It's role reversal time at Better Under Pressure.

This month, leadership coach Nicky Brown puts me in the hot seat, asking me what I've learnt from my 60+ conversations with leaders around the world on the Better Under Pressure podcast, and from two decades of coaching at Coaching Impact.

This conversation gave me the time and the context to reflect on what I see and hear when I'm with leaders, and to explore how pressure shows up in our lives — the positives and the negatives, and what people do when they're deep in it.

Over 50 minutes, we got into: - Why people interpret pressure differently, and why that matters for teams - Why, for me, pressure is an action-oriented energy - The role of Spirit and Discipline in managing stress - Short-term vs. long-term pressure, and why the long-term becomes toxic without the tools to manage it - The difference between performance and a performative act - My own pressure point: a love of control. (Yes, I'm outing myself!)

Over the years, a lot of people have asked me for more of my take on it all, and Nicky gave me the chance, so thank you.

Each month, Better Under Pressure explores how leaders really experience pressure, respond to it, and lead others through it — for positive outcomes.

Outline 📍 00:00 Intro

01:45 Sarah steps into the hot seat

02:37 How would you describe pressure?

07:01 What does long-term pressure feel like?

10:46 How do you still perform under pressure?

11:43 The classroom moment that shaped Sara’s leadership

21:08 Spirit, discipline & self-belief under pressure

23:41 Insight 1: Lessons learned

26:15 How do you stop pressure becoming toxic?

29:43 How do you prepare for pressure before it arrives?

34:45 How do you turn pressure into fuel?

36:36 What practices help you become better under pressure? 40:08 Insight 2: Lessons learned

44:51 What will pressure look like in the future of work?

47:30 How do leaders handle uncertainty?

49:00 Two things Sara would pass forward for performing under pressure

51:34 Why learning to shut down matters

52:54 AI, leadership & the future

54:20 Final reflections

55:15 Outro

Why slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

"I love to work at pace. I talk at pace. I am all like go, go, go," says @Caroline Frankum, the former Global CEO of Kantar's Profiles division, "but sometimes you really need to slow down to go faster – and in times of pressure, slowing down the process is really important."

"Pressure is always going to be there. It is really about how you deal with it in a structured way," she adds, "and that sometimes means pausing – which is the thing I had to learn."

Caroline's approach to pressure has been shaped by personal experience (more on that in our conversation) and senior leadership roles at Kantar, Hall & Partners, the Mirror Group, ITV, UKTV, Disney and Sky.

"You have to find the thing that works for you to get your mind into a calmer state. Then you are in a place where you can make a confident decision. Until you get there, you will react rather than respond."

I loved talking to Caroline, she really is a powerhouse and there is a lot more to our conversation. Listen here.

Each month the Better Under Pressure podcast explores how leaders really experience pressure, respond to it and lead others through it for positive outcomes.

Please save, share and follow me, Sara Milne Rowe, for more on leadership, performance and impact for good. Outline 📍 00:00 Intro 02:55 Do you need pressure to be better? 05:40 How to Slow Down When Everyone Around You Wants Speed? 09:53 How great leaders share self-regulation with their teams? 11:42 How childhood silence shaped powerful leadership awareness? 18:22 How do leaders recognise when pressure becomes stress? 19:59 Insight 1: Lessons learned 23:13 What is the very worst pressure that you have been under? 29:24 The biggest future pressures for leaders & how does purpose help navigate them? 36:18 What two things can help you become better under pressure? 39:00 Insight 2: Lessons learned 42:48 Did the doctors ever hear the impact their words had years later? 47:13 Outro

"As long as my values system and my integrity are reconciled at the end of each day, I'm OK."

So says the extraordinary Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani MBE, investment banker, entrepreneur, investor and venture capitalist, in conversation with me on my Better Under Pressure podcast.

Bijna has appeared in many top 50 and top 100 lists, from the World's Top 100 Women Executives to Top 50 Women to Watch. In 2025, she was named Venture Capitalist of the Year in India. Yet she sees awards differently from most: "It is nice to be appreciated, but it is a bigger responsibility to honour that."

Throughout her career, Bijna has focused on her personal impact and what she can contribute to make a better world, and she does it her way: "I am very clear on who I am, what I represent, and what works for me and what doesn't."

For me, this conversation is about clarity, ownership, accountability, and how to achieve it. I hope you enjoy.

Follow Dr Bijna on:

- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/bijna

- Insta: https://www.instagram.com/thedrbijna

- X: https://x.com/drbijna

Outline 📍 00:00 Intro

02:30 What pressure comes with growing recognition and a rising reputation? 10:00 Spirit & Discipline: A No is a Full Sentence 13:17 How do high performers decide what deserves their energy and what gets a no? 16:46 Insight 1: Lessons learned 20:04 What are the biggest pressures facing women in business today?

24:00 How can women build allyship, shift the system, and claim their own agency? 28:42 How do you manage your emotions? 30:54 What is the first sign you need to go into airplane mode?

34:15 Insight 2: Lessons learned

36:34 What's the worst pressure you've ever been under? 39:22 Was there a moment you realised enough was enough?

43:00 What 2 pieces of advice would you pass forward to people listening?

45:43 Outro

‘I’m at my best when the pressure is high. And I need to be prepared for it, I tend to approach it as a positive rather than a negative’, says my guest on this month’s Better Under Pressure podcast, Thomas Dubaere, CEO, AccorHotels Americas. Thomas’s approach to pressure has been honed over a 20-year career in the hospitality industry with Accor, working in multi-layered, highly networked stakeholder environments across multiple countries and cultures.

In this conversation, Thomas talks about his relationship with pressure: from why confidence plays such an important role, to how he distinguishes when pressure turns into stress, and how he works with his teams to plan for high-pressure meetings. I found this such a refreshingly open conversation and hope you do too!

Outline 📍 00:00 Intro 02:14 How would you describe your relationship with Pressure? 04:30 How have you evolved your relationship with Pressure? 11:21 Can you share an example of how you notice and manage pressure? 19:43 What are your go-to habits that help you stay physically fuelled under pressure? 24:05 How do you set boundaries with your team when work and travel blur together? 25:28 Insight 1: Lessons learned 29:08 What’s the number one thing that pulls you into unhelpful pressure? 32:30 How do you balance family life and leisure alongside work? 38:01 Where do you get your biggest energy from? 39:50 What advice would you give for keeping pressure positive during long-term goals? 44:55 Insight 2: Lessons learned 48:37 What part of your SHED practice is most important for keeping pressure positive? 54:21 What 2 pieces of advice would you pass forward to be better under pressure?

What a Purpose-led CEO Can Teach Us About Managing Pressure

This week’s Better Under Pressure conversation is with an inspirational leader who has been, at times, so immersed in her role that she felt she had merged with it. Does that sound familiar? That feeling when you become what you do… your identity slides into your role and before you know it, the boundary between you and the work has dissolved?

Clare Reddington, CEO of Watershed – the Bristol-based organisation focused on cultural cinema, talent development and creative technology – knows this feeling well.

In this episode we explore how purpose drives Clare’s leadership style and carries her through pressure, how she recognises her personal signs of overwhelm, and what she does about it (hint: nature plays a big role).

Outline 📍 00:00 Intro 02:37 How do you experience pressure? 04:55 How do you tap into that sense of stewardship and purpose in your own leadership? 10:03 What’s the practice that helps you hold and lead all of this? 14:00 How do you meaningfully track balance and belonging in your organisation? 17:16 How do people respond to having unlimited time off and that level of flexibility? 22:59 Insight 1: Lessons learned 25:53 What are the first signs you notice that indicate you need to take a rest? 33:25 Insight 2: Lessons learned 36:07 What was the worst pressure you have ever felt? 40:00 How do you support a team member caught in extreme pressure in the moment? 42:18 What 2 pieces of advice would you pass forward to be better under pressure? 46:21 Outro

As regular listeners to Better Under Pressure know, I often draw connections between the principles found in sport and those that underpin leadership and performance coaching, identifying habits that are highly transferable to the business world and everyday life.

No surprise then that I loved this conversation with Dr. Ara Suppiah, Chief Medical Officer for LIV Golf (and keeping players like Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Anna Nordqvist on course) Known as “the elite athlete’s secret weapon”, this episode is packed with high-performance insights and tips that I hope you’ll find useful and can apply to your own life when pressure shows up!

Outline 📍 00:00 Intro 02:36 When did you first experience pressure? 06:25 How did you learn to manage that feeling of pressure? 14:22 What is important around the relationship between your mind and your body in pressure? 24:17 Insight 1: Lessons learned 26:52 What does ‘slowing the ball down’ look like for leaders under pressure? 35:44 How do you now manage your temper? 39:12 How do you train top athletes to control their temper? 44:48 How do you turn pressure into an energy that allows you to be better? 52:59 Insight 2: Lessons learned 56:30 Do you think the male and female body handle pressure differently? 01:03:03 What 2 pieces of advice would you pass forward to be better under pressure? 01:04:53 Outro

I love this episode because, in addition to discussing pressure, difficult deals, and making no money for two years, we also explore what happens when you decide to trust the universe and how to navigate moments of uncertainty.

I'm talking to Joti Balani, a remarkable leader who walked away from corporate success to build something extraordinary in the world of AI. She has over 25 years’ experience in technology & design, leading AI and Automation projects for Fortune 500 enterprises and government agencies. But she walked away from that predictable career with prestigious titles to start again from scratch, founding and building Freshriver.ai - what she now calls an organism rather than a company – that is attracting top talent who are seeking meaningful adventure in the AI world.

Alongside this, Joti speaks at global industry, academic, and social impact events, such as CES and Fintech Connect, and is a member of the Infrastructure Masons NYC Chapter, collaborating with Data Center Industry leaders to ensure AI is sustainable and carbon-neutral as it grows exponentially. This episode explores how she navigated the pressure of reinvention and how invisible forces can align when you truly commit to your purpose, as well as the role of what I call spirit and discipline in creating a meaningful future. So, this episode is for you if you're wondering: - Can I leave corporate life and create something transformative? - How can I stay grounded if I’m pioneering an unknown path? Or - What if my next chapter is about impact, not just income?

Outline 📍 00:00 Intro 03:05 How would you describe Pressure? 04:18 When does pressure feel positive for you, and when does it become unhelpful? 10:08 How do you handle pressure when things aren’t going your way? 27:06 A practice to enable you to stay strong 42:46 What’s your personal relationship with pressure — and how has it shaped you? 47:38 Insight 1: Lessons learned 52:34 What 2 pieces of advice would you pass forward to be better under pressure? 57:44 Insight 2: Lessons learned 58:11 Outro

When I ask most guests on Better Under Pressure when they first experienced pressure, they normally say it was from either parents or school in exams or on sports day, but when you’re born into a notorious cult where you’re raised knowing the world is ending and you are one of god’s endtime soldiers, the pressure is on a whole other level. Petra Velzeboer managed to escape from the cult in her early twenties, and started a family and working, only to find the latter not too dissimilar to those original pressures of the cult - which is why - to use her phrase - she crashed. So it’s no wonder that, when she managed to very consciously extract herself from that second cycle, Petra became a psychotherapist and champion of mental health support with her organisation - PVL - combatting psychologically toxic cultures and promoting mentally healthy work environments. Outline 📍 00:00 Intro 02:12 What is your relationship with Pressure? 03:23 How do you navigate increasing pressure in your life? 06:47 Can you remember a moment when you were deep in the darkness? 16:11 What would you say has been the most difficult pressure? 22:27 Insight 1: Lessons learned 26:39 What do you see as the biggest source of unhealthy pressure in your field? 28:59 How do you keep yourself steady? 32:44 How would you advise a leader supporting team members with less capacity for pressure? 38:22 Do you feel you have enough healthy, invigorating pressure in your life right now? 39:32 What 2 pieces of advice would you pass forward to people listening? 46:23 Insight 2: Lessons learned 46:54 Outro