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Naked at the Top
You’ve built the business. You’ve got the title. And yet there are things you’ve never said out loud about the cost, the loneliness, the version of yourself you had to leave behind to get here.
Naked at the Top is the podcast where successful business owners and leaders get real and have a lot of fun doing it.
Each episode, host Aleyx Ward gets guests to strip back the polished version and share what leadership actually looks like behind closed doors.
Expect honest stories, unfiltered reactions from the people who know them best, and a finale where — layer by layer — we find out just how naked they’re willing to get.
Come for the stories. Stay for what comes off next.
Naked at the Top
How to actually make it safe for your team to fail — Authentic Leadership, Risk & the "Insurance Policy" Rule
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Everyone tells you to "just be yourself" at the top — but nobody warns you how exposed that can leave you, or how lonely it gets being the one who's supposed to have the answers.
In this episode of Naked at the Top, Leadernomics author, keynote speaker and 25-year Air Force veteran Seung Paik strips back the polished version of leadership and shares what it looks like behind closed doors. He makes the case that "authentic" might be the most dangerous word in leadership, opens up about the cost of looking unprepared, and walks through the "insurance policy" rule that makes it safe for your team to take risks — including the forty cleanup calls he made so one young officer would never know the mess she'd caused.
You'll learn:
- Why telling your team "it's safe to fail" means nothing until you've done the one thing that proves it
- The "insurance policy" rule for empowering risk-averse people — and the forty cleanup calls behind it
- Why "authentic" might be the most dangerous word in leadership, and the word Seung uses instead
- The difference between authenticity and consistency — and why being your "honest self" in a bad mood isn't honesty
- How sunk cost, ego and reputation trap leaders in decisions they know are wrong
- The early warning sign of burnout that shows up in your attitude long before anything else
- Why the most humble thing a high-achiever can do is build a small circle who'll tell them the truth
- What goes through his head alone in a hotel room after a keynote — and why praise is harder to take than criticism
By the end, you'll have a more honest picture of what leadership costs — and a few specific moves you can use the next time your team needs cover, or you catch your own ego making the call.
Don't forget to like 👍, comment 💬, and subscribe (it's completely free!) 🔔 for more honest leadership stories. Click the bell to stay updated on new episodes.
Follow Seung Paik:
https://www.instagram.com/leadernomics/
https://www.leadernomics.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/seung-paik-leadernomics/
(00:00) Intro
(00:45) Welcome Back — Our First Repeat Guest
(01:00) New Clothes: The Last Time He Felt Naked
(01:15) Flip-Flops at a Five-Star Wedding in Okinawa
(06:07) "It Gets Worse" — Handed the Mic for a Speech
(08:44) Why He Couldn't Shake It: What He Thought They Were Thinking
(11:24) Mirror Mirror: A Voice Note from His Son, Micah
(13:07) "Doing It the Right Way" — Hearing It Back
(15:49) When the Right Way Means Cutting Corners: Leadership vs. Compliance
(19:13) Risk, Reward, and Being Your Team's Insurance Policy
(23:21) "Go Crazy" — The Lieutenant Who Blew Up His Inbox
(28:40) Cleaning Up the Mess Without Killing the Courage
(30:30) Between the Lines
(31:06) The Leadership Word That Should Scare You ("Authentic")
(36:22) The Excuse He Manufactures (and the Yard Work Behind It)
(39:36) Talking Yourself Out of the Right Thing
(40:31) Four Months on Book Tour: Sunk Cost, Pride, and Ego
(45:30) Alone in the Hotel Room After the Keynote
(50:30) Where to Find Leadernomics + Seung
(52:11) How Did That Feel?
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Thanks to YourHR for sponsoring this episode. YourHR works with 100s of businesses to cut the jargon, simplify the systems, and build workplaces where people genuinely want to be. Find out where your business stands with their free HR Health Check in minutes:
🔗 https://www.yourhrsystem.com/health-check/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/company/your-hr-team-and-system/
STORIES FOR BUSINESS NEWSLETTER:
https://storiesforbusiness.substack.com/
FOLLOW NAKED AT THE TOP
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🍎 Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/naked-at-the-top/id1822169203
🎧 Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/1lCQJthCpq39LkWXDlkwCf?si=9ef0f76a91cd4bd0
CONNECT WITH ALEYX
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleyxward
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleyxfward/
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