Power In Excellence

Why do smart, capable people keep pushing harder… and still not get the result?
In this episode of The Unseen Advantage, Dr John explores one of the most subtle and costly traps in leadership, performance, and decision-making: the illusion of control.
Drawing on the groundbreaking research of Ellen Langer, alongside behavioural science from gambling psychology and organisational performance, this episode unpacks why effort often feels like progress—even when nothing is actually changing.
Through the story of a CEO navigating a stalled deal, a disengaged team, and board-level pressure, you’ll see how control quietly replaces clarity… and why that’s where performance begins to break down.
This episode introduces key Power in Excellence concepts including:
The difference between control and influence
Why perception—not reality—drives behaviour
How the “Loop of Excellence” replaces reaction with precision
The hidden cost of over-ownership (the Victim Virus in disguise)
If you’ve ever found yourself pushing harder on something that should be working—but isn’t—this episode will change how you see it.
And once you see it… you can’t unsee it.

References
Ellen Langer (1975). The Illusion of Control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(2), 311–328.
Langer, E. J. (1983). The Psychology of Control. Sage Publications.
Grupe, D. W., & Nitschke, J. B. (2013). Uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety: An integrated neurobiological and psychological perspective. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(7), 488–501.
Friston, K. (2010). The free-energy principle: A unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127–138.
Clark, A. (2013). Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36(3), 181–204.
Dixon, M. J., Harrigan, K. A., Sandhu, R., Collins, K., & Fugelsang, J. A. (2010/2013). Losses disguised as wins and near-misses in modern slot machines. Journal of Gambling Studies.
Clark, L. (2010). Decision-making during gambling: An integration of cognitive and psychobiological approaches. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 365(1538), 319–330.
Schüll, N. D. (2012). Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas. Princeton University Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “What” and “Why” of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. Guilford Press.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. Springer Publishing.
Gallup (2020). State of the Global Workplace Report.
Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, engagement, and business outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology.
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Support the show
Dr John McMahon is a Leadership Psychologist and Executive Coach. He holds a PhD in Management Psychology, and MBA. He has worked with senior leaders, boards, founders, and executive teams across industries and continents.
WhatsApp +44 7860 625551 for more information or to enquire about working with Dr John

Conflict isn’t the problem.
Avoided conflict is.
In this episode of The Unseen Advantage, Dr John explores why the most effective teams don’t avoid disagreement — they use it to think better, decide faster, and perform at a higher level.
Because behind every tense meeting, awkward silence, or “let’s take this offline” moment… there’s usually something more important going unsaid.
You’ll discover:
The critical difference between task conflict and relationship conflict — and why one improves performance while the other destroys it
Why smart people still argue poorly (hint: it’s not about intelligence)
How ego, identity, and status threat quietly derail conversations
The hidden cost of “alignment” — and how teams drift into polite dysfunction
Why conflict often disappears in meetings… but reappears in corridors
How leaders unintentionally shut down disagreement in the first three seconds of reaction
Practical ways to keep conflict focused, productive, and psychologically safe
Drawing on organisational psychology, neuroscience, and real-world leadership experience, this episode shows how to transform conflict from something teams avoid… into something they rely on.
Because high-performing teams don’t eliminate friction.
They make it useful.

References
Jehn, K. A. (1995).
A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly.
Jehn, K. A. (1997).
A qualitative analysis of conflict types and dimensions in organizational groups. Administrative Science Quarterly.
Rock, D. (2008).
SCARF: A brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others. NeuroLeadership Journal.
Kunda, Z. (1990).
The case for motivated reasoning. Psychological Bulletin.
Edmondson, A. (1999).
Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly.
Kahneman, D. (2011).
Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Detert, J. R., & Burris, E. R. (2007).
Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open? Academy of Management Journal.
Janis, I. L. (1972).
Victims of Groupthink. Houghton Mifflin.

Subscribe now and make sure you never miss an episode.
Support the show
Dr John McMahon is a Leadership Psychologist and Executive Coach. He holds a PhD in Management Psychology, and MBA. He has worked with senior leaders, boards, founders, and executive teams across industries and continents.
WhatsApp +44 7860 625551 for more information or to enquire about working with Dr John

In this episode of The Unseen Advantage, we explore why trust is not a soft leadership virtue but the invisible infrastructure of every organisation. When trust is strong, teams speak openly, surface problems early, and collaborate freely. When it weakens, conversations become cautious, ideas arrive pre-packaged, and silence quietly replaces candour.
Dr John explores the three levels of organisational trust:
• Interpersonal trust – the trust between individuals and managers
• Team trust – the shared confidence that makes collaboration possible
• Systemic trust – trust in the organisation’s processes, fairness, and leadership
At the centre of the discussion is the R.I.C.E. model of trust:
Reliability – Integrity – Competence – Empathy & Vulnerability
You’ll learn why trust builds slowly but collapses quickly, how leaders unknowingly erode it under pressure, and why the earliest warning sign of declining trust is often silence in the room.
This episode blends organisational psychology, neuroscience, and practical leadership insight to show why trust isn’t built in speeches or policies — it’s built in patterns of behaviour.
Because leadership isn’t sustained by authority.
It’s sustained by trust.
References
Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. (2001).
Bad is stronger than good. Review of General Psychology.
Colquitt, J. A., Conlon, D. E., Wesson, M. J., Porter, C., & Ng, K. (2001).
Justice at the millennium: A meta-analytic review of organisational justice research. Journal of Applied Psychology.
Dirks, K. T., Lewicki, R. J., & Zaheer, A. (2009).
Repairing relationships within and between organizations. Academy of Management Review.
Edmondson, A. (1999).
Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly.
Eisenberger, N., Lieberman, M., & Williams, K. (2003).
Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion. Science.
Fiske, S., Cuddy, A., & Glick, P. (2007).
Universal dimensions of social cognition: Warmth and competence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Mayer, R., Davis, J., & Schoorman, F. (1995).
An integrative model of organisational trust. Academy of Management Review.
Subscribe now and make sure you never miss an episode.
Support the show
Dr John McMahon is a Leadership Psychologist and Executive Coach. He holds a PhD in Management Psychology, and MBA. He has worked with senior leaders, boards, founders, and executive teams across industries and continents.
WhatsApp +44 7860 625551 for more information or to enquire about working with Dr John

Power is shifting. Quietly. Rapidly. Subtly.
In this episode of Power in Excellence, I’m joined by Stefan Farrugia, CEO of Eunoia, for a conversation that moves far beyond the predictable “AI is coming” narrative.
Yes, we explore artificial intelligence — but not through fear or hype.
What should we really be concerned about?
Is it job displacement — or something more subtle?
Is the true risk technological… or deeply human?
Stefan brings a calm, strategic lens to the conversation, cutting through hysteria to examine power, capability, responsibility, and adaptability in an age of acceleration.
We explore how power manifests in the workplace — how it shifts, how it concentrates, and how it can quietly erode trust. We discuss the psychology of influence, the emotional intelligence required to work with family, and the tension between loyalty and performance when business and bloodlines intersect.
But this episode also goes somewhere deeper.
We talk about branding.
How much power sits inside a single word?
A brand is never just aesthetics — it is positioning, psychology, identity.
And in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, language matters more than ever.
Eunoia means beautiful thinking — goodwill to all — the integration of heart and mind.
So I began by asking Stefan a simple question:
How important is the brand?
This is a conversation about influence in an age of automation.
About identity in a time of machine intelligence.
About staying human while building the future.
If you care about power, perception, leadership, AI, or the psychology of positioning — this one is for you.
Subscribe now and make sure you never miss an episode.
Support the show
Dr John McMahon is a Leadership Psychologist and Executive Coach. He holds a PhD in Management Psychology, and MBA. He has worked with senior leaders, boards, founders, and executive teams across industries and continents.
WhatsApp +44 7860 625551 for more information or to enquire about working with Dr John

What does power look like when it isn’t loud?
In this episode of Power in Excellence, I sit down with the Hon. David Agius, MP and Deputy Speaker of Parliament in Malta, to explore the psychology of authority at the very centre of democratic life.
From maintaining strict neutrality in a politically charged chamber to presiding over heated debate with composure and control, we unpack what it truly means to hold institutional power — and not be consumed by it.
We discuss:
The real role of a Deputy Speaker (beyond the title)
How neutrality is protected in high-stakes political environments
How power manifests in Parliament — procedure, presence, perception
The discipline required to exercise authority without ego
The unseen psychological pressures of presiding over democracy
This is a conversation about restraint, responsibility, and the invisible architecture of leadership.
If you’ve ever wondered how power works behind the scenes — not in headlines, but in governance — this episode offers rare insight from inside the chamber.
Subscribe now and make sure you never miss an episode.
Support the show
Dr John McMahon is a Leadership Psychologist and Executive Coach. He holds a PhD in Management Psychology, and MBA. He has worked with senior leaders, boards, founders, and executive teams across industries and continents.
WhatsApp +44 7860 625551 for more information or to enquire about working with Dr John