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