The lizard brain is fast, emotional and hard-wired. We can't always prevent it from kicking in, but when we notice it and name it, we can prevent it from taking over. Get used to spotting your lizard brain in action and apply: H.A.L.T. Never make decisions when you're Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired.

What if defensiveness is actually fear? We’ve been uploading clips from my podcast What the Fear?! to YouTube shorts and this one with Amy Gallo has been getting a lot of attention. 🎥 This is the moment I discovered that fear doesn’t always look like fear. Take a look:

Sometimes the fight/flight instinct is really easy to spot at work. It might look like procrastination, email ghosting, or even a burst of email rage (like road rage, but with email). Other times it’s more subtle. Read more 👇

When people hear the word fear, they often think of anxiety. But in organisations, fear is usually much harder to spot. It's why I spend so much time helping organisations understand the hidden role fear plays at work. If you're planning a leadership event or conference, let's have a conversation.

The power of speaking up is something we explore in our Thriving Teams workshop - which I had the pleasure of delivering for a group of leaders this week. I'll also be sharing snippets from this in our upcoming Skills Booster:

How do we build stronger relationships in difficult times? This is a question I often open up in conversations about navigating change. One response came back beautifully simple: “Connect as humans.” What helps you connect as humans with the people you work with?

Love getting notes like this after a keynote. There's a lot of 'oh shifting' going on (if you know you know!) If your team is navigating a lot right now, I'd love to help.

"Inspiring, grounded and set the tone for the upcoming days... food for thought about how to stay resilient and learn how to grow even in difficult times." Thanks to Richard and the CASE team for having me at Advancement Operations 2026 in Leeds. An absolute privilege and I loved being part of it.

I get it. It can feel uncomfortable to speak up. Even in a team that actively values psychological safety.

Is it safe? Is it worth it? These are the two dimensions of what Stephen Shedletzky calls a Speak-Up Culture. And most of us have experienced what happens when you only have one.

Ever tried to start a hard conversation and then wished you'd picked a better moment? Shed's traffic light framework gives us a simple and practical way to check in before we go there.

Most leaders say they want people to speak up. Fewer think carefully about what happens in the moment someone actually does. The slight frown. The defensive question. The "yes, but..." The silence that follows.

Same person. Same role. Two completely different environments. This was a fun conversation with Stephen Shedletzky. I loved his pickle-jar theory on culture - and how fear can make that pickle brine funky! What kind of brine is your team sitting in? 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

What does it really take to create a culture where people speak up - consistently and constructively? In this episode of What The Fear?! I’m joined by Stephen “Shed” Shedletzky to explore what makes it both safe and worth it for people to use their voice. 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

I love this perspective on fear that Susan shared. When we equate fear with danger, we naturally move to escape, evade, combat or neutralise it. But what if it has something to teach us? “Welcome fear. I invite you in. You have something to teach me.” 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Most of us have two jobs. The one in our job description. And the one where we manage what other people think of us. What would it free up - in you, and in your team - if that second job got a little smaller? 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Emotions are data. Most leaders are never taught to see them that way. They're labeled soft. Derided as unprofessional. Avoided where possible. Managed where unavoidable. So no wonder we learn to minimise, dismiss, push them down or judge ourselves - and others - for having them.

How many leaders stay longer than they should? And here's the harder question: do they even know it? In my conversation with Susan Asiyanbi, she talks about how fear can manifest in high achieving leaders as endurance - hunkering down, holding their ground. 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

What does High Functioning Fear look like in a leader? Here's what it looks like for Susan Asiyanbi - and it's something she recognises in a lot of the leaders and CEOs she works with. Do you recognise this? 🎧 Listen to Fear as Data in Leadership on What The Fear?! www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

What if fear isn't weakness - but data? In this episode of What The Fear?! I'm joined by Susan Asiyanbi to explore what fear looks like in leadership - and what becomes possible when we stop pushing it down. Listen to the full podcast conversation: 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

How do we have better high-stakes conversations? Start by building trust and relationships well before we need them. As Jeff Wetzler put it in our podcast conversation: dig your well before you’re thirsty. Listen to the full podcast conversation: 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Certainty or curiosity - which are you craving? In my conversation with Jeff Wetzler on What the Fear?!, we explore how fear often pulls us towards certainty - especially when curiosity would serve us better. It reminded me of a blog post I wrote a while ago: gracemarshall.com/certainty-vs...

I love this Arc of Curiosity from Jeff Wetzler. So often we think of curiosity as a binary switch - you’re either curious or not. But as Jeff points out, if you’re not feeling curious at all, to suddenly jump to Fascinated Wonder can be a very high bar!

You might think there’s nothing remotely intimidating about you. You might say you’re open to feedback. You might ask people to tell you openly what they think. One of the biggest factors that determines how much fear someone has about telling us their truth is how we react to them when they do.

Any number of fears can stop us sharing our whole truth, and they don't always feel like fear. They can feel like being diplomatic, strategic, even considerate. If we don't account for it, we can make decisions on partial truths. That is where curiosity comes in. www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Is curiosity just a personality trait - or a skill we can practise and develop? In this episode of What The Fear?! I’m joined by Jeff Wetzler to explore what shapes our capacity for curiosity - and how fear can interfere with it, especially when we need it most. 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

When work becomes performative, our attention shifts. We start thinking about how it’s landing. Whether it’s good enough. Whether we’re doing it “right.” We slip into proving mode. We move from being in the experience to performing it. Something gets lost. Presence. Connection. Joy.

We don’t always recognise fear when it shows up. Instead, we might notice… Perfectionism creeping in. A more critical inner voice. Comparing ourselves to someone else. Pippa Grange talks about what happens when fear becomes our GPS: www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Feedback. We know it matters. And yet, how often do we put it off? Done well, feedback doesn’t just fix problems. It builds trust, clarity, and better performance. 🎯 Feedback Without Fear - happening today 🕑 2:00pm BST Join us here: thinkproductive.co.uk/skills-boost...

“Overperformance isn't random; it is a result of the rules of the game. And it isn't your fault. But there is a lot you can do to step out of the circus and come home to yourself, once you can see.” Love this from Pippa Grange. Listen to our podcast conversation: www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

What a treasure! It was such a privilege to read an advance review copy of Pippa Grange’s new book, Life. Reclaimed. And it came at absolutely the right time for me. In my review I called it eye-opening, soul-searching and genuinely life-changing - and that’s not an exaggeration!

When something doesn’t feel right… what do you do? For many of us, the instinct is to try harder. Push more. Do more. Fix it. But what if that’s part of the problem? Listen to the full conversation here: www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

What if the way you’ve learned to succeed is the very thing that’s exhausting you? Performance psychologist Pippa Grange joins me to explore how overperformance leaves us depleted and invites us to rethink what it really means to perform well. 👉 www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Before FOMO, there was Kiasu! This Singaporean word was new to me when Ruchika T. Malhotra introduced me to it, but it described something I recognised! The idea that you have to be quick to get in there otherwise someone else would beat you to it. 🎧 Listen here: www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Shoy = Sharing Your Joy I love this idea that Ruchika T. Malhotra shared in our conversation on What the Fear?! The practice of sharing your joy with others - and sharing others’ joy as it comes into your life - as a practice of abundance and community.

“You’re my community, not my competition.” Some of my best business moves have come from collaboration with my so-called competitors. When we see each other as community, not competition, the world gets larger. We all win What magic has been possible when you’ve seen your competition as community?

“If you don’t compete, someone else will get ahead.” Survival of the fittest. Winner takes all. If we dig underneath competition, we often find fear. 🎧 Listen in to my full conversation with Ruchika T. Malhotra as we explore this on What the Fear?! www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

How competitive are we really - and what’s fear got to do with it? In this episode of What the Fear?! I’m joined by Ruchika T. Malhotra - author of Uncompete - to question one of the most dominant assumptions in modern work and life: that success requires competition. www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

A near-constant buzz of low-grade panic. That’s how one of Zach Mercurio’s research participants described what it can feel like at work. Not the big, obvious fear we recognise immediately. But the everyday moments we don’t usually label as fear. Which do you recognise? What would you add?

If feeling like we matter is such a fundamental human need… how much attention are we really giving each other? The kind of attention that says: I see you. I’m here. You count. 🎧 Listen to my conversation with Zach Mercurio on What The Fear?! podcast. www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Affirmation is more than saying “well done.” It's noticing someone’s unique gifts. Naming the difference they make. Helping them see the impact they have on others. A skill that takes practice, not just something that happens with good intentions. www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Small interactions. Big impact. Zach Mercurio talks about how mattering is often built in the smallest interactions. Listening, noticing, saying thank you. Where do you see these moments happening? And where might they be getting missed? www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

From the moment we’re born, we reach out for connection. Zach Mercurio has a powerful way of explaining why some of the behaviours we label “toxic” might actually be signals of something deeper. 🎧 This clip is from my conversation with Zach on What the Fear?! www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

What makes people feel like they matter - and what happens when they don’t? 🎧 If you’ve ever felt unseen at work - or wondered how to build a workplace culture where people can truly thrive - this conversation is for you. Have you listened to Zach’s episode yet? www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

One of my favourite moments from this week. Delivering the opening keynote at the CASE Europe Advancement Operations 2026 conference. My brief was to open the conference, bring the energy, get people connecting and help set the tone for the next few days. A real privilege to start the conference!

Meet our guests! Introducing the voices behind Season 2 of What The Fear?! 🎧 These conversations are now live! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to listen to them all. www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

Season 2 of What the Fear?! the podcast is here! I explore how High Functioning Fear shows up and plays out in our work, our decision making and our relationships.These conversations have been eye-opening, thought-provoking, inspiring, uplifting and challenging. www.gracemarshall.com/podcast

What if the thing that drives us is also the thing that derails us? Today I'm thinking about deadlines. It was Blue Monday earlier this week. Supposedly the most depressing day of the year. Except of course that's entirely made up. By a travel company to encourage people to book more holidays.

Navigating uncertainty in 2025? There's a difference between familiar ground and uncharted water. On land we can set our destination, with sat navs telling us where to turn and which road to take. In uncharted waters, we need a compass to set our direction and guide us in how we make decisions.

Speaking to lots of people in the ‘in between’ spaces recently. Teams & orgs mid-merger or mid-transformation, in between structures, cultures and identity. People in transition, in between jobs, roles or careers. At a leadership conference on change, where I shared this excerpt from Struggle: