Will Steel
Executive coach and ex-RAF pilot helping leaders align identity, integrity, and impact
Sample Podcast Questions for Will Steel
- 1
What shifted when you stopped trying to be the “right kind” of officer and started being yourself?
- 2
You say most identities are facades—how do leaders tell the difference between a useful role and a limiting mask?
- 3
Walk us through a moment when a client finally said what they actually wanted—and what changed next.
- 4
How does ontological coaching look in a 1:1 conversation compared to classic performance management?
- 5
What did leading programs across very different cultures teach you about what’s universal in leadership?
- 6
For founders who feel maxed out, where do you look first for the “leadership lid” that’s holding growth down?
- 7
What’s a practical exercise leaders can use this week to surface a limiting belief in themselves or their team?
- 8
You left a top airline opportunity to start over—how did you navigate the fear and identity shift?
- 9
Your book splits the journey into dismantling and creating—why that order, and what goes wrong when people skip step one?
- 10
When a leader insists “the problem is out there,” how do you help them see what’s in the mirror without defensiveness?
Latest episodes
Key topics
Say what you actually want, then everything moves
Staying vague keeps you “safe” from visible failure-but it also freezes momentum. The common belief is that clarity will arrive after enough research; in practice, clarity comes from declaring, then iterating. Will shares stories (including a would-be political leader who wouldn’t admit his goal) to show how articulation rewires attention, action, and results.
You’re the lid on your company’s growth
When the business plateaus, it’s tempting to blame markets, talent, or timing; the uncomfortable truth is that leadership beliefs set the ceiling. The common myth is that more strategy fixes everything-when it’s often your own identity constraints driving decisions. Will shows how “fixing you” changes hiring, risk tolerance, and execution speed, using cases from founders he’s coached to double growth while working fewer hours.
Why step-by-step playbooks fail and ontological coaching works
Replication coaching (“do what I did”) rarely survives contact with your reality. The myth is that the right blueprint is enough. Will contrasts mentorship with true coaching-listening for what’s unsaid, revealing blind spots, and shifting being-so leaders act free from old constraints, not just with new tactics.
View all topics →
Latest episodes
Key topics
Say what you actually want, then everything moves
Staying vague keeps you “safe” from visible failure-but it also freezes momentum. The common belief is that clarity will arrive after enough research; in practice, clarity comes from declaring, then iterating. Will shares stories (including a would-be political leader who wouldn’t admit his goal) to show how articulation rewires attention, action, and results.
You’re the lid on your company’s growth
When the business plateaus, it’s tempting to blame markets, talent, or timing; the uncomfortable truth is that leadership beliefs set the ceiling. The common myth is that more strategy fixes everything-when it’s often your own identity constraints driving decisions. Will shows how “fixing you” changes hiring, risk tolerance, and execution speed, using cases from founders he’s coached to double growth while working fewer hours.
Why step-by-step playbooks fail and ontological coaching works
Replication coaching (“do what I did”) rarely survives contact with your reality. The myth is that the right blueprint is enough. Will contrasts mentorship with true coaching-listening for what’s unsaid, revealing blind spots, and shifting being-so leaders act free from old constraints, not just with new tactics.
View all topics →