Badass Leaders Podcast: Leadership, Career Growth, and Company Culture

Too Nice to Lead? The People-Pleaser Trap | Russell Harvey | S2 E10

Russell Harvey · March 19, 2026

Executive Coach · Leadershipin

Interview with Russell Harvey

Too Nice to Lead? The People-Pleaser Trap | Russell Harvey | S2 E10

Podcast: Badass Leaders Podcast: Leadership, Career Growth, and Company Culture

March 19, 2026 · 52 min

Listen to Russell Harvey on Badass Leaders Podcast: Leadership, Career Growth, and Company Culture.

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Too Nice to Lead? The People-Pleaser Trap | Russell Harvey | S2 E10

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Badass Leaders Podcast: Leadership, Career Growth, and Company Culture

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Key topicsLeading Well When the World Won’t Slow DownChange is no longer something leaders navigate occasionally - it is the environment they lead in every day. Russell explores the difference between leaders who are simply surviving relentless change and those who can genuinely say: “There’s a lot going on, and I’m good.” Drawing on nearly two decades specialising in resilience, Russell offers a practical perspective on what resilient leadership actually looks, sounds and feels like when the pressure is real and the uncertainty isn't going away.Before You Add AI to Your Team, Fix the Human OneOrganisations are racing to adopt AI, but Russell believes leaders need to ask a more fundamental question first: what makes our team work brilliantly together? Only then can they understand where AI can genuinely improve performance. With deep expertise in leadership, resilience and navigating persistent change, Russell offers a refreshingly human perspective on AI: the biggest challenge may not be the technology, but how well we lead the people using it.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.View all topics →

About Russell Harvey

The Resilience Coach | Resilient Leadership Expert

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 - a resilient leadership expert, executive coach, facilitator and keynote speaker who helps leaders and organisations perform at their best when the world refuses to stand still.

With more than 20 years in Learning, Leadership and Organisational Development, 6,000+ hours of executive coaching and over 70 published podcast appearances, Russell is an experienced and engaging voice on resilience, leadership and navigating persistent change. He has worked with leaders across organisations including Novartis, the NHS, AB World Foods, Kerry Group and The Co-operative Group.

Russell’s work goes beyond helping people simply cope with pressure. He believes true resilience isn’t about “bouncing back”, being tougher or pretending everything is fine - it’s about springing forward with learning and becoming better equipped to lead because of the challenges you’ve faced.

His approach connects the human side of leadership directly to what matters to organisations: engaged people, stronger cultures, better decisions and improved performance. His work has delivered measurable results, including a leadership programme that returned £12 million to the business and a Resilient Leader Programme that achieved more than 1,100% ROI.

In August 2025, Russell achieved his long-held purpose of positively affecting 100,000 people.

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About this episode

In this episode of the Badass Leaders Podcast, Angela Gill Nelms sits down with leadership advisorRussell Harveyto unpack the deeply human side of leadership resilience. Russell shares candid stories from his career about navigating workplace bullying, confronting people-pleasing tendencies, and learning how to assert boundaries without losing empathy.

Together, they explore how strengths-based leadership can help leaders better understand themselves, build more resilient teams, and respond more effectively to pressure.

Russell explains why empathy can sometimes become a liability for leaders, how people-pleasing quietly erodes authority, and what it takes to shift from surviving leadership stress to leading with confidence and clarity.

The conversation also dives into practical frameworks like strengths-based leadership and tools such as StrengthsFinder and Working Genius, offering leaders concrete ways to understand how they show up under pressure.

Learn More About Russell Harvey:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresiliencecoach/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russelltheresiliencecoach/Website:https://www.theresiliencecoach.co.uk/Mentioned in this Episode:

StrengthsFinder / CliftonStrengths: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx Working Genius: https://www.workinggenius.com/ Strengthscope – Strengths-based leadership development tool

The AGN Group

Produced by: The AGN Group

Host: Angela Gill Nelms

Producer: Katie Hart

Tagline: Be Brave. Be Badass.

Websites: www.theagngroup.com and www.AngelaGillNelms.com

At The AGN Group, we believe every individual, team, and company can unlock their inner badass, one brave step at a time. www.TheAGNGroup.com.

Social Media Channels:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/badassleaderspodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/BALeadersPod

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@baleaderspod

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/badass-leaders-podcast2

Want to be a Podcast Guest?

If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email brave@angelagillnelms.com.

The discussion also tackles questions…

How do you deal with workplace bullying as a leader?Why do people-pleasing tendencies hurt leadership effectiveness?Can empathy become a weakness in leadership?How do resilient leaders respond to pressure and conflict?What does strengths-based leadership actually look like in practice?How can leaders use tools like StrengthsFinder or Working Genius to understand their leadership style?How do you assert boundaries at work without damaging relationships?What are the early warning signs of leadership burnout or emotional strain?How can leaders turn difficult career experiences into growth?

Themes:

Leadership resiliencePeople-pleasing in leadershipWorkplace bullying and difficult professional dynamicsStrengths-based leadershipEmotional intelligence and empathyAssertiveness and boundary-settingSelf-awareness in leadership developmentLeadership growth through adversityPsychological safety and healthy workplace cultures

Guest: Russell Harvey