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Russell Harvey Answers: How Leaders Build Resilience Without Burning Out

Russell Harvey · May 26, 2026

Executive Coach · Leadershipin

Interview with Russell Harvey

Russell Harvey Answers: How Leaders Build Resilience Without Burning Out

Podcast: The Next Interview Show

May 26, 2026 · 57 min

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Russell Harvey Answers: How Leaders Build Resilience Without Burning Out

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Key topicsProfessional Development & CoachingWith 10,000+ hours of experience, Russell champions coaching as a powerful tool for leadership growth. He demystifies the process, showing how coaching boosts confidence, clarity, and results, and how leaders can embed coaching into everyday team development. Off the Record — What Leaders Admit in Coaching and Never Say in the BoardroomRussell Harvey has coached leaders to board level for over 6,000 hours, and the same admissions come up in private: they are guessing, they are tired, and they can say neither out loud. Most organisations treat that silence as strength and reward the executive who never wavers, which is how confident-looking teams commit to decisions nobody in the room believes in. Drawing on 18 years with organisations from the NHS to Novartis and Kerry Group, he describes what changes when a leader finally gets one place to think honestly: how they pressure-test a decision before announcing it, and how they pass that same permission down to their own team. Listeners leave able to hear what their leadership group is not saying, and knowing what to do once they hear it.One Conversation a Week — The Coaching a Manager Can Run in Twenty MinutesRussell Harvey has coached leaders to board level for more than 6,000 hours, and he can usually tell within a month whether a manager is holding one honest conversation a week with their team or none at all. Managers get promoted for having answers, so when a problem arrives they solve it, the person leaves relieved, and nothing in the team gets any stronger. Drawing on over 10,000 hours of facilitation across organisations including the NHS, Novartis and Kerry Group, he sets out what that twenty-minute conversation contains, what order to ask it in, and the point at which most managers quietly drop it. He is blunt about the limit: it does nothing if the manager has already decided the answer and is only asking to be polite. Listeners leave with a conversation they can run before their next team meeting, and a way to tell whether it changed anything.View all topics →

About Russell Harvey

Leadership, Resilience, and Growth Coach

100,000+ People positively affected6,000+ Executive coaching hours£12M+ ROI delivered by RWE npower leadership programme20+ years Learning, leadership and organisational development

Russell Harvey is The Resilience Coach - an executive coach, leadership facilitator and keynote speaker with over 20 years in Learning, Leadership and Organisational Development, and 18 years specialising in resilience and leading in a persistently changing (VUCA) world.

Until August 2025 his Purpose was "to positively affect 100 000 people by the year 2025." This has now been achieved!

His updated purpose is to "Champion organisations to be a force for good" - achieved by equipping every leader and team he works with to spring forward with learning, not just survive disruption, but navigate it well. The measure of that? When someone asks "how are you?" the answer - honestly - is "there's a lot going on, and I'm good."

With over 6,000 hours of executive coaching to board level, he has worked with organisations including AB World Foods, Kerry Group, Novartis AG, the NHS and Cooplands Bakery.

Russell's style is direct, empathetic and practical - he challenges leaders to think differently about what's possible, and equips them with the clarity, confidence and tools to lead themselves and others well, however uncertain the terrain.

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About this episode

Leadership today is filled with pressure, uncertainty, and constant change. In this episode of The Next Interview,Russell Harvey— known as “The Resilience Coach” — joins Doland White for a powerful conversation about resilient leadership, VUCA environments, trust, and why the best leaders don’t just survive pressure… they grow through it.

If you’re a Director, VP, or CEO trying to lead through overwhelm, shifting priorities, or team stress, this episode delivers practical insights on leadership, communication, emotional resilience, and executive coaching strategies that improve team success.

• Why resilient leadership starts with behavior, not titles

• The difference between good stress and destructive stress

• How leaders create optimism without toxic positivity

• Why team performance always reflects leadership behaviors

Q: What is VUCA leadership?

A: Leading effectively through volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.

Q: How do resilient leaders build trust?

A: By creating clarity, psychological safety, and honest communication.

Q: What causes leadership burnout?

A: Constant pressure without reflection, support, or behavioral alignment.

Timestamps

00:00 — Russell Harvey’s leadership journey

11:40 — Good stress vs bad stress

26:20 — Toxic positivity in leadership

33:40 — The 3 responsibilities of resilient leaders

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Guest Information

Russell Harvey — The Resilience Coach - https://www.theresiliencecoach.co.uk/

LinkedIn: Russell Harvey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/russelltheresiliencecoach/

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White, executive coach, author of Lead With Confidence, and known as The Empowerment Guy. Each episode delivers practical insights, powerful stories, and bold conversations designed to help leaders empower their teams, accelerate growth, and lead with confidence.

Lead With Confidence®: https://a.co/d/0hqSy7LA

Guest: Russell Harvey