Impact with Ease

The Future of Leadership: How to Thrive in a Changing World with Steve Cadigan

Do you feel like you're leading through more uncertainty than ever before?

Wondering how to navigate AI disruption, team burnout, and constant transformation without completely losing yourself in the process?

If you're a leader right now, you're facing something unprecedented. You're being asked to do more with less, lead through chaos you've never experienced, and somehow keep your team engaged—all while trying not to burn out yourself.

And the truth is, most leaders haven't been given the tools or support they actually need for this moment.

In this episode, you'll hear from one of the world's foremost experts on what it actually takes to lead well right now. Blake sits down with Steve Cadigan, LinkedIn's first Chief HR Officer who helped scale the company from 400 to 4,000 employees and shaped a culture so impactful it became a Stanford course. Named a top 100 global thought leader in people and talent since 2021, Steve brings over 30 years of leading through transformation across six different industries.

Together, they explore why this moment—despite the chaos—is actually one of the greatest opportunities for leaders. You'll discover why hard work doesn't build careers, how to create stability when everything feels uncertain, and the human skills that will set you apart in the decade ahead.

Today's conversation offers something leaders desperately need: hope, clarity, and a roadmap for what's possible when you lead differently.

Episode Highlights

Leading Through Uncertainty & the Future of Work

• [06:52] - The rise of workforce fluidity and what it signals

• [08:55] - Why moving companies accelerates career growth

• [10:32] - Three pathways to close the growing skill gap

AI, Anxiety & Building Career Security

• [14:24] - Why universities and businesses must merge to solve skill gaps

• [17:48] - The disappearing function of leadership development

• [19:31] - Creating workplaces where people are passionate, not just present

Human Skills That Will Define the Next Decade

• [27:12] - The power of saying "no"

• [29:54] - Understanding your unique pattern for creating success

• [33:12] - How to become a faster learner in a world of constant change

Leading People (and Yourself) in a Changing World

• [40:50] - Why most people don't know how to interview

• [43:09] - Your boss shapes your culture more than any company values

• [45:22] - The art of "leading the leader" and managing up effectively

• [52:40] - The most critical skill for leaders today

Powerful Quotes

"Hard work doesn't build careers — trust does." – Steve Cadigan

"We've optimized systems for decades, but we haven't optimized people." – Blake Schofield

"If you're managing people today, you know they're not okay. And that's hard." —Steve Cadigan

"In a world of chaos, the people who win are the ones who can simplify." —Blake Schofield

Resources Mentioned

The Silent Signs of Survival Mode: Why You're Drained

Feeling exhausted, unfocused, or emotionally overwhelmed, even though you're still performing? You may be in survival mode at work without realizing it.

That's where so many leaders are right now. On the outside, you're delivering. You're holding everything together.

But inside? There's this quiet whisper: "I can't keep doing this."

For so many high-achieving leaders, the challenge isn't a lack of capability. It's that your nervous system is stuck in protective mode. Constant change, uncertainty, restructures, and the weight of responsibility have all pushed your system into a place it was never designed to live.

In this episode, Blake breaks down the signs you're stuck in survival mode. She explains why responsible leaders are most at risk and what it really takes to reclaim your clarity and energy.

If you've ever wondered why rest doesn't fix the problem or why everything feels heavier than it should, this conversation is for you.

Episode Highlights

What Survival Mode Really Looks Like

[01:45] - Why it doesn't look dramatic

[02:20] - The functional version most leaders miss

[02:50] - Signs you're stuck in survival mode

Why Strong, Capable Leaders Get Trapped Here

[05:45] - How strengths become coping strategies

[06:15] - The nervous system's learned patterns

[06:50] - The pressure-performance cycle that keeps you on edge

The Deeper Root: Lifelong Patterns of Survival

[07:30] - Early wiring and identity

[08:10] - How your body keeps trying to protect you

[08:45] - The real reason rest doesn't fix the problem

The Hope: What's Possible When You Shift Out of Survival Mode

[09:25] - More clarity, energy, and creativity

[09:55] - Returning to presence and confidence

[10:20] - Why transformation can be faster than you think

Powerful Quotes

"You're not broken, and nothing about you has ever been the problem." -Blake Schofield

"Survival mode isn't dramatic. It looks functional—until you realize you don't feel like you anymore." -Blake Schofield

"If you've been operating in some version of survival mode for most of your life, you have no idea how much more capability, clarity, energy, creativity, and confidence are actually available to you." -Blake Schofield

Resources Mentioned

Why do so many driven, successful professionals burn out, even when they're doing everything "right"?

In this episode of Impact With Ease, Blake reveals the hidden reason why high performers are silently struggling with exhaustion, overthinking, and loss of clarity.

What's really happening is misalignment.

You'll learn how misalignment quietly infiltrates your work, belief systems, and daily environment, and why working harder only makes things worse. Blake breaks down the brain science of burnout, explains why you can't override your natural wiring, and shares the critical first step to move from depletion to sustainable energy.

If you're running on fumes or just know deep down there has to be a better way, this conversation will shift your entire perspective.

Episode Highlights

Clarity Through Alignment, Not Just Process

[01:19] - What alignment really is and why it's not a fluffy concept

[02:28] - What alignment feels like in daily life

[03:18] - Why leaders miss the signs of misalignment

[04:32] - Understanding functional survival mode

The Neuroscience of Alignment

[05:32] - How your brain operates when aligned vs. misaligned

[06:13] - Why your wiring will always win

The 3 Core Forms of Misalignment

[07:03] - Doing work that fights your natural wiring

[09:44] - Misaligned beliefs and conditioning: the invisible patterns we form

[11:42] - How to shift beliefs without years of therapy

[12:28] - Why leaving isn't always the answer

[14:06] - How stressed leaders unintentionally create negative cultures

What Alignment Looks Like in Action

[15:13] - Client story: Evan's transformation from burnout to reclaiming 20 hours per week

[16:23] - The one simple shift to get more in alignment

Powerful Quotes

"You burn out because you've been trying to succeed while working against the very way you are naturally wired to thrive." —Blake Schofield

"Alignment is where your peace, purpose, and progress finally meet. It's the shift from just living to fully being alive." —Blake Schofield

"Your wiring will always win. You can push against it for a season or even years...but in the end, your wiring will always win." —Blake Schofield

"Every single moment of friction, stress, or anxiety is data and a lesson to be learned." —Blake Schofield

Resources Mentioned

Creating Career Safety: Future-Proof Your Career & Leadership skills

The old rulebook said: work hard, deliver results, stay loyal, and your career will be safe. But that rulebook? It's obsolete.

Today, even the best leaders are getting blindsided by layoffs, burnout, and change they didn't see coming. Target, Amazon, Meta, consulting firms—massive waves of restructuring are reshaping how organizations operate.

The question isn't "How do I keep my job?" anymore. It's "How do I create safety, clarity, and growth no matter what changes around me?"

In this episode, Blake reveals why the traditional model of job security no longer works and introduces the five essential skills that will define the next decade of leadership. You'll discover how to build real career safety in a world where certainty no longer exists, not by working harder, but by learning to optimize your energy, align with how you're wired, and navigate change with confidence.

If you're a high-achieving leader feeling the weight of uncertainty, this episode will help you move from survival mode to strategic leadership.

Episode Highlights

The New Reality of Work

[00:45] - Why the old career safety model is obsolete

[01:15] - What's happening across corporate America

[02:30] - The most significant transition in the history of work

Building Career Safety from the Inside Out

[03:45] - What career safety really means

[04:20] - The three foundations of career safety

[05:10] - Why you can't future-proof your career from survival mode

[06:15] The Torchlight Framework: 5 Skills to Master

Playing Offense, Not Defense

[10:00] - Skating to where the puck is going

[10:45] - Moving from protection to creation

Powerful Quotes

"When you're aligned with how you're wired to work best, stress becomes fuel. When you're not, it becomes exhaustion. And that's the invisible line between leaders who adapt and those who burn out." -Blake Schofield

"The leaders who thrive in this next decade won't be the ones who push harder. They'll be the ones who learn how to optimize their skills, their energy, and their path, and realign faster when things get off track." -Blake Schofield

"What used to make you successful was endurance. What will make you successful now is alignment." -Blake Schofield

Resources Mentioned

The Psychology of Leadership: Turn Stress into Peak Performance, with Sebastien Page, a $500 billion fund manager

How do top leaders and athletes use stress to boost performance instead of burning out?

Most high-achieving leaders believe they have to eliminate stress to perform their best—but sports psychology reveals the opposite is true.

The real problem isn't stress itself; it's operating too close to the edge without understanding your optimal performance zone, leading to burnout, lost creativity, and goal-induced blindness.

In this episode of Impact with Ease, Blake talks with Sebastien Page, Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price and author of The Psychology of Leadership, about the neuroscience and psychology of peak performance.

Sebastien shares insights from 25 years as a leader in high-pressure finance, revealing how research from elite athletes like Simone Biles and Roger Federer can transform how you lead. You'll learn why zero stress isn't the goal, how to turn stress into energy, and the framework for sustainable success that helps you thrive at work while protecting what matters most in life.

Episode Highlights

Turning Stress Into Peak Performance

[00:04] – Why zero stress isn't the goal for optimal performance

[06:33] – The "second layer" of stress that leads to burnout

[08:15] – The performance curve: when stress helps vs. harms your leadership

Sports Psychology Meets Executive Leadership

[11:18] – Zone pacing: finding your optimal speed as a leader

[13:47] – Flow state and the balance between challenge and capability

[15:20] – What Simone Biles teaches us about overtraining, rest, and coming back stronger

Deep Work, AI, and the Future of Leadership

[23:35] – Deep work vs. shallow work for high-performing leaders

[27:28] – The optimistic case for AI

[30:00] – Why burned-out leaders can't innovate in the AI era

[32:29] – Eric Hoffer's wisdom: "Learners inherit the earth"

Rethinking Success and the Psychology of Goals

[34:15] – You're not burned out—you're addicted to the wrong goals

[36:30] – The Harvard happiness study: what really predicts long-term fulfillment

[38:48] – Achievement doesn't fix a misaligned life

Resilience, Failure, and Sustainable Success

[48:23] – How small daily misalignments drain your energy

[50:07] – Addressing small stressors

[51:06] – Roger Federer and learning to lose well

[55:31] – The one habit that predicts thriving

Powerful Quotes

"What sports psychologists found is that optimal performance isn't at zero stress — it's at the point of healthy activation." – Sebastian Page

"Achievement doesn't fix a misaligned life. How you feel day to day is what matters most." – Blake Schofield

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Sebastian Page: