#179: What brave leadership really looks like with David McQueen
Release Date: 10/15/2026
#179: What brave leadership really looks like with David McQueen
Another Door Opens
"Bravery for them is, well, I can sack 12,000 people and I can do it in an email at 9:30 on a Monday morning. That's not bravery, that's cowardice. I would look them in their face and go, you're a coward. Just because you've got the power…it doesn’t make you brave at all." When is a “brave” decision really just avoiding humanity? David McQueen, leadership consultant, speaker, and author joins me for a provocative and honest conversation about change, leadership, and the myth of bravery at work. We discuss the doors that open when you seize terrifying...
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#178: Never throw in the towel with Anthony Hutton
Another Door Opens
"I'm speaking from proof, from experience…I do believe, if you really, really, really want to do something, you can." What happens when doors open to unimaginable fame, and then close again, leaving you to find a new way forward? In this very honest episode, Anthony Hutton, Big Brother winner, barber, and founder of Never Throw in the Towel joins me for a conversation about navigating extremes: overnight celebrity, public success, private struggles, and the reinvention forced by change. We chat about the unglamorous aftermath of reality TV victory,and why...
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#177: Creating a leadership legacy from the messy process of change with Ada Parris
Another Door Opens
"Multiple things can be true. There's nothing binary about life." What happens when you step into the unknown, let go of predefined paths, and allow yourself to be messy, vulnerable, and unfinished? In this episode, Ada Parris artist, storyteller, and author of Leadership Legacy: A Manifesto to Create a Mindful Future and a Thriving Planet, talks about about paradox, transformation, and intentionally shaping new identities. We talk about the rawness of unmasking after decades of masking, the courage to sit with uncertainty and having faith in the unknown, and why sometimes the most...
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#176: The career come down: What to do when work isn’t working for you with Stefanie Sword-Williams
Another Door Opens
"The sort of door that closed for me was not necessarily somebody else shutting a door, but me shutting the door on putting work above everything but my health." What happens when the drive for success, identity, and achievement gets shaken by something that stops you in your tracks? In this episode, Stefanie Sword-Williams, founder of Fuck Being Humble and author of Career Comedown, shares her experience of a "lifequake", an unexpected, seismic event that forces you to reassess everything, including your relationship with work. I chatted to Stefanie about why the "career comedown"...
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#175: Closing the door on shame with Andrea McLean
Another Door Opens
"I ended up losing that business. And not only did we lose the business, but we had self-funded it. So we lost our home, all our savings, my pension, everything... So that was a door that closed that I was not anticipating." What do you do when multiple doors slam shut all at once, career, home, health, identity? In this episode, Andrea McLean, broadcaster, author and former Loose Women host, shares her deeply honest story of losing her business, home, savings, health and sense of identity. She talks about the shame and upheaval that followed, selling her possessions and starting again...
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#174: The power of rebellious play in moments of change with Gary Ware
Another Door Opens
"We, as adults, go from seeing the world as a playground of possibilities to a proving ground, the need to prove to ‘myself and to others that I'm worthy’. And when you have that mindset, the playfulness goes away because you're not seeing the world as something that is playful that you can experiment with." What happens when your life’s defining door suddenly closes, not just once but in a cascade, career, home, certainty all at once? In this episode, Gary Ware, founder of Playful Rebellion, shares his journey from executive stress, pressure, challenge to rediscovering joy,...
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#173: Confidence isn’t given. Its practised, chosen, claimed with Lauren Currie
Another Door Opens
“Confidence is the first step of protest. And whether that is a protest where you make a sign and you go and stand outside down the street, or whether it's a protest when you're in a doctor's surgery room and the doctor's not listening to you, or whether it's a protest at the school gates because your kid's teacher's not taking your kid's needs seriously. Confidence is the first step of that self-advocacy and we need that so much right now because the tactics that our governments are using is fear. Fear divides people. Fear keeps people small, and fear takes your confidence away.” ...
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#172: Closing the door on a London agency and building a new creative life in France with Lucy Werner
Another Door Opens
"I have found, when I've shared my fails as well as the journey to getting to my wins, the people who are there with me at the winning line, that finish line, are more involved in that story because they've come with me on the journey. And more often than not, the fails on the journey have led to more opportunities landing for me because people want to talk to me about the fails more than the the wins." What does it really take to shut the door on a thriving city business and step into an entirely different life in rural France ? In this episode, I speak to Lucy Werner shares the honest...
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#171: Navigating life, fame, and self-discovery with Anthony Kavanagh
Another Door Opens
In this heartfelt conversation, Anthony Kavanagh shares the ups and downs of his journey from aspiring pop star to author, exploring themes of resilience, vulnerability, and authentic self-expression. This episode is about overcoming personal challenges and embracing life's unpredictable twists. Key topics we cover - Anthony's early dreams of music and the drive to succeed in the 90s pop scene The power of storytelling in healing and self-discovery Insights into writing a memoir and revisiting past traumas Memorable moments with celebrities like Madonna, Prince, and Faye...
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#170: How leaving the wrong job opened the right door for Cara-Lyn Giovanniello
Another Door Opens
“Don’t confuse comfort with alignment. Just because something is familiar, stable, or impressive on paper doesn’t mean it’s meant for who you’re becoming or what the universe has in store for you.” What happens when you land the job that seemed perfect only to find, deep down, it isn’t right at all? In this episode, Cara-Lyn talks about the daunting process of leaving a high-profile role that simply wasn’t a fit, and how that closed door became fuel for reinvention. From wrongly ignoring her intuition, through the physical toll of staying somewhere misaligned, to finally making...
info_outline"Bravery for them is, well, I can sack 12,000 people and I can do it in an email at 9:30 on a Monday morning. That's not bravery, that's cowardice. I would look them in their face and go, you're a coward. Just because you've got the power…it doesn’t make you brave at all."
When is a “brave” decision really just avoiding humanity? David McQueen, leadership consultant, speaker, and author joins me for a provocative and honest conversation about change, leadership, and the myth of bravery at work.
We discuss the doors that open when you seize terrifying opportunities like leaping into national TV late in life and why fame isn’t always what it seems. David shares his passion for helping leaders make better, more human decisions, and the legacy he hopes to leave through empowering others, not being centre stage himself.
Highlights:
00:00 Bravery vs. cowardice in leadership
02:32 Who is David McQueen?
03:40 Why we keep making the same mistakes
06:23 TV, Channel 4, TED Global, and working with Richard Branson
10:05 Why David chose impact over fame
13:26 The real legacy: empowering others, not being centre stage
14:19 “Personal brand” is capitalism, why David McQueen resists it
16:11 Using humour to create safety and challenge bias on stage
19:00 Why relatable storytelling beats “superhuman” motivation
22:18 Mistakes, vulnerability, and creating genuine connection
30:18 Writing "Brave" and the problem with “boldness”
36:12 Systemic barriers and why most senior men aren’t equipped to lead women
38:19 Why “bold” doesn’t mean harmful, true courage is facing discomfort
44:22 Curiosity, creativity, and the dangers of a frictionless, AI-driven world
51:38 Why we need tension and real argument to stay human.
David’s Change Toolkit:
Book: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (plus The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and On Writing by Stephen King)
Soundtrack: “Breezin” by George Benson & The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
One piece of advice: “Live full and die empty” - take all the opportunities you can to make the most of life, and leave nothing behind.
About David:
David McQueen works with CEOs and founder-owners on the decisions that shape the future of their organisations. His work spans advisory, speaking, and leadership development, all grounded in a body of thinking focused on how leaders decide well when the stakes are high.
He is the author of The BRAVE Leader, a study of leadership in conditions of uncertainty: the characteristics that allow leaders to navigate complexity with clarity and the habits that quietly undermine them.
His advisory work focuses on three areas where the quality of thinking and judgement has an outsized impact on what happens next: scaling, capital, and succession. His speaking reaches senior leadership audiences across sectors and geographies through keynotes and masterclasses.
He has worked with organisations across financial services, technology, consumer, professional services, and the third sector, at every stage from early-scale to pre-exit.
Connect with David:
Website: https://davidmcqueen.co.uk/
Work with Eleanor
Buy the Book - Another Door Opens; 5 steps for navigating change. Described as ‘Game changing’ ‘Brilliant’ ‘A must read’ ‘The best book on change’.
Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training.
Work with Eleanor 121 as your coach, when you are starting something new, to develop the idea, to create the idea, to get it launched.
Book in a Change Mastery for a team session - when your team is navigating change.
Book in a 90 minute workshop - to think through change at work.
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Website: www.another-door-opens.com
Produced by winteraudio.co.uk