Refreshing Leadership with Maya - Career, Leadership and Life Design

Hosted by Maya Gudka

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Episodes

332

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

Hello there High Achiever! Here's the inside track on: - Career clarity for ambitious leaders who’ve outgrown their current role - Life design and work-life balance for high performers who don’t want to burn out - The “unwritten rules” of progression to C-Suite - Purpose, identity and dharma - when success on paper stops being enough - How the top 1% of leaders think about time, energy, money and long-term impact Because inside the Exec Coaching room is where the real, edgy conversations on leadership are happening! Read disclaimer and terms at https://www.mayagudka.com/disclaimer

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 19, 202613 min

Your Personal Boardroom: Who Has a Seat?

Refresh Your Life The Lazy Way (Series): Who holds a seat in your personal boardroom? The core circle who influences you. And was it an intentional choice, or has it happened by default? In this episode, Maya introduces the life boardroom exercise - a practical matrix that maps the key areas of your life against the roles you might need in each one. What you'll learn: The boardroom roles Maya uses across every area of her life - and why some are more important than others for high achievers How Maya has mapped those roles, and where the gaps remain What happens when you take on too many ‘boss’ roles This episode is part six of the mini-series, Refresh Your Life The Lazy Way. A practical series for leaders and high achievers on realistic goal setting, achievable time management, and easy perspective shifts - without the overwhelm. Short episodes packed with simple tools and honest reflection to help you reset, refocus and finish the year on your own terms. As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.refreshingleadership.com

October 12, 20268 min

The Life Portfolio: Are You Investing in the Right Things?

Refresh Your Life The Lazy Way (Series) : If 80% of your investment portfolio was sitting in one place, you'd be asking questions about concentration risk. But what about your life - your time, energy, identity and attention? Where is all of that going? What you'll learn: - Four investment concepts that reveal where you're over-concentrated, under-invested, or missing opportunities in your life - What Maya's time log from last week's episode showed her about her own life portfolio Welcome to this mini-series, Refresh Your Life The Lazy Way. A practical series for leaders and high achievers on realistic goal setting, achievable time management, and easy perspective shifts - without the overwhelm. Short episodes packed with simple tools and honest reflection to help you reset, refocus and finish the year on your own terms. As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.refreshingleadership.com

October 5, 202613 min

Uncomfortable but important revelations from Time Tracking (Refresh Your Life The Lazy Way Series)

Do you know where your time actually went last week? Not roughly - but accurately? In this first of two episodes, Maya shares how she finally cracked time tracking after years of failed attempts, and what the data revealed about her own days. What you'll learn: How Maya uses ChatGPT to make time tracking work for her - including the exact instructions she gave it The surprises which were revealed by tracking her time for 16 days - which she wouldn't have remembered or admitted otherwise The unexpected category that took up a big chunk of time - that didn’t have anything to do with work As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.refreshingleadership.com

September 28, 202611 min

Working In Your Life V.S. Working On Your Life (Refresh Your Life The Lazy Way Series)

There's a difference between being busy and actually moving forward. In this episode, inspired by a solo trip to Edinburgh that helped her work through something she'd been stuck on, Maya shares four levels at which you can extract yourself from the day-to-day and do the thinking that actually moves your life and work forward. What you'll learn: Four levels - from daily to occasional - at which you can step back from business as usual to actually move the needle How Maya structures her own review and planning practice at each level As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.refreshingleadership.com

September 21, 20268 min

Ask Your 8-Year-Old and 80-Year-Old Self (Make Better Leadership Decisions With These Two Perspectives)

As a Senior Leadership Team Coach, Maya is always looking for the simplest tools that create the biggest perspective shift. In this episode, she shares one of her favourites. This episode is for anyone grappling with a decision, feeling stuck in an area of their life, or simply taking stock before the end of the year. What you'll learn: The 8 and 80 exercise for perspective on leadership decisions - and specific reflection questions Maya uses with her coachees How to reconnect to what really matters, and what will endure As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.refreshingleadership.com

September 14, 202612 min

NEW! What's Your Golden Thread This Month? (Quick Summer Review + Next Steps)

September marks the start of one of the busiest stretches of the year. But before heading into autumn, Maya is sharing two ideas from her summer that she thinks can make any busy period feel more intentional - and more worthwhile. In this episode, Maya introduces the concept of the golden thread, and makes the case for creating more space in your calendar before the busy season hits. What you'll learn: The golden thread - a simple monthly habit that keeps you moving forward even when life gets unpredictable The Kendra Adachi technique Maya is using to make her autumn feel more manageable before it's even started As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.refreshingleadership.com

September 7, 202622 min

Four Steps to Seize September & Supercharge Your Goals Today!

Archive Episode September has a particular energy to it - back to school, fresh start, the perfect moment to take stock of the year and set yourself up for a strong finish. In this episode, Maya shares four simple steps that can each be done in under five minutes, and that together can make goal attainment for the rest of the year feel more fun, more easeful and more inevitable. What you'll learn: Four practical steps to capitalise on September's unique energy How investment changes your relationship to your goals For details of Maya's Vision Builder programme (since renamed Vision Code), visit https://www.mayagudka.com/vision-code-programme As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.refreshingleadership.com

August 31, 202637 min

Why Doing Less Helps You Achieve More - with Steven D’Souza - The August Refresh, Archive Episode

Part of the August 2026 Refresh Series. If you’re a high achiever who has built success through relentless doing, pushing harder, and staying “always on,” this episode will challenge and transform the way you think about achievement. Maya is joined by bestselling author and leadership thinker Steven D’Souza, whose book Not Doing explores how pausing, letting go, and working with natural rhythms can lead to more success, not less. Steven offers a radically refreshing perspective on leadership, ambition, creativity, and sustainable performance. This is not about sacrificing drive, it’s about discovering a more effective, easeful way forward. What you'll learn: The concept of negative capability - and how pausing and creating space can make you a more effective leader A different relationship to time that the most effortlessly effective leaders seem to share Connect and find out more about Steven on his website https://stevendsouza.com/ or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-d-souza-5351712/ As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.mayagudka.com

August 24, 202630 min

Four Key Concepts To Help Regulate Your Nervous System - The August Refresh, Archive Episode

Part of the August 2026 Refresh Series. Whether you're naturally calm or naturally sensitive to what life throws at you, today's world is enough to test anyone's nervous system. And yet nervous system regulation rarely gets talked about in leadership spaces. In this episode, Maya is joined by Kate Brassington for a conversation that demystifies how the nervous system actually works, and what we can do to regulate. What you'll learn: What polyvagal theory is - and why understanding it changes how you think about burnout, freeze states and switching off How to find the nervous system regulation practice that actually works for your personality and wiring - no one size fits all approach You can connect with Kate Brassington at https://katebrassington.com/ As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.mayagudka.com

August 17, 202629 min

Access Your Intuition Through Outdoor Intelligence - The August Refresh, Archive Episode

Part of the August 2026 Refresh Series. We know that getting outside does us good. But outdoor intelligence - the idea that we actually think, see and know more when we're in nature - goes a step further than that. In this episode, Maya is joined by Fi Macmillan, coach and adventurer, to explore what outdoor intelligence actually is and how it differs from simply going for a walk. By the end of the conversation, they co-create an equation that sums it up neatly: nature + walking = deep work + intuition. What you'll learn: How to start accessing outdoor intelligence Three simple practices to help you reconnect with your intuition through time outside You can connect with Fi Macmillan at https://www.linkedin.com/in/fi-macmillan/ As usual, connect with Maya at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/ And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1 For all other info, visit the website www.mayagudka.com