The Lonely Leaders Club

You're Not Lazy, You Just Can't Stop Working

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +1000

When was the last time you actually let yourself stop? Not because you ran out of hours in the day, but because you chose to?

In this episode of The Lonely Leaders Club, Lucy and Kel get real about something most leaders won't admit out loud: feeling guilty for not working. That constant tension of knowing you need a break but not being able to take one without someone else giving you the green light first.

The more senior you get, the harder it becomes to say no at work, take a sick day, or even cancel a plan without spiralling into guilt. Lucy shares her own experience of pushing through illness to avoid letting people down, and the pair unpack why so many leaders stay busy instead of leading. This episode is your permission slip to stop overworking and start actually resting.

In this episode, we cover:

Why "work harder" is a great entry level strategy that stops serving you the more senior you become
The guilt trap: why leaders struggle to take a break even when they know they need one
How people pleasing at work keeps you stuck in a cycle of saying yes to everything
Outsourcing permission: why we wait for someone else to tell us it's okay to rest
Lucy's 5 Rs framework: Reveal, Reframe, Reprioritise, Reset, and Realise the impact
How to stop feeling guilty for taking time off by challenging the stories you tell yourself
Why feelings aren't facts, and how to rewrite the narrative that's keeping you exhausted
Leadership mindset shifts: rest isn't weakness, it's strategy
How to lead without burning out by modelling healthy behaviour for your team
Why work-life balance starts with giving yourself permission before anyone else does

Lucy's leadership program for managers → https://www.thegracefulcollective.com/managementcollective

Hosted by two women in leadership who've both wished for a minor car accident just to get a day off (yes, really), The Lonely Leaders Club is a leadership podcast that blends honest conversation with practical coaching tips. Real talk about leadership burnout and how to stop overworking as a leader without feeling like you're letting everyone down.

Connect with us: Lucy Allen

Kel Stambanis

Mentioned in this episode:

Management Collective

Non-boring and very fun cross-industry professional development, training and networking for new and emerging managers and people leaders. NEXT COHORT STARTS SEPTEMBER 2026 • REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

Your Team Doesn't Need Your Answers

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +1000

Have you ever felt like your team can't solve problems without you? Like every question, every decision, every "got a minute?" lands squarely on your desk?

In this episode of The Lonely Leaders Club, Lucy and Kel get into one of the most common traps in leadership: being everyone's problem solver at work. That moment you realise the thing that made you feel like a great leader (having all the answers) might actually be holding your team back.

Because the more senior you get, the more people come to you. And if you're always the one solving, you're not leading, you're just doing everyone else's thinking for them. This episode is about how to coach your team instead of giving answers, and how to build a self-sufficient team that doesn't fall apart without you.

In this episode, we cover:

How to stop being your team's problem solver and why it happens in the first place
Coaching vs managing: the difference between telling people what to do and helping them think for themselves
The GROW model coaching framework: a simple structure you can use in your very next conversation
A live role play using the GROW model to coach through a difficult feedback conversation
How to ask better questions as a leader, and why "what do you think?" is more powerful than you realise
Coaching questions for managers at every level, including how to coach junior team members
The "three before me" rule: a practical tool for building team accountability
How to get employees to think for themselves without leaving them stranded
Leadership mindset shifts: why solving less actually makes you a stronger leader
Why the best people management skills aren't about having answers, they're about asking the right questions

Lucy's leadership program for managers → https://www.thegracefulcollective.com/managementcollective

Hosted by two women in leadership who've been on both sides of the desk, The Lonely Leaders Club is a leadership podcast that blends honest conversation with practical coaching tips. Real leadership skills for anyone figuring out how to stop micromanaging and start coaching, without losing connection with their team.

Connect with us: Lucy Allen

Kel Stambanis

Mentioned in this episode:

The Management Collective

Non-boring and very fun 😜 cross-industry professional development, training and networking for new and emerging managers and people leaders. NEXT COHORT STARTS SEPTEMBER 2026 • REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

Imposter Syndrome in Leadership: How to Know You're Doing a Good Job

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +1000

How do you actually know if you're doing a good job? And why does that question seem to get harder to answer the more senior you become?

In this first episode of The Lonely Leaders Club, Lucy and Kel dive straight in, talking about imposter syndrome in leadership. The quiet self-doubt that so many capable leaders carry, even the ones who look like they have it all figured out.

It feels like the more senior you get, the less feedback and praise you receive so you're left constantly wondering if you’re doing a good job or not. This episode is about how to measure your own success and find ways to combat self-doubt.

In this episode, we cover:

How to know if you're a good leader and why self-doubt at work tends to grow the more senior you become
Imposter syndrome in leadership
Defining success at work: how to get clear on what "a good job" actually means across work and life
Why feelings aren't facts, and how that reframe helps when you feel like you're failing
How to ask for feedback at work with better questions
Giving and receiving feedback as a leader, including dealing with negative feedback
Leadership mindset shifts
Tools for building self-confidence at work when negativity sticks harder than praise
Using a weekly review for productivity and self-reflection to build healthier thinking habits
Why measuring your own success matters for work-life balance and career self-worth

Lucy's leadership program for managers → https://www.thegracefulcollective.com/managementcollective

Hosted by two women in leadership who've experienced self-doubt firsthand, The Lonely Leaders Club blends honest conversation with practical coaching tips. Real leadership skills for anyone learning how to be a leader at work without losing themselves in the process.

CONNECT WITH US:

Lucy Allen

Kel Stambanis

Introducing: The Lonely Leaders Club with Lucy Allen & Kel Stambanis

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +1000

The Lonely Leaders Club is a podcast hosted by mindset and leadership speaker Lucy Allen and her former boss, marketing and PR leader Kelly Stambanis. Honest conversations about what leadership actually looks like behind the scenes.

About the juggle. The exhaustion behind the success. The pressure to say yes when every part of you wants to say no. And the quiet truth that the higher you climb, the harder it gets to admit any of it out loud.

Drawing on their real experiences working together — the great, the curly, and everything in between — Lucy and Kelly unpack the challenges keeping leaders up at night, and share the mindset shifts, communication tools, and leadership lessons Lucy now teaches in workplaces every day.

If it's felt a little lonely at the top lately, we're here to keep you company.

New episodes fortnightly. Follow now so episode one lands straight in your feed.

Connect with us:

Lucy Allen

Kel Stambanis