Balancing Act - Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing

CASHING OUT: THE REAL PATH TO ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESSGuest: Alexis SikorskyIn this episode of Balancing Act – Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing, Sarah Brennand is joined by Alexis Sikorsky, entrepreneur, advisor, and author, for an honest conversation about what entrepreneurial success really looks like over the long term.Alexis shares his journey from starting businesses as a teenager to building New Access into a global banking software company and navigating a nine-figure exit. Along the way, he reflects on the realities behind growth: pressure, responsibility, decision fatigue, and the personal cost of leading through uncertainty.The conversation explores not only the strategic decisions that shaped Alexis’s success, but also the moments of failure, including financial collapse, redundancy decisions, and the identity shift that followed his exit. He speaks openly about the emotional impact of these experiences and why founders are often well-prepared for scale, but not for what comes after.Now working with founders and leadership teams, Alexis shares the principles behind his APEX method and why emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and personal readiness are critical assets in building companies that last. This episode offers grounded insight for entrepreneurs who want to scale with intention, prepare for exit properly, and define success in a way that holds up beyond the finish line.Key Topics Covered• Starting young: early entrepreneurial experiences and lessons learned• Building and scaling New Access over two decades• Strategic pivots and responding to market reality• Leading through pressure, uncertainty, and financial crisis• The emotional and human cost of high-performance leadership• Making difficult decisions, including redundancy and restructuring• Preparing for exit: business readiness versus personal readiness• The identity gap after selling a company• Reframing failure as feedback rather than defeat• Emotional intelligence as a strategic leadership capability• The APEX method: structuring companies for scale, resilience, and exit• Redefining success after a major liquidity event• Creating sustainable success across work, wealth, and wellbeingAbout the Guest: ALEXIS SIKORSKYENTREPRENEUR | BUSINESS ADVISOR | AUTHORAlexis Sikorsky is an entrepreneur, business advisor and author known for building, scaling, and successfully exiting New Access SA, a Geneva-based banking software company he founded in 2000. Over two decades he grew the business into a major player in its sector before engineering its acquisition by a private equity firm for a nine-figure sum.For more episodes of the Balancing Act – Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing podcast, additional recourses, articles or to buy the book, visit: www.balancing-act.co.uk

Episode 8. Money That Works for You: How to Build a Life-Driven Wealth StrategyGuest: Anne McCleanIn this Balancing Act conversation, Financial expert Anne McClean delves into the psychological aspects of money, discussing how perceptions of ‘not enough’, ‘enough’, and ‘plenty’ shape financial behaviours. Sarah and Anne explore practical financial planning strategies for both employees and self-employed individuals, emphasising the importance of understanding one’s financial situation and goals.The discussion also covers the significance of liquidity and legacy in wealth management, as well as tips for building money confidence. Anne provides actionable advice on budgeting, investing, and preparing for the future, highlighting the need for personalised financial guidance aligned with longer term aspirations.Key Topics CoveredUnderstanding your perception of money is crucial.Financial planning should be proactive and personalised.Budgeting is essential for financial success.Investing early can lead to significant growth.Self-employed individuals face unique financial challenges.Liquidity is important for maintaining lifestyle.Legacy planning should start early in life.Building money confidence requires understanding your finances.Utilising employer benefits can enhance financial health.Seeking trusted financial advice is key to success.For more information, additional podcasts and resources visit: www.balancing-act.co.uk Anne McCleanPartner and Head of Wealth | Chartered Financial Planner and Certified Financial Planner | Specialist in Strategic Financial PlanningAnne McClean is a multi-award-winning wealth strategist with two decades of experience advising high-achieving professionals, business owners and families on how to translate earnings into long-term financial security and purpose-led decision-making. Currently a Partner and Head of Wealth at IPS Capital, Anne previously served as a Partner at Smith & Williamson (now Evelyn Partners) and holds Fellowships with both the Personal Finance Society and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.Anne’s expertise bridges complex financial planning with clarity, empathy, and a deep understanding of human motivation. Whether her clients are scaling businesses, transitioning careers, or preparing for generational legacy, her advice helps demystify financial systems and align capital with life aspirations. She specialises in ensuring that the life being built today is structurally and emotionally supported by the decisions made for tomorrow.Named a Top-Rated Adviser multiple times by VouchedFor and recognised by the Personal Finance Society and Women in Finance Awards, Anne is trusted for her depth of knowledge, her calm, grounded presence, and her ability to create confidence in moments of uncertainty.Anne’s insights appear throughout the Money-Mission paradigm in this book, enriching topics including wealth strategy, liquidity, legacy planning and building a successful future that reflects what matters most. Her contribution offers a powerful reminder that financial confidence is about more than numbers, it’s about pro- active planning and making your money work in service of your bigger purpose.

Wired to Connect: The Science of Emotion and LeadershipGuest: Dr Lynda Shaw - Episode 7 of Balancing Act - Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing.In this Balancing Act conversation, Dr. Lynda Shaw speaks with Sarah Brennand to unpack the complex and fascinating relationship between emotion, leadership and human behaviour. Drawing on her background in cognitive neuroscience and decades of work with organisations, she explains why emotions – all of them – operate below conscious awareness long before we label or interpret them, influencing decisions, communication and leadership behaviour.Dr. Shaw explores how emotional intelligence is far more than a behavioural skill; it is a neurobiological process shaped by experience, culture and the unconscious triggers that guide our reactions. She discusses why self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership, how triggers can be understood rather than feared, and why leaders must model the emotional and communicative standards they expect from others.The conversation expands into organisational culture, communication, and global perspectives on emotional intelligence, recognising that cultural norms shape how emotions are expressed, read and valued. Dr. Shaw also touches on the future of neuroscience and what emerging research reveals about connection, performance and wellbeing in a fast-changing world.This episode offers a deeply human, science-informed perspective on leadership - one that acknowledges both our wiring and our capacity to adapt, understand and connect with intention.Key Topics CoveredEmotions as unconscious, neurobiological processesThe link between self-awareness and emotional intelligenceUnderstanding and navigating emotional triggersHow experience shapes helpful vs. unhelpful emotional responsesEffective communication as the foundation of strong relationshipsCultural differences in emotional expression and interpretationLeadership modelling: setting the tone through behaviourCreating supportive organisational environments for wellbeing and performanceThe evolving neuroscience behind emotional regulation and resiliencePractical steps to enhance self-awareness and emotional understandingDr. Lynda ShawCognitive Neuroscientist | Business Psychologist | EntrepreneurDr Lynda Shaw is a cognitive neuroscientist, business psychologist, and entrepreneur whose career spans academia, enterprise, and applied neuroscience in leadership.A Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and former President of the Professional Speaking Association UK&I, Lynda specialises in making complex brain science practical for business and leadership. She has founded multiple organisations, including Brain & Behaviour Ltd., the Consciousness Academy, and the Neuroscience Professional Development Programme, dedicated to bridging neuroscience, psychology, and real-world performance.Her PhD in cognitive neuroscience focused on unconscious emotional processing and behavioural change, and her subsequent research has explored how emotion influences communication, trust, and decision-making. Through keynotes, consultancy, and leadership development, she helps organisations harness the power of neuroplasticity to create more connected, innovative, and emotionally intelligent cultures.Lynda is the author of Your Brain is Boss and Beat the Bullies: Use Your Brain, and her clients include Lloyds Bank, NHS, Citrix, and Royal Mail. Known as ‘The Walking Neuroscientist,’ she brings humour, warmth, and scientific rigour to every conversation - translating brain science into human connection.

Episode 6. Designing Success: Building Businesses, Brands & Balance Guest: Sarah Willingham Entrepreneur | Investor | Former Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ DenIn this episode of The Balancing Act, Sarah Brennand is joined by entrepreneur and investor Sarah Willingham, for an open and grounded conversation about what success really looks like when it is designed across work, wealth and life.Sarah Willingham shares her personal and professional journey, from early ambitions around motherhood and partnership to building, scaling, and exiting businesses. She reflects on why the concept of starting, growing, and exiting became central to her definition of success, not only as an industry benchmark, but as a route to freedom, choice, and long-term security for her family.The conversation explores how financial outcomes, personal values, and life goals intersect, and how success evolves over time. Rather than pursuing business growth in isolation, Sarah describes how clarity around family, relationships, and future freedom shaped her decisions as an entrepreneur and investor.This episode offers a candid perspective on designing a life where ambition and personal priorities are aligned, highlighting that success is not accidental, but built through intentional choices, recalibration, and a clear sense of what matters most.Key Topics CoveredDefining success beyond status or scaleThe role of motherhood and family in shaping career ambitionWhy “start, grow, and exit” became a personal success frameworkFinancial freedom as a tool for choice and autonomyBuilding businesses using intellect, strategy, and timingThe emotional and practical importance of a successful exitBalancing entrepreneurship with relationships and home lifeHow definitions of success evolve at different life stagesDesigning work and wealth to support long-term wellbeingMaking intentional decisions that support life, not just businessSarah Willingham Entrepreneur | Investor | Former Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ DenSarah Willingham is a serial entrepreneur, investor and consumer-business expert whose career spans high-street brands, hospitality, media and strategic investment. She built her early leadership experience at global restaurant chains including Pizza Express and Planet Hollywood before acquiring and scaling The Bombay Bicycle Club into the UK’s largest Indian-restaurant chain.Sarah later became a board director and serial investor, co-founding and backing brands such as London Cocktail Club and Craft Gin Club, and co-founding Nightcap PLC, a drinks-led hospitality group. Her television profile includes roles as an investor on Dragons’ Den and judge on The Restaurant.As a proud mum of four, Sarah is passionate about proving that career growth, business leadership and family life don’t have to exist in conflict - she believes true success is built across all areas of life. She regularly speaks, advises and invests in high-growth consumer and lifestyle businesses and serves as a mentor to the next generation of founders.For more information visit: www.balancing-act.co.uk

Guest: Dr. John SullivanHost: Sarah BrennandOriginal interview used in the creation of the book Balancing Act - Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing (author: Sarah Brennand)In this expert-led Balancing Act conversation, Dr. John Sullivan, clinical sports psychologist and internationally recognised authority in resilience and human performance, shares decades of insight into the science and psychology underpinning sustainable success. Drawing on his work across elite sport, military, and corporate environments, Dr. Sullivan breaks down why performance is fundamentally a health process, driven by brain function, emotional regulation and the interplay between stress, recovery and individual differences.Dr. Sullivan explains neurological resilience, the importance of understanding each individual’s unique wiring, and why mistakes are essential data for growth. He explores how leaders can create supportive, psychologically safe environments, and why communication, culture and behavioural modelling have a measurable impact on performance outcomes.A core part of the conversation centres on Dr. Sullivan’s PROCESS model, a holistic framework integrating movement, rest, nutrition, emotional management, social connection and behavioural habits. He illustrates how these elements oscillate rather than progress linearly, shaping resilience, reducing burnout and improving adaptability in both high-performance and everyday settings.This episode delivers science-driven, deeply human insight –  a practical and compassionate exploration of what truly helps people perform, recover, and thrive.Key Topics CoveredThe science of neurological resilience and why the brain drives performanceSullivan’s career journey as a clinical sports psychologistIndividual differences: why “one size fits all” doesn’t exist in high performanceAssociation vs. dissociation and how athletes manage focus under pressureMicro cycles of rest and why recovery is a biological necessityThe impact of music, environment and emotional cues on performanceThe PROCESS model: movement, rest, nutrition, emotional regulation, social connection and self-awarenessWhy performance is non-linear – understanding oscillation, not constant outputManaging fear of failure and fear of successHow mistakes shape learning, adaptation and long-term resilienceLeadership culture: psychological safety, communication and supporting human complexityRecognising and addressing early signs of fatigue and burnoutPractical applications for sport, leadership, wellbeing and everyday lifeVisit www.balancing-act.co.uk for more episodes, insights, to buy the book and to access the Balancing Act Resource Hub.

Guest: Anne-Sophie AmiotHost: Sarah BrennandOriginal interview used in the creation of the book Balancing Act - Mastering Work, Wealth and WellbeingIn this extended Balancing Act conversation, Anne-Sophie Amiot reflects on how she navigates life at the intersection of scientific thinking and human connection. Rather than treating science and relationships as opposing worlds, she explains how her curiosity-driven approach shapes both, grounding her in observation, openness, and a willingness to reassess assumptions.Anne-Sophie speaks about the complexity of human relationships, especially in multicultural environments, and why they resist fixed rules or neat formulas. She highlights how passion and energy grow from genuine interest, not technical ability, and why the drive to discover is central to both her work and her way of relating to others.This conversation offers a thoughtful lens on balance – balancing analysis with empathy, structure with intuition, and learning with experience. It fits seamlessly within the Balancing Act book’s themes of self-awareness, personal growth, and the ongoing calibration of work, wealth and wellbeing.Key Topics CoveredHow curiosity shapes both scientific work and human relationshipsBalancing analytical thinking with emotional understandingWhy human relationships require ongoing reassessmentThe limitations of rules or formulas when dealing with peoplePassion, energy and the difference between proficiency and personal meaningDiscovery as a motivating force in work and relationshipsNavigating cultural awareness in multicultural settingsHow continuous learning supports connection and clarityPersonal reflections on growth, reassessment and staying openIntegrating logic, intuition and curiosity in everyday lifeVisit www.balancing-act.co.uk for more episodes, insights, to buy the book and to access the Balancing Act Resource Hub

Guest: Adam Burgess OLYHost: Sarah BrennandOriginal interview used in the creation of the book Balancing Act - Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing (author - Sarah Brennand).In this Balancing Act conversation, Olympic silver medallist Adam Burgess reflects on a career defined by both breakthrough success and the relentless reality of elite performance. Fresh from becoming the first British man since 2008 to reach the Olympic podium in the C1 event, securing a historic silver medal at the Paris 2024 Games, Adam speaks openly about the emotional contrasts of the season: the exhilaration of team success, the sting of a single costly mistake in his individual race, and the psychological pressure of constantly performing under intense scrutiny.Adam shares how injuries, expectations, and the business side of elite sport shaped his mindset, leading him toward a second passion: breathwork, recovery science, and physiological balance. After a career-threatening shoulder injury, breathwork became central to his rehabilitation and later formed the foundation of the Inspired Breath Academy, where he now coaches athletes, leaders and wellbeing professionals.What emerges is a conversation about more than medals, it’s about identity, emotional regulation, resilience, and the move from competing to coaching. Adam’s reflections offer a rare look at the realities behind high performance and how he now channels his competitive experience into educating others on breathing, balance and sustainable success.Key Topics CoveredAchieving a historic Olympic silver medal in the C1 eventThe emotional contrast between team success and personal disappointmentHow one mistake can define an elite performance, and how to recover mentallyThe psychological load of Olympic cycles and high-stakes competitionOvercoming a career-threatening shoulder injuryBreathwork as a tool for performance, regulation and long-term resilienceThe creation and mission of the Inspired Breath AcademyTraining independently and building self-leadership in elite sportUnderstanding the business, pressure and uncertainty behind the athlete lifestyleShifting identity from athlete to educator and coachRecovery, emotional regulation and high-performance habitsBuilding a life that “performs under pressure” across sport, work and wellbeingVisit www.balancing-act.co.uk for further episodes, insights, to buy the book and to access the resource hub.

Guest: Alison Oliver MBEHost: Sarah BrennandOriginal interview used in the creation of the book Balancing Act - Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing (author - Sarah Brennand)In this Balancing Act conversation, Alison Oliver speaks candidly about the realities of growth, motivation and responsibility, and how leaders can stretch people in ways that inspire rather than overwhelm. Drawing on her experience supporting individuals through transition, pressure and change, Alison reflects on the fine line between pushing someone to thrive and placing so much on their shoulders that the weight becomes counterproductive.She explores why failure, when framed well, becomes a catalyst for development, and why empowerment isn’t about giving people more to carry but helping them understand their capacity, confidence and direction. The discussion aligns closely with the themes in Balancing Act, touching on wellbeing, mission, personal accountability and the emotional intelligence needed to support others without creating burnout.Alison offers a grounded, compassionate view of growth, one that recognises challenge as necessary, failure as informative, and responsibility as something to nurture rather than impose.Key Topics CoveredBalancing motivation with realistic responsibilityHow challenge helps people grow without tipping into overwhelmWhy failure is not an endpoint but an essential teacherEmpowerment through support, clarity and self-awarenessThe emotional intelligence behind stretching others safelyUnderstanding capacity and resilience in personal and professional transitionsHow leaders can create conditions for sustainable growthThe relationship between wellbeing, pressure and performanceNavigating career and personal shifts with honesty and reflectionWhat it means to take responsibility without carrying unnecessary weightVisit www.balancing-act.co.uk for more episodes, insight, to access the Resource Hub and to buy the book.

Guest: Floyd Woodrow MBE DCMHost: Sarah BrennandOriginal interview used in the creation of the book Balancing Act - Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing (author - Sarah Brennand)In this wide-ranging and energising conversation, recorded as a conversation to inform content you’ll find in the book ‘Balancing Act: Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing’, Floyd Woodrow shares the principles that have guided his journey from military service to international leadership development. The discussion explores what success really means, why understanding yourself is foundational, and how resilience is built through daily practice, emotional intelligence and alignment between who you are and what you pursue. Floyd reflects on passion, purpose and the Compass for Life model, while also exploring how AI is reshaping human performance and personal development. The episode highlights the importance of intuition, the role of a strong support network, and the habits that sustain momentum. It is a conversation about growth, adaptability and designing a life that feels meaningful, balanced and high-performing.Key Topics Covered:Redefining success as an ongoing journeyThe transition from military service to business leadershipPurpose, passion and the Compass for Life frameworkSelf-understanding as the gateway to sustainable growthBuilding resilience through practice, structure and self-awarenessEmotional intelligence and authenticity in leadershipThe importance of support networks for performance and wellbeingMental-Physical alignment and daily habits that enhance performanceNavigating career pivots and adapting with confidenceRest, recovery and resilienceAI as a tool for human development and enhanced self-awarenessSocial resilience, connection and energy managementVisit: www.balancing-act.co.uk for more episodes and to access the Balancing Act Resource Hub.