The higher you rise, the more pressure you carry. But how much of that pressure comes with the job, and how much comes from the rules you've subconsciously learned to follow to become successful in the first place?

Neeltje van Horen had reached the top of her profession as a professor of financial economics. Yet behind the accolades was a relentless inner critic, mounting pressure, and a growing sense that she was losing herself. A sabbatical didn't solve it. So she turned her analytical mind towards understanding how her own brain worked, a journey that ultimately inspired her book Ignite.

In this conversation, Neeltje and Anastasia explore why the qualities that drive success, from reliability to relentless hard work, can eventually become liabilities. They discuss how to recognize your personal "pressure signature," challenge the unconscious rules shaping your behavior, and change your relationship with self-doubt.

We don’t have to become less ambitious to reduce the price that can come with growing professional success.

Download The Ambition Tax, the leadership framework inspired by Neeltje.

Follow Neeltje on LinkedIn & check out her book Ignite for more practical insights

Follow Beyond the X for more conversations about the experiences and ideas that change how we lead, work and think.

Sabrina Mucig was thriving in the US when she left behind a path to a green card, packed up her young family, and moved to Japan with Colgate-Palmolive.Then she walked into meetings where everyone appeared to agree and yet nothing happened. Without speaking Japanese, Sabrina could no longer rely on the instincts that had made her successful. To lead, she had to stop taking words at face value and learn to read silence, seek out interpreters, and understand the culture beneath the conversation.The experience changed how she saw every organization she led afterwards. She understood that language barriers do not disappear when people speak the same language: they simply become harder to see, concealed by familiar words that in fact carry distinctly different meanings.The hardest part of leading change is not getting the message out. Rather, it’s being self-aware enough to question what people actually heard, what they are protecting, and what will make them act. Join Sabrina and Anastasia as they explore what Japan taught her about translating strategy across cultures, hearing the voices leaders routinely miss, and recognizing the difference between agreement in the room and commitment that survives beyond it.

Follow Sabrina here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinamucig/

70% of change management and transformation initiatives fail to reach their goals. Kyle Shank (Data Scientist, Meta) has navigated complex change management initiatives at the world's largest organisations.

In this episode of Beyond the X, Kyle walks through the stages of driving large-scale change at a complex org. Drawing on personal experiences to provide insight on the questions to be asked at each stage, the key milestones to cross, and ultimately, when to step away.

This episode will challenge how you think about the process of change, what successful change looks like, and the conditions required to achieve it.

Inspired by Kyle’s insights, The 5 Stages of Change Management provides a tangible framework for people undertaking a transformation project. Reflections at each stage help drive focus on how to elevate to the next.

Download the framework here: ⁠The 5 Stages of Change Management

Less than 5% of Fortune 250 CEOs have marketing backgrounds. Anna Bateson (CEO, The Guardian) is one of the rare CMOs to take the leap into the CEO position.

In this episode of Beyond the X, she discusses what really changes in the jump from marketer to marketing leader and ultimately to CEO. Anna speaks candidly about the emotional shock of stepping into the CEO role, with the performative pressures it demands.

This episode will challenge how you think about leadership, visibility, and the identity shifts required to grow to the next level.

Inspired by Anna’s career rise from Marketing Operator to Marketing Leader and ultimately CEO, the Marketing Ascendancy Model covers the skills, behaviours, and values exemplified at each level. Reflections at each stage help drive focus on how to elevate to the next.

Download the framework here: The Marketing Ascendancy Model