The Inner World of Leaders Podcast

Exploring What Leadership Does to the Person

Serious conversations for leaders who understand that responsibility shapes the inner life

Why this matters: Leadership changes the person - not just the role, the expectations, or the outcomes - but the inner life itself.

The Inner World of Leaders is a long-form conversation series exploring what leadership does to the person behind the role.

Each episode offers a dignified space for leaders to speak honestly about private pressure, identity shifts, decision weight, and the unseen responsibility carried at the top - without performance, spectacle, or agenda.

These are measured, long-form conversations with leaders who are in a stable and reflective place. This is not therapy, crisis processing, or performance vulnerability. It is a dignified exploration of leadership experience, shared with care and professional respect.

Podcast Format

  • 60–75 minute 1-1 conversation

  • Audio and video

  • Professionally edited

  • Guest retains the right to approve before publication

What Listeners Can Expect

  • Insight into the internal dynamics of real leadership

  • Stories from people of responsibility and depth

  • Reflective conversations that help you understand your own leadership more clearly

Guests Will Include

— CEO’s & founders

— Members of the C-Suite

— Entrepreneurs & serial entrepreneurs

— Directors & senior leaders

— Investors & shareholders

— People carrying significant responsibilities - professionally, financially, relationally, family

Guest Invitations

Invitations are extended personally and selectively by the host Paul Rouke.
Conversations are recorded in a calm, professional setting.
Guests review the final edit before publication.

Express Your Interest

If you are interested in becoming a guest please express your interest, including a short note about your role, organisation, and what you feel led to share.

The 5 Core Questions

Each leader will provide their lived experience responses to the following core questions, creating continuity across different leadership journeys, in addition to providing their experiences during the free flowing conversation.

  1. What is the private pressure you carry that your board, team, or customers never see?

  2. Have you ever seriously considered stepping away from leadership - and what led you there?

  3. Who supports you when you are the one responsible for others?

  4. What has leadership cost you internally that success never reveals?

  5. What has kept you steady during your most uncertain seasons?

Podcast Host

Each episode is hosted by Paul Rouke — CEO, advisor, and founder of Become People-Centric & Rest for My Soul. This series is informed by lived leadership experience and over two decades of long-form conversations with leaders.

Launching March 2026

Beginning with a limited, soft launch of thoughtful conversations, expanding in frequency and breadth over time.

“Leadership changes the person.

This is a space to speak about that -
thoughtfully, honestly, and without performance.”