Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs with Steve Cuss
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Jan 5, 2026 Steve Cuss, an author and leadership coach, shares his insights on managing anxiety within leadership. Leaders often misidentify their own anxiety as stress, which can spread to their teams. Cuss highlights the distinction between 'bigger-than-human' and 'smaller-than-human' reactivity. He discusses five false needs that fuel anxiety, including perfectionism and the need for approval. Cuss emphasizes the importance of reframing anxious language and how to lead effectively even when lacking full information, offering practical tools for emotional health in organizations.
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Name Your False Need
- Identify your dominant false need (control, perfectionism, having the answer, rescuing, approval) to spot triggers.
- When triggered, reframe the moment as a false need rather than real danger.
Needing To Always Know
- Steve shares quirky habits of needing to know answers, even testing telemarketers with odd questions.
- This illustrates how harmless triggers can feel personally threatening.
Chase Improvement, Not Perfection
- Reframe perfectionism by chasing improvement instead of unattainable perfection.
- Use improvement as a measurable, calming target in anxious moments.
