Why Trying Harder Can Make You Perform Worse | Liam Sceats

Reuben Araroa joined the military at 16. His career later took him through corporate operations and into iwi leadership, where he had to reconsider some deeply established ways of working. In this episode, Reuben joins Chris Turkington to discuss the discipline he carried forward and the assumptions he had to question. He reflects on learning to sit, listen and be present, and explains what te ao Māori has taught him about leadership and connection. They also discuss responding to pressure, bringing in outside expertise, and trusting people without leaving expectations unclear. Reuben shares three principles he uses with teams: embrace reality, decide what matters most, and acknowledge when you need help. He closes with the challenge of recognising you may have climbed the wrong mountain, even after working hard to reach the top. Connect with Reuben: Whakaaro: https://www.whakaaro.co.nz/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reuben-araroa-54b30382/ Aegis Leadership: https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/ Thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for powering the show. https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/ Follow Fireside Leadership for more conversations about leadership, decisions and the lessons people learn through experience.

If pushing harder has always helped you succeed, slowing down can feel like letting your standards slip. Health and performance coach Aaron Callaghan joins Chris Turkington to explore what happens when drive and discipline start costing you more than they deliver. Aaron discusses why recovery needs a place in your diary, how to adjust exercise around your wider stress load, and why a strength such as coachability can sometimes limit your judgement. The conversation also turns to home: achieving professionally while becoming disconnected from your family, and the small boundaries that help you give them your full attention. Aaron finishes with a practical evening reflection for recognising progress and choosing one achievable improvement for tomorrow. Find Aaron: https://www.aaroncallaghan.com/ Explore leadership development with Aegis Leadership: https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/ Thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for powering the show: https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/ Follow Fireside Leadership Podcast for more conversations about leadership, performance and life beyond work.

A joke in a meeting can lighten the mood. It can also say something people are hesitant to raise directly. Dr Allanah Johnston joins Chris to talk about her research into workplace humour and what it can reveal about trust, tension and team culture. They discuss the line between banter and a pointed remark, why leaders should not try to force humour, and how clips from The Office helped one organisation discuss workplace behaviour. The conversation also turns to change. Allanah explains why leaders should listen to people who push back: they may see consequences the change team has missed. Allanah is the founder of Future Calibrate, a consultancy focused on organisational change. Connect with Dr Allanah Johnston Future Calibrate: https://www.futurecalibrate.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-allanah-johnston-9973a812/ Connect with Aegis Leadership https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/ Thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for powering the show https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/

Capable leaders can stay composed at work and still lose control at home. Jacqlin Richards says that is not a knowledge problem. It is a capacity problem. When pressure rises, the space between being triggered and reacting begins to disappear. We may know exactly how we want to respond but still find ourselves yelling, avoiding, shutting down or trying to keep everyone happy. Jacqlin is an international bestselling author and founder of the Resourced Parenting Method™. She joins Chris Turkington to discuss parenting as our first experience of leadership, the five survival states and the danger of needing your children or your team to like you. She also shares why she called the police on her seven-year-old son, what that moment taught her about firm boundaries and how her rewind tool helps repair the relationship after a reaction. This conversation is for parents and leaders who know how they want to behave but cannot always access that response when the pressure is on. Find Jacqlin, her book and the Resourced Parenting Method: https://jacqlinrichards.com/ Explore Aegis Leadership and the Fireside Leadership Podcast: https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/fireside-leadership-podcast Thanks to Dark Horse Coffee for powering the Fireside Leadership Podcast. You can check out their latest roasts at: https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/

Most leaders know how they are supposed to lead. The harder question is whether they can still access that judgement, patience and self-control when their system is depleted. Rachel Taylor is a geneticist, biochemist and co-founder of Taylored Health. In this conversation, she challenges the idea that declining performance is always a grit or resilience problem. She explains how biology, behaviour, leadership and environment form a Capacity Wheel that can either build a leader or steadily drain them. Rachel and Chris explore why the same workload affects people differently, how chronic stress narrows attention and weakens judgement, why the people at home often notice depletion first, and what genetics may reveal about individual stress and recovery. They also examine why organisations invest heavily in leaders but continue treating their capacity as a private wellbeing issue. The central message is simple: the future of leadership is not about extracting more from people. It is about helping them become capable of more without constantly pushing. Learn more about Rachel and Taylored Health: https://taylored.health/ The Fireside Leadership Podcast is produced by Aegis Leadership and powered by Dark Horse Coffee. You can check the out below.https://darkhorsecoffee.co.nz/ https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz/ This conversation is for general information only and is not medical advice.