I got leadership wrong in 2024. That’s how I started a newsletter earlier this year that scared the hell out of me to publish. In this episode, I share what happened - and the high cost of indecision, fear, and people-pleasing.

Today, I’m turning the mic on myself. I’m joined by psychologist and friend Sabina Read to unpack the personal and professional fallout of the hardest year I’ve had as a leader.

From delaying redundancies to clinging to hope, to letting fear and likability steer my decisions - I share the choices I regret, what I learned from them, and how I’m showing up differently in 2025.

Sabina and I discuss:

Why I refused to consider redundancies (and what it cost)

How fear, not strategy, drove my biggest decisions

The freeze response I didn’t realise I was stuck in

What my therapist told me that sent me into a spiral

How psychological safety broke down on my team - and what we do now to protect it

The cultural check-in we do every 6–8 weeks to catch small issues before they explode

Why listening deeply matters more than making the “right” decision

How I started letting go of the need to be liked

Key Quotes

“Hope is not a strategy. But that’s what I was relying on.”

“I had a very high need to be liked—and that was making me a really bad manager.”

“You can’t rest on your laurels with culture. It takes conscious work.”

Connect with Sabina via her website, Instagram, or check out her podcast Human Cogs.

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here:
https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanthai

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

Credits:
Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My biggest leadership mistakes from 2024 (Part 1)