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What The Fear?! is a podcast about the fears that drive us, the ones that derail us - and the ones that dare us to do things differently.
Hosted by award-winning author, speaker and productivity expert Grace Marshall, the show explores how High Functioning Fear® hides in plain sight - showing up as busyness, overthinking, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or relentless productivity. It examines how fear shapes the way we work, lead, relate and make decisions - often without ever looking like fear.
Each episode features deep, honest conversations with thinkers, researchers and practitioners about what fear looks like in real life - and how we can move through it with more courage, clarity and connection.
Together, we explore the surprising ways fear shows up in leadership, conflict, communication, trust, innovation, uncertainty, silence, team dynamics and organisational change - and how to meet it with compassion, creativity and strength.
Whether you're leading a team, navigating uncertainty, or figuring out how to be more human at work - this show invites you to rethink your relationship with fear.
Episodes
Monday Sep 22, 2025
Monday Sep 22, 2025
What does neuroscience tell us about trust, fear, and how we work together? In this episode I chat with Dr. Paul Zak to explore how the brain responds to fear and stress – and what that means for leadership, teamwork and performance at work.
A pioneer in the neuroscience of trust, Paul shares insights from two decades of research into what drives collaboration, motivation and emotional fitness in the workplace. From high-stakes trading floors to Silicon Valley, he reveals why fear is a poor long-term motivator – and how trust, connection and challenge are key to building high-performing teams.
We discuss:
- Why trust is more productive than pressure
- The brain science behind motivation, burnout and recovery
- The difference between challenge stress and chronic stress
- How hierarchy and dominance displays erode engagement
- Practical ways to create cultures of trust, safety and shared purpose
We also explore how Paul’s research helps us recognise and rethink High-Functioning Fear – when fear hides behind overperformance, people-pleasing or control – and how organisations can move from survival mode to spaces where people truly thrive.
If you’re curious about the science of human connection, emotional fitness and what makes work truly work – this one’s for you.
- Continue the conversation with Grace here: gracemarshall.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gracemarshall/
- Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarshallninja/
About Guest
Dr. Paul J. Zak is a neuroscientist, author and Distinguished University Professor at Claremont Graduate University, ranked among the top 0.3% of most cited scientists. His two decades of research on trust, fear and human connection have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms and remote villages in Papua New Guinea.
He’s the author of several books, including The Trust Factor and Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and the Source of Happiness, and is the founder of Immersion Neuroscience. A four-time tech entrepreneur and regular TED speaker, his work has featured in The New York Times, The Economist, and Scientific American. His latest project, Your6, is a free app that helps people track happiness using neuroscience.
Find out more at https://pauljzak.com and https://your6.com
The podcast was produced by pronkproductions.comMonday Sep 22, 2025
Monday Sep 22, 2025
How does fear show up in conflict at work - and what can we do about it? In this episode I’m joined by author and workplace dynamics expert Amy Gallo to explore how fear fuels everything from avoidance to artificial harmony - and how we can work through it with curiosity, courage and emotional intelligence.
Amy is known for her work on communication, difficult conversations and healthy workplace relationships. She shares insights from her bestselling book Getting Along and her years of experience helping teams navigate interpersonal tensions and toxic behaviours.
Together we unpack how fear manifests in conflict - not just as anger, but also as silence, people-pleasing or endless busyness. And how tools like emotional regulation, intellectual humility and clear communication can help us build real psychological safety, not just the illusion of harmony.
We explore:
- Why conflict often hides behind politeness, performance, and passivity
- How fear fuels passive-aggression, avoidance, and overreaction
- What to do when a colleague just won’t say what they really think
- Why emotional intelligence starts with checking your own biology
- How leaders can roll out the red carpet for disagreement
- What to say when you wish you'd handled it better - and how to keep the connection
If you’ve ever found yourself walking on eggshells, stuck in surface-level agreement, or unsure how to speak up without setting off alarm bells - this one’s for you.
- Continue the conversation with Grace here: gracemarshall.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gracemarshall/
- Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarshallninja/
About Guest
Amy Gallo is a workplace expert who writes and speaks about gender, interpersonal dynamics, difficult conversations, feedback, and effective communication. She is the best-selling author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, as well as hundreds of articles for Harvard Business Review.
For the past four years, Amy has co-hosted HBR’s popular Women at Work podcast, which examines the struggles and successes of women in the workplace. She is frequently sought out by media outlets for her perspective on workplace dynamics, conflict, and difficult conversations.
Her advice has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Marketplace, Bloomberg Business, and NPR, as well as on WNYC, the BBC, and ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
Find out more at www.amyegallo.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-gallo-31b9932/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyegallo/
Monday Sep 22, 2025
Monday Sep 22, 2025
How do we lead when we don’t have the answers? In this episode I chat with Rob Poynton to explore how fear and uncertainty can lead to presence, creativity and connection.
Rob teaches improvisation at Oxford’s Saïd Business School and works with leaders around the world to help them navigate complexity, uncertainty and change with curiosity rather than control.
We explore how improvisational principles like pausing, presence and “yes, and…” offer practical ways to meet fear, navigate change and uncover surprising paths forward. Drawing on leadership, mindfulness, military history and theatre, this conversation is full of unexpected insights and memorable metaphors.
Together we unpack:
- Why fear narrows our focus - and how to shift our perspective
- How overreliance on speed and certainty limits leadership
- What it means to “prepare a territory, not a path”
- How fear can actually lead to energy, joy and creative flow
- What leaders can do when facing resistance, mess or not-knowing
If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in uncertainty or trying to lead through change without a clear plan - this one’s for you.
- Continue the conversation with Grace here: gracemarshall.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gracemarshall/
- Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarshallninja/
About Guest
Rob is the author of: ‘Do Conversation’, ‘Do Pause’ (and ‘Do – Improvise’). He divides his time between an off grid house in rural Spain and Oxford, where he is an Associate Fellow at the Saïd Business School.
For Rob, career has always been more a verb than a noun. Probably because he believes in playing around with things (and people) rather than trying to control them. For over twenty years he has designed and facilitated workshops, retreats and pauses.
In 2020, in a bout of invention prompted by the pandemic he founded Yellow (small group, slow burn reflective learning) which, from its virtual beginnings has now migrated into real life, hosting and holding physical events and retreats, often in spectacular places, with remarkably little structure.
Find out more at robertpoynton.com and yellowlearning.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-poynton-169402/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.poynton
Monday Sep 22, 2025
Monday Sep 22, 2025
How does fear quietly shape our workplace culture – and our careers? In this episode I chat with Dr. Margaret Heffernan about the cost of silence, the roots of organisational fear, and what it really takes to lead – and learn – in times of complexity, uncertainty and change.
Most of us think of fear as something loud – panic, paralysis, confrontation. But Margaret invites us to notice the subtler ways it shows up: in hesitation, conformity, and doing what’s expected instead of what’s needed.
Drawing on her experience as a five-time CEO and mentor of global leaders – and as someone who consistently questions business orthodoxy from angles that never fail to surprise – she shares insights into how fear shapes not only our organisations, but the way we’re taught to think, lead, and succeed.
We explore:
- Why employees stay silent – and what that costs organisations
- How fear stifles creativity, innovation, and initiative
- The hidden cost of over-efficiency and performance culture
- How uncertainty and fear affect decision-making – and our ability to adapt
- What leaders can do to cultivate courage, curiosity, and insight
If you’ve ever wondered why meaningful change is so hard to lead – and what gets in the way of speaking up, stepping up, or thinking differently – this one’s for you.
- Continue the conversation with Grace here: gracemarshall.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gracemarshall/
- Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarshallninja/
About Guest
Dr. Margaret Heffernan is an award-winning author, broadcaster, and former CEO of five companies. She produced BBC programmes for 13 years before moving to the US, where she led multimedia projects for companies including Intuit and Standard & Poor’s. She was named one of the Top 100 Media Executives by The Hollywood Reporter.
She’s the author of seven books, including Wilful Blindness (a Financial Times Book of the Decade), Uncharted (a Bloomberg Best Book of 2021), and Embracing Uncertainty: How writers, musicians & artists thrive in an unpredictable world. Her TED talks have over 15 million views, and she was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame for her lasting contribution to management thinking.
Margaret is Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, mentors senior leaders through Merryck & Co., chairs the board of DACS, and contributes to BBC Radio 4 and the Financial Times.
Find out more at www.mheffernan.com
The podcast was produced by pronkproductions.comMonday Sep 08, 2025
Monday Sep 08, 2025
What The Fear?! is a brand new podcast with award-winning author and productivity expert Grace Marshall.
We’re diving into High Functioning Fear® - the kind that hides in busyness, overthinking, people-pleasing, perfectionism and relentless productivity. The fear that shapes how we work, lead, and live, often without ever looking like fear.
Each episode, Grace sits down with researchers, thinkers and practitioners for honest conversations about fear, courage, and being human at work.
Subscribe now and get ready to rethink your relationship with fear - with curiosity, clarity, and courage.
- Continue the conversation with Grace here: gracemarshall.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gracemarshall/
- Instagram: instagram.com/gracemarshallninja/
The podcast was produced by pronkproductions.com