Are your leadership strategies failing to deliver next-level results, filling you with self-doubt or overwhelm? Stop self-sabotage and regain your edge with Optimising Leader Brilliance—the self-improvement toolkit for Executive Leaders and HR Directors. We help you feel inspired and grow both yourself and your business by transforming your leadership to be calm, confident, and strategic. Get a summary of the learnings from each episode with actionable steps in The Brilliant Leaders Notebook at EstelleRead.com.
Avoid This Leadership Archetype: Are You Building or Diminishing Your Team?
Leadership coach Estelle Read talks with Doug Crandall aboutthe four leadership instincts in his book Building or Diminishing: builder, driver, cheerleader, and belittler. They explore how everyday interactions affect the people you lead, and how to pair high expectations with positivity.
What You Will Learn:
💡 Use “Am I building or diminishing?” to reflect on everyday leadership interactions.
💡 Recognize the builder, driver, cheerleader, and belittler instincts in your leadership.
💡 Communicate belief, set high expectations, and give feedback without diminishing people.
Here’s to your leadership development and personal growth!
Estelle Read
Bestselling Author, Leadership Coach & Host of Optimising Leader Brilliance
Timestamps:
(00:00) Welcome & Podcast Introduction
(00:48) Host Welcome
(01:14) Meet Doug Crandall
(02:24) The Four Leadership Instincts
(14:58) Subscribe
(15:19) The Belittler & The Builder
(29:12) Three Strategies & Resources
(30:07) Strategy 1: Building or Diminishing?
(42:21) Pause, Reflect, Act
(42:52) Coaching Questions
(44:12) Outro & Disclaimer
📱FOLLOW OR CONTACT:
⭐GUEST: Doug Crandall, https://buildingordiminishing.com/ (https://buildingordiminishing.com/), https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-crandall-585a4 (https://calendly.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fdoug-crandall-585a4&user_uuid=FHEBCLXMYMIH5JCK&stage=1&hmac=adb521d0650fd02955751c2d8bfad140e14dd85bce1ed77eb843cf849cbd15da)
⭐ HOST: Estelle Readhttps://linktr.ee/EstelleAtBeee or @EstelleReadCoach
🧰 ACCESS FREE RESOURCES & TOOLS:
⭐Want a summary of today’s learnings?
Subscribe to Estelle Read’s blog, TheBrilliant Leader’s Notebook, to get the key takeaways from every singleepisode: https://mailchi.mp/a0cfa5a8a10c/8chmrywh3r (https://mailchi.mp/a0cfa5a8a10c/8chmrywh3r)
⭐Find Out Which of the 7 LeadershipSaboteurs is Holding You Back by Completing the Scorecard:
https://estelle-read.scoreapp.com/ (https://estelle-read.scoreapp.com/)
⭐Download Estelle’s Free Journal & Self-Coaching Tool:
https://mailchi.mp/dab4b2568b71/free-inner-brilliance-outer-shine-journal (https://mailchi.mp/dab4b2568b71/free-inner-brilliance-outer-shine-journal)
⭐Access Other Free Resources:
https://estelleread.com/resources/ (https://estelleread.com/resources/)
❤️ CAN YOU HELP?
We bring this show to you for free. You can help us keep growing and going by taking 30 seconds to:
🔔 Subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode.
📨 Share the show with a friend.
✍️ Leave a review to help others find us.
Thanks for your support!
🗓️ BOOK A 15 FREE DISCOVERY CALL:
⭐https://calendly.com/estelleatbeee/15-minute-discovery-call
🧠ESTELLE READ’S COACHING PROGRAMMES:
⬆️The Optimised Leader Programme: NEXT LEVEL:
https://estelleread.com/next-level-leadership-programme/ (https://estelleread.com/next-level-leadership-programme/)
🎇The Resilient Leader Programme: SHINE:
https://estelleread.com/the-shine-coaching-programme/ (https://estelleread.com/the-shine-coaching-programme/)
📓BUY ESTELLE READ’S BESTSELLING BOOK:
Inner Brilliance · Outer Shine: 10 Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome, Workaholism and Stress: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Brilliance-Outer-Shine-Workaholism/dp/1789048036/ (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Brilliance-Outer-Shine-Workaholism/dp/1789048036/)
🎧LISTEN OR WATCH ON ALTERNATIVE PLATFORMS📺
⭐Listen on your favourite podcast platform here: https://pod.link/1515648162 (https://pod.link/1515648162)
⭐Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EstelleRead/podcasts (https://www.youtube.com/@EstelleRead/podcasts)
⚠️ DICLAIMER
This podcast is for informational purposes only and shouldnot be considered professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional for specific advice. Don’t suffer alone ❤️.
16 Oct 2026
Welcome to Optimising Leader Brilliance! | Podcast Trailer
Welcome to Optimising Leader Brilliance—the podcastand self-improvement toolkit designed to unlock key leadership talent and enable calm, confident, strategic leadership.
Are your current leadership strategies failing to delivernext-level results? If you or the leaders in your organisation are facing sudden self-doubt, hidden overwhelm, or hitting an invisible performance ceiling, you are not alone—and it is not your fault.
On this podcast, host Estelle Read explores how to eliminateleadership bottlenecks, stop self-sabotage, and transform high-potential talent so your business can thrive.
💥 THE INVISIBLE CEILING BLOCKING PERFORMANCE
Every organisation relies on ambitious leaders who want to deliver high-performance results. However, there comes a point where old strategies stop working. Despite hard work, leaders hit a performance ceiling that triggers self-doubt, anxiety under scrutiny, and potential burnout. Whenresults need to change quickly, traditional professional development takes too long. Both the leader and the organisation need swift, measurable change.
🧠 THE ROOT CAUSE & THE NEUROSCIENCE SOLUTION
These bottlenecks happen because leaders fight against subconscious childhood conditioning. Having coached executives for over two decades, Estelle has foundthese barriers fall into 7 leadership saboteur categories. We don't spend 66 days trying to force a new habit. Instead, we identify the root causes and apply a neuroscience technique to eliminate triggers, modifying the autopilot for automatic, lasting behavioural change.
💼 REAL COACHING TRANSFORMATIONS WE EXPLORE:
The Micro-Controller: From Rigid Operations to a £20M Turnover Boost
The Doubting Imposter: From Self-Doubt to a 300% Revenue Increase
The Chronic Harmoniser: From Avoidance to Action—Resolving a £1M Elephant in the Room
The Constant Firefighter: From Burnout to Streamlined Productivity
📈 THE ROI: HIGH-PERFORMANCE RESULTS
Kinks are ironed out in as little as 4 weeks. Turnaroundsdon't take 12 months, protecting key leadership talent and saving organisations thousands in recruitment, retraining, and painful performance management.
🚀 READY TO TAKE YOUR TEAM TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
Hit Follow to get actionable insights in every episode!
🌐 Visit: https://estelleread.com/ (https://estelleread.com/) where you can:
📒 Subscribe to The Brilliant Leader’s Notebook, to getthe key learnings and takeaways from every single episode
📊 Take the Free Leadership Saboteurs Scorecard
📅 Book a Free 15-Minute Call
12 Oct 2026
Why Willpower Doesn’t Work: Identity-Based Habits for Leadership
If you’ve tried habit systems and still fall off the wagon,Connie Kwan of Story Habits offers a different starting point: the values and stories behind the behaviour. Estelle and Connie discuss identity-based habits, why a borrowed “should” may not motivate change, and how leaders can connect team habits to values people genuinely hold.
What You Will Learn
💡 Why your habits do not stick when they are tied to shoulds, pressure and expectations, not your real values
💡 How the Story Habits method links balloons, anchors and strings to make change simple, sticky and personal
💡 How leaders secure their own habit first, then help each person find their own anchor for buy-in
💡 Practical ways to audit your habit wish list, pick one focus, and keep confidence through setbacks
Timestamps 👇
(00:00) Intro – Habits as an Outward Expression
(00:43) Host Introduction – Estelle Read
(01:09) What to Expect & Guest Intro
(02:21) Identity-Based Habits & the Anchor-BalloonMethod
(14:56) Subscribe & Follow
(15:18) Wrong Anchors, "Shoulds," & Why HabitsFail
(30:57) Free Resources & Discovery Call
(31:52) Three Strategies for Habit Change
(38:41) Pause, Reflect, Act
(39:12) Coaching Questions
(40:14) Outro & Closing
📱FOLLOW OR CONTACT:
⭐GUEST: Connie Kwan, https://storyhabitsbook.com/ (https://storyhabitsbook.com/),https://conniekwan.substack.com/ (https://conniekwan.substack.com/), https://www.linkedin.com/in/conniekwan/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/conniekwan/)
⭐HOST: Estelle Read https://linktr.ee/EstelleAtBeee or @EstelleReadCoach
🧰 ACCESS FREE RESOURCES & TOOLS:
⭐Want a summary of today’s learnings?
Subscribe to Estelle Read’s blog, TheBrilliant Leader’s Notebook, to get the key takeaways from every singleepisode: https://mailchi.mp/a0cfa5a8a10c/8chmrywh3r (https://mailchi.mp/a0cfa5a8a10c/8chmrywh3r)
⭐Find Out Which of the 7 Leadership Saboteurs is Holding You Back by Completing the Scorecard:
https://estelle-read.scoreapp.com/ (https://estelle-read.scoreapp.com/)
⭐Download Estelle’s Free Journal & Self-Coaching Tool:
https://mailchi.mp/dab4b2568b71/free-inner-brilliance-outer-shine-journal (https://mailchi.mp/dab4b2568b71/free-inner-brilliance-outer-shine-journal)
⭐Access Other Free Resources:
https://estelleread.com/resources/ (https://estelleread.com/resources/)
❤️ CAN YOU HELP?
We bring this show to you for free. Youcan help us keep growing and going by taking 30 seconds to:
🔔 Subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode.
📨 Share the show with a friend.
✍️ Leave a review to help others find us.
Thanks for your support!
🗓️ BOOK A 15 FREE DISCOVERY CALL:
⭐https://calendly.com/estelleatbeee/15-minute-discovery-call
🧠ESTELLE READ’S COACHING PROGRAMMES:
⬆️The Optimised Leader Programme: NEXTLEVEL:
https://estelleread.com/next-level-leadership-programme/ (https://estelleread.com/next-level-leadership-programme/)
🎇The Resilient Leader Programme: SHINE:
https://estelleread.com/the-shine-coaching-programme/ (https://estelleread.com/the-shine-coaching-programme/)
📓BUY ESTELLE READ’S BESTSELLING BOOK:
Inner Brilliance · Outer Shine: 10 Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome, Workaholism and Stress: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Brilliance-Outer-Shine-Workaholism/dp/1789048036/ (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Brilliance-Outer-Shine-Workaholism/dp/1789048036/)
🎧LISTEN OR WATCH ON ALTERNATIVE PLATFORMS📺
⭐Listen on your favouritepodcast platform here: https://pod.link/1515648162 (https://pod.link/1515648162)
⭐Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EstelleRead/podcasts (https://www.youtube.com/@EstelleRead/podcasts)
⚠️ DICLAIMER
This podcast is for informational purposes only and shouldnot be considered professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional for specific advice. Don’t suffer alone ❤️.
Who has been a guest on Optimising Your Brilliance
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Judith Wright
Katie Radel
Bryan Sachetta
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
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Questions about Optimising Your Brilliance
Who hosts Optimising Your Brilliance?
Estelle Read host the show. Published by Estelle Read | Leadership Coach | Bestselling Author | Speaker.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Optimising Your Brilliance take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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