The Fulfilled Leader with Jean Balfour

Coaches are trained to ask questions, not hand over tools  - but Jean has spent the past year quietly breaking that rule, and in this episode she explains why. Drawing on everything from a taxi driver in Singapore to her own therapist's approach, Jean makes the case for self-coaching, and shares the community she's built to make it possible: Flourish.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• Why coach training actively discourages ...

Psychological safety gets talked about constantly, but rarely broken down into something you can actually do on a Tuesday morning with your team. 

In this episode, Jean is joined by Helen Sanderson MBE -  author of 20+ books, and co-founder of the self-managed home care organisation Wellbeing Teams, which was rated Outstanding by the CQC. 

Helen's new book, Psychological Safety in Practice, published by Kogan-Page, is ...

We're living through a wave of headlines about burnout, disillusionment, and generational rebellion at work. Millennials are exhausted. Gen X are questioning why they're still doing this. And yet, alongside all of this, Jean is coaching people who are genuinely thriving in the same landscape.

In this episode, Jean shares her own view on what's really driving this moment - and a slightly controversial take on what to do about it. Spo...

Anxiety is everywhere at the moment, but the most exhausting part is not always what’s happening in the world. It’s what happens inside us when our mind sprints into the future and our nervous system hits panic, shutdown, or people pleasing. We sit down together to bring mindfulness back to earth as something practical, body based, and usable in real life, especially at work when pressure is rising and roles are stretch...

We live in worrying times. Whether it's job security, the impact of AI, or simply the overwhelming feeling of having too much to do, worry at work is something most of us are experiencing right now. 

But worrying rarely leads anywhere helpful, and often makes things worse. In this episode, Jean shares a four-step process that has genuinely helped her navigate a particularly challenging period, along with the neuroscience behind...

Have you been feeling stuck, lost, or uncertain about what comes next in your work or career? You're not alone - and there's a name for what you're experiencing.

In this episode, Jean shares her own journey through what Jim Collins calls the fog — the disorienting period that follows a significant life or career change. Honest, personal, and at moments quite extraordinary, this is a conversation about resilience, trust, and th...

In this moving and deeply human conversation, Jean welcomes  Elaine Robinson, Principal of Sir Manasseh Meyer International School in Singapore. With over 25 years in education, Elaine has led schools across the UK and internationally with vision, courage, and compassion.

Elaine shares openly about her leadership journey, from navigating the complexities of leading a school community through COVID-19 to facing her own profound ...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Katie Best, a leadership coach, consultant, and author whose career has been shaped by asking one central question: what are the problems leaders struggle with most — and how can we solve them?

Katie is the founder of Katie Best Associates, she teaches on the MBA Essentials Programme at the London School of Economics, and is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s Col...

Influencing others at work can often feel like one of the most challenging parts of leadership. Whether it’s navigating difficult relationships, persuading colleagues to collaborate, or aligning a team around a new direction, influence is at the heart of how leaders get things done. In this episode, Jean explores what it really means to influence others with respect and integrity.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why...

In this episode of The Fulfilled Leader, Jean Balfour explores one of the most common challenges leaders face, negative thinking, rumination, and self-doubt. Whether it shows up as imposter syndrome, constant worry, or replaying conversations in your head, these thought patterns can drain your energy and undermine your confidence.

Jean explains why our brains are wired to focus on the negative, how this evolutionary mechanism once k...

Have you ever thought about how your school experiences continue to shape you as a leader today? From the sound of the classroom bell to the sting of a teacher’s red ink, our memories from school and college often run deeper than we realise.

In this reflective episode of The Fulfilled Leader, Jean invites you to pause and explore the surprising connections between your early educational experiences and how you now show up at w...

Overwhelm seems to be everywhere right now. In fact, LinkedIn’s Chief Economist Karin Kimborough recently shared that posts mentioning overwhelm have increased by 82% this year. With so many leaders and professionals struggling, Jean revisits this topic with fresh eyes and shares practical ways forward.

In this episode, Jean Balfour explores:

• Why overwhelm is so widespread right now, including the impact of AI, workload, an...

In this episode of The Fulfilled Leader, Jean is joined by senior HR leaders Vanessa Iloste and Vanessa Teo, co-hosts of the Career Transitions podcast. Together, they share insights from five seasons of conversations with leaders and experts on navigating the uncertainty of change.

We explore the habits that help leaders thrive in transitions, from listening and observing first, to building trust one step at a time. Vanessa and Van...

Discover how to bridge the gap between who you are today and the leader you aspire to be - with practical tools, inspiring research, and the courage to follow your bliss.

We often think about our future selves as strangers rather than as an extension of who we are today, which makes it harder to achieve our goals and create the lives we want. By learning to see our future selves in the first person and taking consistent action in th...

In this episode of The Fulfilled Leader, Jean revisits a powerful and often misunderstood topic - ambition. Prompted by recent coaching conversations and personal reflections, she challenges conventional notions of ambition and invites you to rethink what it really means for you.

Jean explores how ambition isn't just about promotions, titles, or relentless striving. It's about discovering what you truly desire to achieve - whether t...

How does our early life shape the leaders we become?
What role does fear play in our ambition?
And how can we lead with more wholeness and warmth -  especially when work feels hard?

In this episode of The Fulfilled Leader, I’m joined by psychologist and executive coach Dr. Jonathan Marshall for a deeply thoughtful and expansive conversation about the inner world of leaders.

Jonathan supports high performers who loo...

How many times today have you been triggered? A sharp email, an offhand comment, a meeting that left you spiralling. Sometimes it’s a small internal shift, sometimes it leads to a reaction we regret.

In this episode, I explore what it really means to be triggered at work - why it happens, how it affects us, and most importantly, what we can do about it. I share personal stories, emotional regulation models, and a toolkit of st...

Welcome back to The Fulfilled Leader! In this second refreshed episode, we’re diving deep into a subject that so often surfaces in coaching sessions - organizational politics.

For many leaders, politics at work can feel murky, manipulative, or downright toxic. It’s something we often wish would just go away. And yet, it’s a reality in every workplace. In this episode, I offer a fresh perspective: what if we replace...

Are you feeling stuck in your work or leadership, wishing for a breakthrough moment that never seems to come?

In this reflective and encouraging episode, Jean shares a personal story that begins with a jigsaw puzzle and unfolds into a powerful reminder: meaningful change often doesn’t arrive in sweeping transformations. but in slow, steady, sometimes invisible steps forward.

Drawing inspiration from her own creative process and...