The Best Leadership Advice You'll Ever Get with Margaret Andrews

The Anxious Achiever

Morra Aarons-Mele

Business, Careers, Management, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.7 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Self-understanding is the foundation of great leadership. In this episode, I sit down with Margaret Andrews, leadership educator, former executive director of the MBA program at MIT Sloan, and author, to talk about why leadership begins as an inside job. Margaret shares the 6 self-understanding questions, the best boss exercise that shows what people value in leadership, and why interpersonal skills aren’t about being affable. Tune in to rethink what it really means to manage yourself to lead others effectively. Check out our sponsors: Northwest Registered Agent - Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes! Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/achieverfree Shopify - Sign up for a $1 per month trial, just go to http://shopify.com/anxiousachiever Cozy Earth - Give your home the luxury it deserves. Head to http://cozyearth.com and use code ACHIEVER for up to 20% off. Express VPN - Secure your online data today. Visit http://expressvpn.com/achiever and find out how you can get up to four extra months. Talkiatry - Head to http://talkiaitry.com/achiever and complete the short assessment to get matched with an in network psychiatrist in just a few minutes. Working Genius - Take the working genius assessment today and get 20% off with code ACHIEVER at working http://genius.com In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 What to do when you’re triggered before you have to show up. 05:00 What is the best way to lead? 10:00 The “best boss” exercise and what 20 years of data reveal. 14:15 The 3 traits that separate good bosses from great ones. 18:15 What is managing yourself to lead others? 22:30 How moments of “hot shame” shape your leadership patterns. 25:00 Why you can’t manage what you don’t understand. 29:00 Should you improve weaknesses or maximize strengths? 33:30 The most common reasons leaders derail. 38:00 How to grow without losing credibility. 42:00 Why telling people what you’re working on can build trust. 45:00 Ways to practice self-management without losing status. 49:00 How do you get unscared of heart emotions? Resources + Links Learn more about Margaret Andrews HERE Get your copy of Margaret’s book, Manage Yourself to Lead Others HERE Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam Follow Margaret on LinkedIn @margaretcandrews

Transcript

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0:00.0	don't wait protect your privacy built your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10
0:08.5	clicks and 10 minutes visit northwest registered agent.com slash achiever free just head to tachiatry
0:17.0	dot com slash achiever and complete the short assessment to get matched with an in-network psychiatrist
0:21.8	in just a few minutes. Sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash anxious achiever.
0:30.2	That's Shopify.com slash anxious achiever. Just head to brevo.com slash achiever to take your marketing further with Brevo and its
0:42.4	AI assistant, ORA, which will help you craft smarter campaigns and create great content.
0:53.7	Self-understanding is the key to great leadership.
0:57.3	That's it.
0:57.9	It's that simple.
0:59.3	And today we'll explore it.
1:01.3	I'm Maura Aaron's Millie, and this is the anxious achiever, the show that looks at the
1:06.1	intersection of mental health and work and asks, how can we do it all better?
1:11.6	My guest today is Margaret Andrews, who has had such an incredible career in business
1:16.0	and has really led in business education.
1:20.2	For many years, she was the executive director of the MBA program and alumni relations
1:25.6	at the MIT Sloan School of Management. And she teaches a really
1:29.5	popular Harvard course on managing yourself to lead other people. And her new book,
1:36.9	Manage Yourself to Lead Others, I swear by it. I really do. It is so resonant for me and for thousands of other leaders because Margaret really starts
1:47.4	with understanding yourself, your story, why you are the way you are, thinking about who has been
1:55.9	your best boss, who are the powerful leaders in your life, you want to emulate really seeing a vision of what
2:03.8	great leadership looks like for you and then and my favorite emotional flexibility that's it
2:12.6	that's the key to great leadership and you're going to learn a lot. You're going to love this conversation.
	...

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