Leadership beneath the surface.
Not a conventional leadership podcast. This explores what sits beneath performance — the hidden dynamics shaping how leaders see, think, and behave when established ways of working begin to reach their limits.
Through conversations with leaders and practitioners, it surfaces what is often left unspoken in leadership— and what shapes decision-making and behaviour under increasing pressure and complexity.
For more than 20 years, I've worked with senior leaders navigating moments when what once worked is no longer enough.This is the Leadership Threshold.
This podcast explores what happens at that point — and what becomes possible when we are willing to look beyond the edge.
Episode 24: The Leadership Threshold — Why Capable Teams Get Stuck (Part 2)
Why do highly capable leadership teams remain stuck despite intelligence, experience, and continued effort?
In this episode, Juliette Lee explores what happens when the Leadership Threshold becomes collective — when the issue is no longer an individual leader under pressure, but an entire leadership system operating at the limits of its emotional and developmental capacity.
Drawing on systems thinking, organisational psychology, and real-world leadership experience, she explores:
why organisations are emotional systems, not purely rational ones
how leadership teams unconsciously reinforce the very patterns limiting growth
why many conventional leadership interventions fail to create lasting change
the hidden dynamics beneath conflict, misalignment, and stalled transformation
what leadership requires when complexity pushes teams beyond familiar ways of operating
The episode also includes a powerful case study exploring how unresolved leadership dynamics at the top of an organisation shaped culture, trust, engagement, and performance across the wider system.
This is Part 2 of The Leadership Threshold series — exploring leadership at the edge of complexity, where greater awareness, emotional maturity, and systemic insight become essential for meaningful change.
The Awakened Leader Podcast
Leadership beneath the surface
www.juliettelee.co.uk (https://juliettelee.co.uk/index.php)
8 Apr 2026
Episode 23: When Your Way of Leading Stops Working
At a certain point, your way of leading stops working in the way it once did. Not because the strategy is wrong. Not because you’re not capable. But because the way you are leading can no longer meet the complexity you’re facing.
In this episode, Juliette Lee explores the leadership threshold — the point where experience and capability are no longer enough, and the mindset that created success begins to limit what’s now required.
Drawing on over twenty years of work with senior leaders, she examines why traditional approaches begin to fail — and what it takes to move beyond them.
This is the first in a short series exploring leadership at the edge of complexity, where a fundamentally different way of leading becomes possible.
The Awakened Leader: Rethink leadership from the inside out. Learn more at: www.juliettelee.co.uk (https://juliettelee.co.uk/index.php)
14 Jan 2026
Episode 22: What Horses Can Teach us About Leadership with Midi Fairgrieve
In this episode, I’m joined by Midi Fairgrieve, founder of Awakening Through Horses, to explore how horses can transform the way we lead. Together, we discuss how equine-led work offers a profound, embodied way for leaders to see themselves more clearly and lead with greater presence and authenticity.
Horses have an extraordinary ability to reflect what’s happening beneath the surface. In our discussion, we unpack how they reveal leadership blind spots, expose hidden team dynamics, and challenge our relationship with power, control, and uncertainty. We also explore what it means to move away from hierarchical leadership models and towards a more shared, responsive approach - one grounded in awareness, connection, and trust.
Key themes include:
Embodied and experiential learning
Shifting from traditional authority to shared leadership
Revealing personal incongruence and unseen team dynamics
Examining our relationship with power and control
Leading effectively amidst uncertainty
With decades of therapeutic experience, Midi blends counselling, trauma-informed therapy, and equine-assisted development to support individuals and leaders in cultivating emotional clarity, authentic presence, and healthier relationships. Her work is widely recognised for helping people move beyond purely intellectual leadership into a more intuitive, heart-led way of being.
To discover how the wisdom of horses can transform the way you lead and relate to others, learn more about Midi Fairgrieve’s work at www.awakeningthroughhorses.co.uk (http://www.awakeningthroughhorses.co.uk).
The Awakened Leader: Rethink leadership from the inside out. Learn more at: www.juliettelee.co.uk (https://juliettelee.co.uk/index.php)
Who has been a guest on The Awakened Leader
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Carlene Jackson
Dr Rachel Newsome
Tracey Chrystal
Dr Karyl McBride
Vivian Broughton
Podcast Authority Score: 32 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
65
Social presence
0
YouTube
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Engagement
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Questions about The Awakened Leader
Who hosts The Awakened Leader?
Juliette Lee host the show. Published by Juliette Lee.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes monthly, based on its RSS feed.
Does The Awakened Leader take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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