Podcasts, Panels & Press
Award-winning leadership coach, best-selling author, and former BBC documentary producer available for podcasts, panels, and press
Why listen to me?
Since I started this business in 2008, I’ve coached senior leaders, managing directors, founders, and C-suite executives. The driven, high-achieving people I understand from the inside, because I am one.
Before coaching, I spent 15 years as a BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary producer. The gritty, human films, prison series, hard stories, sitting with people at the lowest point of their lives and getting them to open up.
They talked to me because they felt safe. That’s the same skill I bring to my coaching, and to a podcast mic.
Back then, I was working fourteen, sixteen hours a day and calling it dedication, certain that was the price of success and that there was no other way.
There is another way.
These are the topics I now talk about on podcasts and in the press: why driven people burn out, why meditation doesn’t work for most of them (and what to do instead), how leaders change patterns they’ve operated for years, and the neuroscience that makes the changes work in the real world.
I’ve lived all of it and come out the other side. And I want as many people as possible to hear the truth that took me too long to learn: whatever the situation, you always have a choice.
What I talk about
A lot of what passes for leadership advice is surface. I’m not interested in surface. I get to the hard truths underneath, the patterns and drivers that have someone working sixty, eighty hours a week and calling it dedication.
What I get asked about most:
Why driven people burn out. Many people think workload is the problem. Actually, it’s the patterns underneath. Let’s get into where they come from and how you change them.
Why meditation doesn’t work for a busy brain. It’s touted as the cure-all, but most of my clients can’t do it, then beat themselves up for failing. There are other, far more enjoyable ways to nourish your brain.
Imposter syndrome. Nearly every successful person I coach has it, and becoming more successful doesn’t make it go away. You need proven tools and techniques.
Imposter syndrome. Nearly every successful person I coach has it, and becoming more successful doesn’t make it go away. You need proven tools and techniques.
How leaders change. You can teach an old dog new tricks. Here’s the neuroscience of how, and why it holds up in the real world.
Working hard versus working well. Exhausted, always on, emails at ten at night. It’s not a good look, and it isn’t the price of success.
Panels and speaking
I love a good panel. Put me alongside other smart people in front of a room or a camera, and I’ll bring the same thing I bring to coaching: straight talk, the hard truths under the surface, and a bit of warmth and humour to go with them.
If you’re putting together a panel or a speaking line-up and want a voice that’s direct, generous, and good company on stage, get in touch.
Invite Sue to your PanelRadio and podcast appearances
I’m a regular guest on podcasts covering leadership, burnout, career change, and personal development. Here are some of my conversations.
Busting Imposter Syndrome
With Mark Sheldon Lloyd
Talking about how leaders can benefit from the tools in Screw Meditation! to overcome burnout
Penny Smith
Talk Radio
A conversation about managing anxiety and finding your footing when familiar routines fall away.
Back to School
with James Dundon, BBC Radio Guernsey
On switching off a busy brain and working in a way you can sustain.
In the press / TV
I’ve been featured in national and international press and on television, talking about leadership, burnout, imposter syndrome, and the science of changing how we work.
Psychologies
Practical exercises to help you change direction and explore new career possibilities.
The Sunday Post
Advice on navigating life changes, shifting your mindset and creating a more fulfilling life.
For media enquiries, comment, or an interview, get in touch via the contact form below.
Media Kit / Press Pack
One-line intro
My guest today is Sue Belton, an award-winning leadership coach, best-selling author, and former BBC documentary producer, who helps driven leaders stop burning out and learn that whatever the situation, they always have a choice.
Shorter option for on air: My guest today is Sue Belton, an award-winning leadership coach, best-selling author, and former BBC producer.
Short bio
Sue Belton (PCC, CPCC) is an award-winning executive and leadership coach and best-selling author, based in London. A former BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary producer, she has coached senior leaders, managing directors, founders, and C-suite executives since 2008, helping them lead strategically, increase their impact, and enjoy life more. She has been named Female Entrepreneur of the Year and Coach of the Year. She is the best-selling author of Screw Meditation! and Change Your Life in 5, a contributing author to several best-selling collections, host of the Change Makers podcast, and a sought-after podcast guest on leadership, burnout, and the science of changing how we work.
Long bio
Sue Belton (PCC, CPCC) is an award-winning executive and leadership coach and best-selling author, based in London. Since 2008 she has coached senior leaders, managing directors, founders, and C-suite executives at organisations from Virgin Wines, Getty Images and Generali to fast-growing SMEs, helping driven, high-achieving people lead strategically, increase their impact, and enjoy life more.
Before coaching, Sue spent 15 years as a BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary producer, work that taught her how to sit with people in their hardest moments and get them to open up. It’s the foundation of how she coaches now: direct, grounded in neuroscience, and a welcome relief for people who already know that working harder isn’t the answer.
She is the best-selling author of Screw Meditation! and Change Your Life in 5, and a contributing author to several best-selling collections. She hosted the Change Makers podcast and appears as a guest on many others, talking about leadership, burnout, imposter syndrome, and the neuroscience of changing how we work. A multi-award-winning coach and author, she is a Stevie Award winner, named Female Entrepreneur of the Year and Coach of the Year, with further recognition at the Best Business Women Awards and the Business Book Awards.
What Sue is most proud of is that she walks her talk. She went from overworked and heading for burnout to a life she loves. Sue is on a mission to show leaders they always have a choice.
Suggested questions
A few questions to get us going, though I’m always happy to follow your angle:
You spent 15 years at the BBC before coaching. What did making documentaries teach you about people that you still use today?
You wrote a best-selling book called “Screw Meditation!” Where did that book come from and why do you think it hit a nerve?
Why do so many successful, capable people end up convinced there’s no other way to work?
Imposter syndrome seems to get worse the more successful people become. Why is that?
You say you can teach an old dog new tricks. What does it take to change a pattern you’ve held for decades?
What’s the one thing you wish every overworked leader understood?
Recording logistics
Sue records in person from London or remotely by video or audio link using a professional microphone, in a quiet space.
Connect with Sue
Website: www.suebelton.com
LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/suebelton
Instagram: instagram.com/suebeltoncoach
YouTube: youtube.com/c/suebelton
Books and podcast (for reference and tagging)
Screw Meditation! How to switch off a busy brain, be more productive and enjoy life (W&M Publishing, 2023)
Change Your Life in 5: Practical Steps to Making Meaningful Changes in Your Life (Welbeck Publishing, 2020)
Contributing author to best-selling collections: Leading from the Heart (W&M Publishing, 2024), Shine (W&M Publishing, 2025), and Retire Inspire 2 (W&M Publishing, 2025).
Host of the Change Makers podcast
Interested in having Sue on your podcast, panel or event?
Whether you’re looking for a podcast guest, panel speaker, expert comment or interview, send through the details below.
