In this episode of Helping Organisations Thrive, Julian speaks with Alex Panayotou, one of only five women globally to complete extreme solo running challenges including a 400km non-stop run. Alex shares her transformation from a place of repeated failures and pessimism in her 30s to becoming an endurance mindset expert who has developed leaders at companies like Coca Cola, Uber, and Microsoft. She reveals how her eight years of solo extreme challenges became a strategic process for personal development, ultimately shaping her approach to leadership resilience and burnout prevention.
Alex takes listeners inside her most challenging moment during the 400km run when everything went wrong simultaneously; team member absences, accidents, equipment failures, and near heat stroke. Through vivid storytelling, she demonstrates how mental clarity under extreme pressure translates directly to business crisis management. The conversation explores practical strategies for developing what Alex calls the real "hard skills" - emotional regulation, strategic thinking under stress, and building teams based on attitude rather than just technical competence. Alex's insights on preparation, pivoting under pressure, and maintaining clarity during both professional challenges and personal crises like her cancer diagnosis offer actionable frameworks for anyone facing significant obstacles.
 
Connect with Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexpanayotou/
Website:  https://alexandrapanayotou.com/
 

 

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If you are looking for a Blueprint to help you and your business manage uncertainty, deal with failure and navigate change then reach out to Julian at: [email protected]
 
You can buy my book "Weathering the Storm: A Guide to Building Resilient Teams" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DFTYN2Y2
 
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