Leaders in Disguise shares honest founder stories and insights from business leaders about leadership challenges and mental health. Each fortnight, hear authentic experiences of burnout, resilience, and leadership culture that reveal what it truly takes to lead under pressure.
If you're a founder, executive, or people leader seeking real talk on overcoming leadership obstacles, this podcast is for you.
Subscribe and listen at garyparsons.uk
Publisher
Gary Parsons UK Ltd | Leadership & Business Leaders
Goodbye for Now - The Break, The Beginning, and What’s Next
On 31st March 2024, I stepped down as CEO of the company I co-founded in 2009 - a multi-award-winning, 7-figure success that had grown internationally.
Behind the scenes, I’d spent years balancing that success with a silent battle against depression. For too long, I feared sharing my truth would hold the business back.
When I stepped away, I launched Leaders in Disguise with a clear purpose - to break the stigma of mental health and wellbeing in leadership. I knew my story wasn’t enough, and I had to invite others to share theirs too. They brought raw honesty to the mic, proving vulnerability is strength.
Over a year later, the change is real. More leaders are speaking up. More conversations are happening. The stigma hasn’t disappeared, but it’s cracking.
This episode closes a chapter of Leaders in Disguise, and opens the door to my next mission:
Selfish Leadership. A positive reframe on the word “selfish,” it’s about leaders filling their own batteries, putting on their own oxygen masks first, and seeing self-prioritisation not as a weakness, but as a strategy for sustainable success.
We’ll be back. Until then - keep talking. Keep being you. You matter.
29 Jul 2025
The Dark Side of 10x: The Finance Coach Who Walked Away from 'Success'
What if chasing 10x growth and entrepreneurial “success” is actually destroying your health, your happiness, and your business?
In this eye-opening episode of Leaders in Disguise, finance coach Serena Humphrey reveals the hidden costs of hustle culture. After surviving three financial traumas in her twenties and suffering a total physical and mental collapse, Serena exposes why the relentless pursuit of more nearly broke her - and why she chose to walk away.
This isn’t just a story about burnout. It’s a blueprint for redefining success, building intentional wealth, and leading with purpose (not pressure).
What You’ll Discover:
Why the 10x mindset and hustle culture are a fast track to burnout and chronic illness
The emotional and ethical toll of making an entire workforce redundant in your twenties
How surviving financial trauma redefined Serena’s ideas of wealth, security, and leadership
The difference between chasing an exit fantasy and building sustainable, intentional wealth
Why performative success (cars, status, revenue milestones) is a trap - and how Serena’s viral LinkedIn post challenged the narrative
Grounded, practical advice for leaders feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or stuck
Subscribe for more powerful, unfiltered stories about the real cost of leadership and the courage it takes to redefine success.
Have you ever felt trapped by the pressure to scale or “succeed”?
Connect with Serena: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/serena-humphrey (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/serena-humphrey)
8 Jul 2025
EXCLUSIVE: Living with OCD & The Hidden Struggles of Leading in Silence
Nicky Shearer discusses her experiences living with OCD and how it impacts her leadership roles, offering insights on vulnerability and mental health in professional environments in this interview.
Who has been a guest on Leaders in Disguise
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Nicky Shearer
JULIAN HALL
Keira Smith
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
83,647
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
60
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
0
Contact Leaders in Disguise
Guest appearances
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