Solving the 10 Toughest Leadership Problems with Dr. Katie Best

Oct 2, 2025

Dr. Katie Best, a leadership coach and author, discusses her journey from consulting to writing her book, *The 10 Toughest Leadership Problems*, inspired by challenges faced during the pandemic. She introduces the SOLVE framework for problem-solving. Key topics include how to manage personal effectiveness amid overwhelming roles, the importance of trust over data in influence, and reframing difficult performance conversations as opportunities for growth. Katie emphasizes the need for basic human decency in organizational culture and finding fulfillment through authenticity.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Insecure Overachievement Drives Overwork

Some leaders keep overworking due to insecurity, not external demand.
The 'insecure overachiever' pattern fuels unnecessary excess effort and chronic overload.

ADVICE

Make Influence Relational, Not Just Rational

Build influence by cultivating trust and relationships, not just presenting data.
Invest in long-term relationship actions and use softer tactics rather than authority or transactional trade-offs.

ADVICE

Build Influence With Small Rituals

Treat influence as a long-term effort and create small, regular relationship rituals.
Find common ground with people you need to influence to increase trust and willingness.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Katie Best, a leadership coach, consultant, and author whose career has been shaped by asking one central question: what are the problems leaders struggle with most — and how can we solve them?

Katie is the founder of Katie Best Associates, she teaches on the MBA Essentials Programme at the London School of Economics, and is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London. Most recently, she became an author with her new book The 10 Toughest Leadership Problems.

Her journey into writing the book began, not in a quiet academic office, but in the middle of the pandemic. Katie began mapping out the recurring challenges she’d seen across decades of coaching and executive education. What she noticed was powerful: no matter the industry or seniority, leaders kept coming with the same tough problems. Out of that work, the SOLVE framework was born.

In This Conversation we trace Katie’s journey from consultant and educator to author, and explore the big themes in her book:

Personal Effectiveness - Why leaders today are carrying jobs that are simply “too big,” and how to tell the difference between organizational overload and self-imposed pressure.
Influence - How the art of influence has shifted in flatter, matrixed organizations, and why relationships and trust are more persuasive than data alone.
Managing Performance - Reframing those dreaded “difficult conversations” as an act of service and growth, rather than conflict.
Culture and Values - What it means to “just be a good human” in pressured workplaces, and how to recover when leaders get derailed.

Leadership is hard - and yet it can also be deeply fulfilling. Katie reminds us that fulfillment comes when leaders find roles and organizations where they can bring their authentic selves to work, and be valued for what they uniquely contribute.

Her book is both a handbook for solving problems and a guide to building resilience. By working through the challenges, leaders don’t just fix what’s broken — they grow skills that carry into every part of their work and life.

Resources

Dr. Katie Best’s book: The 10 Toughest Leadership Problems
Learn more about Dr Katie Best

👉 Subscribe to The Fulfilled Leader wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you enjoy this episode, share it with a colleague or friend navigating their own leadership journey.

Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/jean-balfour/30min

Learn more about my work: https://jeanbalfour.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanbalfour/