Why Successful Leaders Still Sabotage Themselves | Dave Callan (Man Utd, Team Sky, INEOS)

In this inspiring episode, former corporate CMO turned executive performance coach Dave Callan shares how stepping away from high-profile executive roles and embracing extreme endurance challenges transformed his understanding of mindset, leadership, and personal growth. Exploring the intersection where presence meets progress, Dave discusses the courage required to navigate major career pivots, the power of stripping away external titles to build values-led identities, and why embracing discomfort is essential for long-term transformation.  From running multi-stage ultramarathons in the Amazon jungle to coaching founders through high-stakes transitions, Dave breaks down practical frameworks for shifting self-limiting beliefs, conquering procrastination, and aligning your daily actions with your future self. You'll Learn Why: Procrastination is almost always a fear-driven threat response rather than a lack of motivation or simple laziness. True courage cannot exist without the presence of fear, making moments of uncertainty your greatest opportunities for growth. Anchoring your self-worth to internal core values rather than external corporate titles gives you the resilience to successfully navigate major career transitions. Viewing life and leadership through the lens of your future self provides the objective clarity needed to make empowered, forward-facing decisions today. Whether you're a founder, CEO, small business owner, entrepreneur, startup leader or executive, these lessons will help you make smarter hiring decisions and build a stronger, more successful business. 🚀 Want to accelerate your business growth? Join Rise Academy today and gain access to expert business coaching, leadership training, proven growth frameworks, live coaching sessions, and practical strategies designed to help you build a thriving business. ABOUT THE GUEST Dave Callan is a high-impact leadership and performance coach with over two decades of experience operating at the highest levels of global sport and business. Having held C-suite and executive leadership roles at Manchester United, Team Sky, INEOS and Travel Counsellors, Dave now helps senior leaders and teams unlock exceptional performance through a unique blend of lived experience, elite coaching, mentorship and commercial pragmatism. He's the founder of ONTO Coaching, an identity-level performance coaching practice for executives, founders and CEOs, and a committed endurance athlete (Ironman and ultra-distance events) who applies the same standards to himself that he asks of his clients. FOLLOW DAVE CALLAN & ONTO COACHING: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-callan-3bb94413/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dave_callan_onto/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DaveCallanONTO Website: https://onto-coaching.com/ About Jeannette Linfoot ABOUT THE HOST Jeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 30 years of global professional business experience across the travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Having bought, ran, and sold businesses all over the world, Jeannette now has a portfolio of her own businesses and also advises and mentors other business leaders to drive forward their strategies as well as their own personal development.  Jeannette is a down-to-earth leader, a passionate champion for diversity & inclusion, and a huge advocate of nurturing talent so every person can unleash their full potential and live their dreams. Podcast Description Jeannette Linfoot talks to incredible people about their experiences in business and life, gaining first hand insight into how they unleashed their potential to become Brave Bold Brilliant. From the boardroom tables of big international businesses to the exciting world of entrepreneurs it's all about stepping up to the next level while staying true to yourself.