What if everything you know about authentic leadership is wrong?
In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with executive coach Andrew Poles, a 3x founder who's guided over 10,000 leaders worldwide. Discover why the "authentic you" who got you here won't get you there, how elite founders rehearse their leadership character like actors prep for Broadway, and the exact moments you need to perform confidence you don't feel. We'll explore the neuroscience of performative trust, the scripts that turn micromanagers into visionaries, and why treating leadership as theater might be the most authentic thing you ever do. If you're waiting to "feel like a leader" before acting like one, your team is already looking elsewhere.
The brutal truth every scaling founder discovers: the person who built your company isn't the person who can lead it through its next phase. Harvard Business School research reveals that leaders who consciously modeled confident body language, even when uncertain, saw measurably higher team trust scores within 90 days than those who waited to "feel ready" first. This isn't about becoming someone else entirely. It's about developing the range to serve your company's needs across different contexts.
Chris Savage discovered this at Wistia in 2015 when he scripted quarterly all-hands meetings like TED talks. Employee engagement doubled. The insight applies universally: leadership is less discovery and more deliberate construction. Your team doesn't need the real you. They need the version of you who doesn't freeze when the server crashes at 2 AM, who can deliver bad news without making everyone panic, who knows how to inspire confidence even when you're terrified inside.
The solution lies in what Poles calls "ways of being" that serve different contexts. In a crisis, you might need to be commanding. In a one-on-one with a struggling team member, you might need to be supportive. In front of investors, you might need to project confidence about uncertainties you're still figuring out. The key insight: ways of being come from the future, not the present. When you walk into a meeting, ask yourself: "What outcome am I trying to create here?" Let that inform how you show up.
Clarity is 80% of performance. You cannot perform at a high level without knowing what the right next action is. Yet emotional stressors constantly rob founders of this clarity. Fear, anxiety, and pressure create mental noise that obscures the path forward. The solution isn't to eliminate these emotions. It's to learn to embrace them without letting them control your decision-making.
Every week, ask yourself: "What would the CEO this company needs do here?" Then perform that character, even if it feels fake at first. This isn't about becoming inauthentic. It's about expanding your range of available responses. Start with one context where you struggle. Maybe it's all-hands meetings. Rate yourself honestly on a scale of 1-10. If you're a 1, focus on becoming a 2. These small, specific improvements compound over time.
The founders who scale past $1M learn this brutal truth: the "you" who got you here won't get you there. But the "you" who can perform the role your business needs will.
Watch the Full Episode on Leadership Performance with expert Andrew Poles below:
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