    • Why repair matters more than conflict avoidance
    • Why listening is not waiting for your turn
    • Why there is no such thing as 50-50
    • Why presence cannot be replaced by provision
    • Why leadership is formed in the rooms that matter most
    Everyday Leadership is about real leadership from the inside out.
    And sometimes the place that teaches you the most about leadership is not the boardroom.
    It is home.
    33 min
  • What Success Makes You Afraid to Lose | Syreeta Brown

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    Success can give you status, security and recognition.
    It can also make you afraid to move.
    In this episode of Everyday Leadership, Syreeta Brown and I explore what happens when achievement becomes part of your identity, the title starts to define you and protecting what you have built begins to limit what comes next.
    We talk about the courage life slowly conditions out of us, why intentionality is only tested when pressure arrives, and how to separate who you are from what you do. Syreeta also shares what motherhood, advocacy and raising a daughter with autism taught her about patience, listening, rest and leading people without trying to force them into who you think they should become.
    This conversation will help you think differently about:
    Why success can become a form of security you are afraid to leave
    How corporate titles shape identity
    The difference between happiness and joy
    Why transformation requires risk
    The hidden exhaustion of always being “on”
    How intentions collapse under pressure
    Why representation is more than visibility
    What it means to lead from purpose rather than position
    Why rest is part of leadership, not a reward for surviving it
    Syreeta Brown is an award-winning senior executive with more than 20 years of experience across financial services, technology and telecommunications.
    She has held senior leadership roles at BT, Citi and Virgin Money, where she became the first Black female Chief People Officer of a FTSE 250 UK tier-one bank. She is also the author of Bigger Than The Moon: A Parent’s Journey With Autism.
    One of the strongest lines from this conversation is: “You don’t transform from a place of security.”
    The question is, what has your success made you afraid to lose?
    Connect with Syreeta Brown:
    Book: Bigger Than the Moon, A Parent's Journey with Autism
    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/syreeta-brown-fcipd-cmgr-ccmi-583a414/
    Connect with Sope
    Website (https://mindsetshift.co.uk/)
    Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@everydayleadershippodcast)
    Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sopeagbelusi/)
    LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sopeagbelusi/)
    Did you find this helpful? If you like this episode, please leave a review or share it with someone who could benefit from listening.
    We're always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts, send us an email at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
    59 min
  • You Will Never Outperform the Identity You Agreed With | Sope Agbelusi

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    You will never outperform the identity you have quietly agreed with. In this solo episode of Everyday Leadership, Sope Agbelusi returns after a few months away from the podcast to explore the hidden agreements that shape our behaviour, ambition, risk, business and future. This episode is about identity. The identity that says “I’m not creative.” The identity that says “I only work with big organisations.” The identity that says “once I’m big enough, then I’ll deserve support.” The identity that makes founders invest in strategy, tools, hiring, branding and systems, while refusing to invest in the one asset everything runs through: themselves. Sope explores why strategy has a ceiling when identity has not shifted, why many UK founders treat development as discretionary overhead rather than growth infrastructure, and why fear can often dress itself up as prudence. He also shares a personal story about fatherhood, risk, provision and the moment he had to become the person the situation required. This episode is for founders, leaders and builders who know the next stage of their life or business cannot be built from the identity that got them here. In this episode: • Why identity comes before strategy • The invisible agreements running your behaviour • Why “I’m not creative” was never just a sentence • The difference between US and UK founder mindsets • Why founders invest in everything except themselves • How logic can police the size of your vision • Why you need to go big first, then build the plan • The three questions every founder should sit with Three questions from the episode: 1. What have I agreed to be that I have never actually examined? 2. Where is my behaviour perfectly consistent with an identity I claim to have outgrown? 3. If I really believed I was the person I say I am becoming, what would I do this week that I’m not doing? Everyday Leadership is back. Leadership is not a title. It is who you become when pressure starts costing you something.

    29 min
  • Why Success Isn't On a KPI Spreadsheet: Gloria Chao on Freedom, Fulfillment and Doing PR Differently

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    What does it actually take to get media coverage without a PR agency, a big budget, or knowing the right people?
    Gloria Chou found out the hard way. After applying to a thousand PR jobs and getting rejected from every single one, she cold-called newsrooms with shaking hands, got phones slammed in her face, and reverse-engineered what actually works. She built the CPR pitching method from scratch. It's now trained into AI models.
    But this conversation goes somewhere deeper than PR.
    Because Gloria hit the numbers. The seven-figure milestone, the growing team, the influence. And felt nothing. Dead in the eyes. When she finally traced it back to the root, it led her to her mother, to years of unresolved resentment, and to a plant medicine ceremony that changed everything.
    In this episode, Sope and Gloria get into why traditional PR and SEO are losing ground to AI visibility, how ChatGPT is becoming the new discovery engine for your audience, why your business will only rise to the level of problems you can solve, how unresolved anger quietly shows up as micromanaging and burnout, and the one question that now drives every decision Gloria makes.
    If you have hit your goals and still feel like something is off, this one is for you.
    1 hr 1 min
  • The Intention Gap: Why Your Best Leaders Can't Access What They Already Know

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    Why Your Best Leaders Are Burning Out (And What to Do About It) | Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, Workplace Burnout
    Your leadership development budget might be making things worse.
    Not because the programmes are bad. But because we're solving the wrong problem.
    Most leaders don't lack capability. They lack access to what they already know when pressure is highest - what I call The Intention Gap. And it's driving leadership burnout across organisations.
    In this episode on leadership burnout and intentional leadership, you'll discover:
    Why traditional leadership training creates exhaustion instead of preventing it
    The Intention Gap: why talented executives default to reactive leadership under pressure
    Real stories from C-suite leaders who've lost themselves climbing the corporate ladder
    The Unlearn, Unlock, Unleash framework for sustainable leadership
    A practical exercise to shift from reactive to intentional decision-making before your next meeting
    Perfect for: Startup founders, senior leaders, executive coaches, HR directors, and anyone in leadership development wondering why capable leaders struggle to apply what they know.
    Key Insights:
    "The problem isn't that leaders lack capability. The problem is they can't access it when it matters most."
    "What got you to director doesn't get you to VP. What got you to VP doesn't get you to the C-suite. And what got you to the C-suite absolutely will not sustain you while you're there."
    "When you can't access your intention, when you're operating from reaction instead of purpose, that gap opens up. Maybe not as dramatically as the twisties, but it shows up."
    "You don't close the intention gap by adding more. You close it by removing what no longer serves you."
    "The world doesn't need more perfect leaders. It needs more real ones."
    This isn't about adding more leadership skills. It's about removing what blocks your access to authentic leadership when it matters most.
    We explore burnout prevention through intentional leadership practices, drawing on executive coaching insights and real transformation stories - including lessons from Simone Biles on recognising when performance pressure creates dangerous gaps.
    Free Resource: Take the Intention Gap Scorecard to assess where you're operating from reaction versus intention across six leadership dimensions.
    22 min
  • What They Don't Tell You About Being CEO: Fiona McKenzie on Growth, Exits, and Starting Over

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    What does leadership really feel like when you step into the CEO role and realise the weight is real?
    In this episode of Everyday Leadership, Sope Agbelusi speaks with Fiona McKenzie, CEO of Revere, about the reality of leadership under pressure. Fiona shares her journey from Account Director to CEO, taking over from the founders, building a leadership team, scaling culture, and leading the business through a successful sale to Marketbridge. All while raising a family and navigating decisions most leaders never talk about publicly.
    This is an honest conversation about modern leadership, not theory.
    You will hear Fiona unpack
    • What it truly means to become a first-time CEO
    • The leadership habits that stop working at the top
    • How to let go of control without losing performance
    • The real process of selling a business while still leading it
    • Strength, vulnerability, and speaking up as a leader
    • Why leadership decisions often feel lonely
    • How to navigate identity shifts after an exit
    This episode is essential listening for CEOs, founders, senior leaders, and anyone stepping into bigger responsibilities who wants clarity, not clichés.
    Connect with Fiona McKenzie:
    LinkedIn | Marketbridge
    Connect with Sope
    Website | Youtube | Instagram | LinkedIn
    1 hr 2 min
  • Creating Mixtape Madness Without Permission | Kwabz Ayim on Culture, Ownership and Leadership

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    What does it really take to build something that lasts, without permission, without hype, and without losing yourself?
    In this episode of Everyday Leadership, Kwabz Ayim, co-founder of Mixtape Madness reflects on 15 years of shaping UK music culture from the ground up.
    This is a grounded conversation about responsibility, ownership, and the unseen work behind influence.
    We explore:
    How frustration turned into action
    Why culture often creates value without owning the outcome
    The responsibility that comes with platforming others
    Why systems and structure matter more than visibility
    What marriage and parenting teach you about leadership
    How ego quietly corrupts success if left unchecked
    This episode is for people who care about building with integrity, leading with intention, and creating impact without performance.
    1 hr 8 min
  • Why Innovation Gets Rejected Before It Wins | Notpla Co-Founder Pierre Paslier

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    Why does innovation get rejected before it wins?
    In this episode of Everyday Leadership, Sope speaks with Pierre Paslier, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Notpla, a sustainable packaging company creating biodegradable, plastic-free alternatives to single-use plastic using seaweed.
    Pierre shares the full journey of building Notpla, from early fundraising rejection and financial pressure to raising £850,000 through equity crowdfunding and winning Prince William’s Earthshot Prize.
    Together, they explore leadership, resilience, and what it takes to build climate innovation in systems designed to resist change.
    This episode is for founders, leaders, and innovators navigating rejection, funding pressure, and the challenge of building something new.
    Connect with Pierre:
    Notpla
    Linkedln
    IG
    Connect with Sope
    Website | Youtube | Instagram | LinkedIn
    Did you find this helpful? If you like this episode, please leave a review or share it with someone who could benefit from listening. 
    We’re always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts, send us an email at [email protected]
    1 hr 3 min

About Everyday Leadership

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Everyday Leadership is a podcast that explores the leadership experiences of real people and how they lead from the inside out, not just the outside in.

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