The Anxious Achiever

Is Your Leadership Style Inspiring or Infuriating?

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever had a boss who just infuriated you? Bosses and leaders often have the ability to make or break our experience at work. In this episode, ...

When The Company You Build Almost Fails

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 From afar, Luvvie Ajayi Jones seems to have it all together; to be thriving as an entrepreneur and author, complete with New York Times best-selling...

How to convince others you’re still relevant — Hint: start with yourself (from Fixable)

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Experience is not always seen as an asset in a world that equates innovation and youth – particularly in fast-moving industries like tech and art. H...

The Couple Making the Most of ADHD for Their Creative Business

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When you are neurodivergent, it can feel like you are always behind, don’t fit in, or even worse - wreak havoc on the lives of those who love you. B...

How to Ride the Wave of Anxiety and Overthinking

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the high stakes world of technology companies, a lot of lip service is paid to well-being and mental health. But Meredith Arthur has been researchi...

When Your Body Dials 911

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ongoing stress can affect not just your emotional and mental health, but also your physical health. The connection between mind and body is often over...

Resilience Isn’t Enough: We Need To Be Anti-Fragile

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To succeed in sports and in the corporate world, you might need more than just resilience. Enter the concept of anti-fragility, which focuses on the i...

What if Impostor Syndrome Isn’t All Bad?

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It turns out, a lot of our beliefs about how we are performing at work - and how we choose to label that performance - can negatively impact our jobs ...

Connecting Mind, Body, and Work Performance in a Stressful Season

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Why do we feel anxious even when threats are only imagined, and why have we evolved to feel anxiety? The connection between mental and physical health...

Say Goodbye to Negative Self-Talk and Hello to Your Superpowers

13 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sanyin Siang is an advisor, coach, and adjunct professor at Duke University where she leads the Fuqua/Coach K Leadership and Ethics Center or COLE. Sh...

Tim Shriver on Emotional Intelligence, Family Healing, and Difficult Conversations

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Shriver is a filmmaker, chairman of the Special Olympics, and host of the podcast Need a Lift. He’s also a member of the Kennedy clan, and has s...

Finding Healing After Layoffs

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Yowei Shaw was the host of the NPR podcast Invisibilia before layoffs hit the organization. In the aftermath, she struggled with how her identity and ...

Introducing: Let's Talk Offline

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Check out a new show we love: LinkedIn's Let's Talk Offline. Co-hosted by Gianna Prudente, LinkedIn's early career development editor, and Jamé Jacks...

How Envy Impacts Work and Leadership

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Envy can drive us - but it can also drive us into a wall. It can motivate us at work, but it can make us - and the teams around us - miserable. And so...

Is Work Fundamentally Broken?

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

 Laurie Ruettimann is a former human resources leader and current author and speaker on work place culture. She looks at how the overall system of ca...

Hacks for Managing Yourself and Others: Understanding Attachment Styles

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of us have a basic understanding of how attachment styles - secure, anxious and avoidant - affect human beings in their relationships. But we do...

What Companies Should Do For Workers in an AI Age

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to managing our mental health as AI takes over the workplace, there’s a lot on our plate. But in a world that is also driven by system...

Disruptive Change and Shifting Mindsets Around GenAI

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to anxiety, the best thing we can do is figure out what is in our control and shift our energy away from the what ifs and the negative t...

Does Discomfort Reflect What We Value Most?

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes, you have to look scary change in the eye and approach it with flexibility instead of fear. Dr. Diana Hill is a clinical psychologist and le...

Morra Joins The Next Big Idea To Talk Anxiety As a Trait of Great Leaders

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aarons-Mele recently spoke with Rufus Griscom on LinkedIn’s The Next Big Idea to talk about leadership. She speaks about how anxiety is a...

AI, Work and Mental Health: Nilay Patel on Tech and the Future

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Like anxiety or depression, AI is now a constant companion for millions of people around the world. We might be benefitting from the use of AI at work...

Is Passion Driving Burnout?

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There’s often a direct connection between how much you achieve at work, and how high you climb, and how much passion you have for your work. It’s ...

Hope as an Essential Ingredient of Life and Work

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We humans need hope! A lack of hope contributes to much to mental health struggles across the board, and that’s why it’s important to learn more a...

You Can’t Change the World If You’re Unhappy At Work

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve come a long way in the last five years, but there’s so much still to be done when it comes to our working lives and our mental health. In th...

Adapting Your Career to Your Neurodivergent Needs

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What if all your assumptions about people with neurodivergent conditions… were all wrong? In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks to two peop...

When Your Job Revolves Around The Tumultuous U.S. Election

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The news is overwhelming, and thinking about the upcoming election makes many of us anxious. Political veterans know how to get things done in a never...

A Former Olympic Rower on Grit, Heartache and Success

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2012, Michael DiSanto graduated from a prestigious university. But instead of following the path of his peers, he set out to achieve a lofty goal: ...

ADHD Expert (and Diagnosee) Dr. Ned Hallowell on Unwrapping Our Gifts and Changing Labels

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Ned Hallowell has ADHD himself, and is a well-respected doctor who focuses on counseling people of all ages with similar disorders. But he’s qui...

Dan Ariely on Resilience as the Antidote to Stress

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Ariely is a famed behavioral economist who looks at the irrational, upside-down ways that humans think and act. His recent interests include resil...

Is People Pleasing Hurting Your Career?

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you fall into certain people-pleasing behaviors at work, we have news: it’s not just an individual problem. Kathleen Smith, therapist and author ...

More Than Breadwinners: The Mental Health of Working Fathers

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just as working mothers increasingly feel pressure from all sides to achieve and be the best family members possible, expectations for fathers have sh...

Tools and Tricks for Neurodivergent Leaders

19 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Clayton Lord breaks the mold of what you might expect someone’s career to look like if they are on the autism spectrum. He’s Director of Programs ...

Burnout, Balance, and Why Work From Home Isn’t Working

12 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shirley Leung is a columnist at the Boston Globe and host of the podcast Say More, and in 2020, she hit “rock bottom.”Being stretched on all sides...

Craig Robinson on Following Your Passion, Forgetting What Others Think, and Bringing out the Best in People

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Craig Robinson, brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama, is a basketball legend, former NBA executive, coach, and Executive Director of the Nation...

Coming Soon: Season 10

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Starting June 5th, the Anxious Achiever is back to celebrate its tenth season. We’ll be diving into the topics and challenges you’ve asked about m...

Thinkers50: The Limits and Responsibilities of Leaders

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Leaders of organizations have a large responsibility when it comes to their own mental health, and of those in their organization. When they speak up ...

Thinkers50: Can We Banish Burnout?

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Burnout doesn’t come on because of weakness, and it doesn’t come about overnight. Many of us are walking around with some degree of burnout! On th...

Thinkers50: Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy, Start Being Your Best Friend

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As part of a month long series with Thinkers50 and The Silicon Guild, in this episode host Morra Aarons-Mele explores constructive ways we can improve...

Thinkers50: Improving Work, Improving Mental Health (For Everyone)

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What are some of the most important management ideas out there in today’s world? Thinkers50 is an organization that aims to identify and share these...

When Anxiety Sneaks Up on You, Try Something Different

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine you are having an anxious moment at work. Instead of letting yourself slip into old patterns of negative thoughts or self-criticisms, today’...

Are You And Your Employer In An Abusive Relationship?

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Burnout culture is everywhere - case in point, a lawsuit brought against Goldman Sachs earlier this year by a former employee claiming that the relent...

Mental Health Literacy Can Change Lives - and Careers

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There was a time when everyone masked their mental and emotional struggles at work; or worse, didn’t even know that what they were experiencing migh...

Think Your Family Background Doesn’t Affect You At Work? Think Again

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just as members of a family have different roles to play and different patterns of behavior they keep, so too can our family dynamics play out in the ...

Are You Harnessing Your Anxiety for Good?

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Anxiety rarely feels good, so it might feel counterintuitive to think about it as a positive thing. But in this episode, we revisit a conversation wit...

Trauma-Informed Leadership: Is it Right For You?

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the quest to be a more empathetic and effective leader or manager, the lens of trauma-informed leadership might be helpful for you. It’s the idea...

Accent Bias: How It Impacts You and Your Work

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Heather Hansen challenges the notion of "good" and "bad" English. Good communication is about getting the message across. She’s based in Singapore a...

Are You Good at Embracing Uncertainty?

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Uncertainty and anxiety are highly linked in our brains: when we aren’t sure what will happen, we often go into planning, defensive mode, trying to ...

Dan Harris: 10 Percent Happier, 10 Years Later

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We all have big moments that shift the course of our life - and our relationship with those moments also change over time. Dan Harris was a long time ...

Toxic Bosses, Mean Girls, and Trusting Yourself

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You know the feeling when you know that something is off with a relationship at work, but feel like you can’t speak up? Many of us have felt this fe...

The Toll of Selling Your Business: Two Entrepreneurs Share Their Stories

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We put so much of ourselves and our identity into our work; that’s especially true for entrepreneurs. It can be hard to deal with the emotions of se...

Is Your Anxiety a Habit You Need to Break?

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For many of us, anxiety is a partner on our journey of life: it is always there. But a helpful reframe could also be the idea that anxiety is a habit....

Former Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing at Google on Why Teams and Culture Matter

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How far have we come in terms of mental health at organizations, and how far do we still need to go? Kristin Maczko leads Strategic People Programs fo...

What You Still Don’t Understand About Imposter Syndrome

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Studies show that over 70 percent of us feel imposter syndrome at one time or another. But there’s a lot we still don’t know about the why, the ho...

“I Have Always Cared a Lot What Other People Think of Me”

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Congressman Adam Smith spent years quietly struggling with both anxiety and physical pain, while serving the people of his state and the entire countr...

Micromanaging, Mental Health, and Breaking Free

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Leaders out there who are guilty of micromanaging might not immediately realize that it comes from a need for control, and probably a bit of anxiety. ...

LinkedIn Live: From Digital Transformations to Personal Transformations

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Charlene Li is someone who has spent her career focusing on digital transformations and disruptive leadership. And she practices what she preaches - s...

“You See Flashes of Really Deep Emotion in the Heat of These Competitions”

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What can we learn about performance and mental health from professional athletes? As we start a new year off, Morra Aarons-Mele revisits her conversat...

Pressure, Perfectionism, and Passion: What Medical Professionals Face

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The limelight - and appreciation - given to medical professionals early in the pandemic has largely faded, but the stresses they face continue. In thi...

The Loneliness Epidemic and Work (with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy)

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do you feel lonely, even when you’re almost never alone? It’s a common feeling for many workers in the U.S. right now - with around 50 percent of ...

We All Experience Class At Work (And Why We Should Talk About It)

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

 Ever been at work and everyone starts talking about their recent trip to Italy, or their Ivy League college reunion coming up… and you just feel l...

Want To Run A Good Company? You Can’t Ignore Menopause Anymore

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The working world has gotten a lot more open about a lot of things, from mental health challenges to the realities of being a working parent. But a to...

How Your Family History - and Tensions - Affect You At Work

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

 Many in the U.S. this week are celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving - which, unfortunately for many, can mean difficult conversations with family...

Building Your Career When You Have Borderline Personality Disorder

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s guest always seemed to seek out chaos in his career. It wasn’t until a diagnosis that he learned to manage his emotions, stay still, and p...

Farnoosh Torabi on Fear, Money, and Career Success

01 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Farnoosh Torabi is a veteran journalist and personal finance expert who has spent much of her life trying to help others have a healthier relationship...

LinkedIn Live: How to Speak Up

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Speaking up is an essential skill in work and in leadership, but it can be scary and anxiety-inducing for many of us. This week, Morra Aarons-Mele spe...

Leadership, Burnout, and Breakdowns (and Why Coaching Can Help)

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone needs support at work, whether that comes in the form of coaching, therapy, some combination - or something else. In this episode we look at ...

Mood and Food: What You Need to Know About Gut and Mental Health

18 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While information about the connection between food, gut health, and our overall well-being has come into the spotlight in recent years, it can still ...

The Israel-Hamas War and Managing Grief

16 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It was an emotional and scary week for millions of people around the world following the horrific attacks in Israel and subsequent ramp up of war. In ...

20 Minutes a Week Devoted to Culture Building Can Improve Mental Health for Grocery and Retail Workers

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anthony Sartori knows just how overlooked the mental health of retail workers can be. After finishing college in 2018, and seeing the plight of frontl...

Mindfulness to Be A Better Colleague - and Stop Being Passive-Aggressive

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We bring ourselves to work - or to our Zoom calls - every day with the desire to be professional and to achieve. That often means trying to put whatev...

“He’s a Jerk Who Got Rich and Now He Hates Everybody”

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gabe Howard had a successful tech career when, at the age of 26, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. To the outside world, many people thought it ...

"I Have Everything to Gain and Nothing to Lose, and I Have a Responsibility to Use My Voice"

20 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A huge part of breaking down stigma around mental health challenges at work is about being open and honest about our experiences. Mita Mallick is head...

“When I Was Diagnosed with PTSD I Was Treated Like Damaged Goods” (Part II)

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We continue the conversation with Dean Yates, a Tasmania-based mental health advocate, former journalist, and author of the book Line in the Sand.

“I Wanted to Cover War Without Having Any Clue What War Was Like” (Part I)

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dean Yates was a foreign correspondent and worked for Reuters for decades until the traumatic events he witnessed took their toll. Over time, he reali...

“I Didn’t Know What the Word Burnout Meant”: One Teacher’s Mental Health Journey

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The public school system in the U.S. lost at least 300,000 public school teachers and administrators between February 2020 and May 2022, according to ...

Behind the Scenes of Meditation and Mental Health with the CEO of Headspace

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The first time that Russell Glass tried meditation, he wasn’t really sure what to make of it. Flash-forward several years and lots of practice later...

LinkedIn Live: Weight-Loss Drugs, Food Noise, and Mental Health

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Host Morra Aaons-Mele has an informal chat with author and entrepreneur Meredith Arthur about how Wegovy - a drug similar to Ozempic - has changed her...

This Leadership Expert’s Experience Managing Autism Can Help Everyone Enjoy Work More

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tara McMullin was diagnosed with autism at the age of 38, and it put her previous struggles with work and the structures we have around work in a new ...

LinkedIn Live: Am I Too Old for This Role?

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever wonder if you are “aging out?” This week, Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with executive coach Nihar Chhaya about the realities of age bias, ...

Best of Anxious Achiever: Pressure, Achievement, and Self-Compassion

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

High achievers and those who struggle with mental health often find it hard to give themselves compassion. We revisit one of our favorite episodes abo...

“I Could Work 16 Hours a Day and Not Have It Affect Me… I Thought”

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We don’t always immediately see the ways that anxiety, trauma, or institutional inequities show up for us - and our bodies - at work. Deepa Purushot...

Real Leaders Get Emotional: Cloudfm CEO Jeff Dewing

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, Jeff Dewing runs a successful facilities management technology corporation. He’s had a dramatic career. Mark began his career in refrigeratio...

LinkedIn Live: Is Mental Health at Work a “Gen Z Thing”?

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Older generations have heard the stereotypes, and maybe seen anecdotal evidence that supports these biases: Gen Z, newish to the workforce, is a bit t...

How MLMs Hurt Women’s Mental Health

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Multi-level marketing businesses, or MLMs, offer people - often women who don’t work outside the home - the chance to be entrepreneurs, face new cha...

The “Goal Conqueror” Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder During the Pandemic

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Natasha Bowman always thought of herself as a goal conqueror: someone who could seemingly take on any project, multitask any number of things, and com...

LinkedIn Live: How to Handle Envy, FOMO, and Jealousy

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with executive coach Nihar Chhaya about what Morra calls the "triangle of doom" - envy, shame and scarcity - as part of their...

Best of Anxious Achiever: Can Workplaces Help Us Heal?

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With all of the issues in corporate America, in startup culture, and in workplaces biases and inequalities, it can be easy to forget the ways in which...

When High-Powered Careers Come to Define Us

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever daydreamed about quitting your stressful job and hitting the open road? It isn’t something everyone can afford to do with their time a...

I Get This Question a Lot: Should I Try To Make My Corporate Job Work?

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For many people, the choice between a corporate job or entrepreneurship comes down to the freedom and flexibility they might get on their own… versu...

The Relationship between Ambition, OCD, and Culture

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Many high achievers have a complicated relationship with their own health, and their own ambition. Things like anxiety can fuel us but also wreak havo...

Do Entrepreneurs Need Specialized Mental Healthcare?

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Freeman is a psychiatrist and professor looking to better understand and better support the mental health of entrepreneurs. A fourth generatio...

LinkedIn Live: I Get This Question A Lot

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this new series, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with executive coach Nihar Chhaya about some of your most pressing questions around mental health, c...

Marketing Expert Dorie Clark on Being Yourself and Being Valued For It

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Does your career path feel uncertain, or at the very least, unsteady? In a world where jobs aren’t guaranteed, we increasingly need to advocate for ...

A Recent Morehouse College Grad On How He - and Gen X - Handle Mental Health

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Anthony Hunter is someone just setting out in what most of us consider to be adulthood: just graduating from college and joining the workforce full-ti...

Rep. Becca Balint Has Struggled with Anxiety and Depression. Now She’s Fighting for Mental Health Support and Policies.

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Representative Becca Balint is a new member of Congress, joining this January after several years in the Vermont Senate. She didn’t start her career...

Is American Motherhood (and Work) Sustainable?

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

“I didn’t want to accept myself as someone who had mental health struggles. And having kids made me be like, oh no, this is a health issue that yo...

The Ritalin and Adderall Shortage and How It Impacts Work

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of Americans depend on prescription medication like Ritalin and Adderall each day to help them accomplish their tasks. Whether taking these p...

Hospitality Entrepreneur Chip Conley on Mental Health, Wisdom, and Generation Gaps

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chip Conley is an entrepreneur who has built a number of companies from the ground up, and also served as Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy at A...

Do You Have Codependency Issues at Work?

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Codependency is the existence of unhealthy relationship where one person fixates on taking care of or even controlling the other, forgetting their own...

What Psychedelic Research Might Mean for Leadership and Work

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve seen an increasing number of headlines around the study and use of psychedelics like psilocybin, ketamine, MDMA and LSD. As research continues...