with Alec Pearson and Rich Carter, Chief Growth Officer and President of Advanced Programs at Albers Aerospace.

In this episode of Beyond Leading, we sit down with a leader who operates at the sharp end of one of the most fast-moving, high-stakes industries in the world: aerospace and defence.

The world leaders are operating in right now is faster, more complex and more unpredictable than anything most leadership textbooks prepared us for.

So what does it actually take to lead well in that environment?

We explore:

• why speed has become the defining leadership challenge of our time
• how to lead from the front when the plan changes before the day has even started
• why banning the word "I" might be one of the most powerful cultural shifts a leader can make
• the frozen middle and how to thaw it
• whether the old leadership playbook needs throwing out or simply evolving
• how to think about AI as a tool, not a threat, and what that means for your people
• generational differences, reverse mentoring and why diverse teams move faster
• and what to say to the leader who is tired, overwhelmed and wondering where to start

This is a practical, honest conversation from someone who has done it, and is still doing it.

About Rich Carter

Rich Carter is Chief Growth Officer and President of Advanced Programs at Albers Aerospace. With over 20 years of executive leadership experience, he drives revenue generation, business development, and customer relationships serving the U.S. Intelligence Community, the Pentagon, international partners, and commercial entities. Previously, Rich held executive roles at MAG Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, and Sierra Nevada Corporation. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University and a Master of Science from Stony Brook University.

About Albers Aerospace

Albers Aerospace is a proud company built by Warfighters and committed teammates who share a deep passion for serving the Nation. For the past decade, the company has delivered exceptional value across its Industrials, Defense, and Advanced Programs sectors — operating with a People First, Mission Always mindset.

Through its Industrials division, Albers provides vertically integrated, full-spectrum manufacturing capabilities that strengthen the aerospace and defense industrial base. In Defense, the company delivers products and services within complex, multi-security environments — ensuring readiness, reliability, and mission success. Through Advanced Programs, Albers solves emerging challenges with agility, innovation, and technical precision.

Albers Aerospace exists to make a difference — for the country, for the men and women who serve it, and for the future of aerospace and defense. The team brings operational insight, engineering excellence, and an unwavering commitment to quality in everything they do.

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with Alec Pearson, Tiffany David and Graham Da Costa.

Emotional intelligence. Two words that have been talked about, trained, workshopped and plastered on LinkedIn until they mean almost nothing.

So why are we talking about it?

Because most of what you've heard about EQ only scratches the surface.

It isn't a personality type. And it definitely isn't something you either have or you don't.

In this episode of Beyond Leading, we get underneath it, the real, unfiltered version of emotional intelligence that shows up in how you lead, how you connect, and how you read the room when it actually matters.

We explore:

• why 85% of us are less self-aware than we think we are — and what that's costing us
• how your triggers, your energy and your values are shaping every relationship you have, whether you know it or not
• why face-to-face connection does something Zoom never will
• the assumptions quietly destroying your team relationships
• and whether the next generation of leaders are arriving in the workplace with an EQ gap nobody is talking about

This isn't another definition of emotional intelligence.

It's a challenge to how you think about it.

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with Alec Pearson, Tiffany Barnard and Nick Sellers.

In this episode of Beyond Leading, we explore a question that sits at the heart of leadership, growth and change:

Can we gain from pain?

When does discomfort lead to progress, and when does it simply wear us down?

How much of what we call “pain” is really fear, stretch, uncertainty or anticipation?

And what happens when the very thing we are avoiding may be the thing that helps us grow?

We explore:

1. the difference between positive stretch and toxic pressure
2. why growth so often feels uncomfortable
3. how leaders, coaches and individuals can think more carefully about what challenge is useful - and what challenge is too much.
4. fear, self-labelling, resilience, public speaking, personal growth, team development
5. the role of coaching in helping people move beyond the beliefs and experiences that keep them stuck.

If you are navigating change, supporting others through growth, or trying to understand the difference between discomfort that develops you and pressure that drains you, this episode will give you plenty to reflect on.

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with Alec Pearson, Nick Sellers and Gemma Dawe.

When you hear “starting a business during Covid”, it’s easy to assume it was a brave leap.

But sometimes it isn’t a leap at all, it’s being kicked off a cliff and choosing to build on the way down.

In this episode Alec and Nick speak to Gemma, a business owner who launched a specialist relocation and buying-agent service in September 2020, right in the middle of uncertainty, restrictions, and a property market behaving in ways nobody could predict.

What follows is a conversation about how credibility is really built. Not through polish, shortcuts, or having the perfect plan, but through consistency, trust, and staying in your lane when distractions start shouting.

We discuss:

• Redundancy as a trigger and what it takes to act before you feel “ready”

• The buyer’s perspective, and the psychology behind major decisions

• Building credibility through consistency, opinion, and trust

• Staying in your lane: opportunity vs distraction

• Time, boundaries, and networking as a long game

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with Alec Pearson.

In this solo episode, Alec reflects on something many leaders are quietly feeling but struggling to name - why leadership feels heavier, even when nothing is technically “wrong”.

Drawing on his recent Aftershock Era series on The Strategic Leader on Substack, Alec explores how accumulated pressure, rather than dramatic crisis, is shaping decision-making, energy and strategic clarity across organisations.

In this conversation Alec explores:

1. Why leadership can feel heavier even in the absence of visible crisis
2. The difference between tired teams and thinning teams - and why it matters
3. How soft burnout quietly affects judgement, not just wellbeing
4. Why organisations can be busy yet feel like nothing is really moving
5. The subtle shift from strategic growth to cultural caution
6. How external fragmentation and AI acceleration are thinning the signal leaders rely on
7. The difference between decisions made from clarity and decisions driven by pressure
8. A simple discipline to restore focus, capacity and momentum when drift sets in

If you’re a CEO, founder, partner or senior leader sensing that something feels slightly off - not broken, just heavier - this episode offers language, structure and reflection to help you regain orientation.

For the deeper thinking behind this episode, explore the full Aftershock series on The Strategic Leader on Substack: https://thestrategicleader.substack.com

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with Alec Pearson, Tiffany David and Graham Da Costa.

When pressure hits, most of us think we’re responding logically.

But often, something else is running the show.

In this episode Alec is joined for the first time by R Tiffany David and Graham Da Costa to explore what happens internally when stress builds, decisions feel heavier, and that familiar inner voice starts to comment on everything we do.

Using the framework of Positive Intelligence (PQ), the conversation looks beneath behaviour and performance to the inner patterns that shape how leaders think, react and show up - especially in demanding moments.

Rather than treating PQ as a label or a trend, this episode explores it as a practical lens for understanding self-sabotage, emotional reactions and the quieter choices available to us under pressure.

In this conversation, we discuss:

1. What really happens in our minds when stress takes over
2. The inner voices that undermine confidence, focus and judgement
3. Why good intentions don’t always translate into good outcomes
4. How awareness creates choice — even in difficult moments
5. The link between mental fitness, leadership presence and trust
6. Why this inner work matters for teams, relationships and wellbeing

This episode isn’t about positive thinking or fixing yourself.

It’s about understanding what’s driving your reactions and how leaders can respond with more clarity, calm and intention when it matters most.

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with Alec Pearson, Tiffany Barnard and Nick Sellers.

Relevance is a question many people don’t ask until something shifts.

A role changes.

Technology accelerates.

Expectations move, quietly at first, and suddenly what once felt solid doesn’t anymore.

In this episode Alec, Nick and Tiffany have a candid conversation about relevance, not as a buzzword, but as a lived experience in today’s workplace and beyond.

Rather than focusing on age or technology alone, the discussion explores what sits underneath: awareness, resistance, communication and the choices we make, or avoid, as the world around us changes.

In this conversation, we explore:

1. What relevance really means and who gets to define it
2. Why age is often blamed, and what might actually be going on
3. How communication shapes connection across generations
4. The quiet impact of comfort, resistance and standing still
5. Why self-awareness keeps resurfacing in leadership conversations
6. What gets missed when reflection and boundaries slip

This episode isn’t about keeping up with everything.

It’s about noticing what’s changing - in the world, in work, and in ourselves - and deciding how we want to respond.

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with Alec Pearson, Lizzie Cousins and Chelsea Dickinson.

In this episode, Alec Pearson speaks to Lizzie Cousins and Chelsea Dickinson from C&D Debt Recovery to uncover how a moment that could have stopped their careers instead sparked a bold new chapter.

After finding themselves redundant, Lizzie and Chelsea took a leap many think about but few commit to — building a business of their own. What follows is a grounded conversation about resilience, partnership and the practical realities of starting again.

In this conversation we explore:

1. How redundancy became the catalyst for launching C&D Debt Recovery
2. The early decisions, preparation and homework that set them up for success
3. Why communication and shared values are the backbone of their partnership
4. The leadership qualities they lean on most — honesty, integrity and confidence
5. The balance between working in the business and building on it
6. Strategy, growth and the importance of taking steady, sustainable steps
7. What they’ve learned — and what they want others to know before making the leap

Whether you're considering a business of your own, navigating uncertainty or simply curious about the realities behind a start-up story, this episode offers encouragement, insight and practical takeaways.

You can find out more about C&D Debt Recovery at: https://candddebtrecovery.co.uk/

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