• Boss vs. Leader: What’s the difference?
• The power of humility in leadership
• How Celso lost his team—and got them back
• Neuroscience of fear, safety, and clarity
• Leading organizational change with empathy
• How to help people transition through uncertainty
• From classroom to executive room: building partnership
• Rapid-fire: What rewired Celso’s leadership mindset

00:00 – Intro: From boss to real leader
01:00 – Meet Celso Sawaia: Engineer, teacher, UN leader
03:00 – The moment leadership hit hard
06:00 – Dollar-store wallets & real connection
08:00 – Recognition & reward: what the brain needs
10:00 – Switching roles: from CEO to civil servant
13:00 – Bosses are obeyed, leaders are followed
15:00 – What Celso’s students taught him about authority
17:00 – Transformation without panic: Leading people through change
22:00 – How neuroscience explains resistance
24:00 – Resetting the brain: Claire’s Say It Out Loud Rule
26:00 – Final wisdom: servant leadership, empathy, and clarity
27:00 – Celso’s rapid-fire rewire moment
28:00 – Wrap-up & CTA

• The subtle (but critical) differences between managing and leading—and how to shift into true leadership.
• Why emotional safety and self-awareness are essential to performance and culture.
• How Celso transformed a disengaged team into a thriving culture of ownership.
• A behind-the-scenes look at the personal courage it takes to own your blind spots as a leader.
• Why neuroscience backs the shift from control to connection in leadership.
• How to build high-performance by becoming less reactive and more intentional.
• Tactical self-leadership tools for navigating team conflict, resistance, and change.

• ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)
• Claire’s Say It Out Loud Rule
• The neuroscience of change and amygdala hijack

Follow Claire on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairehayek/

Follow Celso on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjsawaia/

🎓 Want to train your brain for resilience and high performance?

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📩 For free resources, upcoming masterclasses, or to join our next live webinar—click here:👉 ⁠https://linktr.ee/clairehayek⁠

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The NeuroLeadership Edge Podcast is produced by Claire Hayek. All opinions are those of the host and guests. For more leadership resources, visit www.mspteambuilding.com.