How to succeed at the highest levels of leadership.

Hi everyone,

We’ve been exploring how leaders manage pressure - whether in medicine, elite sport, or listed companies. Last week, we spoke with Leigh Jasper about the realities of leading a public company, and you can catch up on that conversation here.

This week, I spoke with Cameron Schwab. He’s spent 30 years in elite sport, including 25 years as an AFL club CEO. He now coaches CEOs and their teams through his firm, designCEO.

Cameron’s reflections aren’t just about leadership, they’re about loneliness, identity, and the structures you need to survive the pressure.

What I learned: 
Pressure doesn’t just create stress - it creates sadness. Systems, support, and honesty with yourself are the only real protections.
You can read the transcript here.

Leadership isn’t fair. And it’s not supposed to be.

Public leadership puts you under constant scrutiny. 

Success and failure are judged loudly and without nuance. Cameron was clear - if you expect fairness, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

“The work promises a lot of things,” he said. “But fairness isn’t one of them.”

Leaders operate in ambiguity and uncertainty. The pressure isn’t a flaw - it’s the very reason leadership exists. If the world were fair and clear, there’d be no need for leaders.

Loneliness is part of the deal.

It’s not just isolation - it’s sadness. Cameron described the toll of years leading AFL clubs, where every decision was public, every result was judged. 

“You wake up and your first thought is dread. But you still have to show up, lead with optimism, and carry the weight.”

The loneliness comes from having no true peers. The board has peers. The exec team has peers. The CEO stands alone.

Build your systems early.

Cameron was direct: the time to build your coping systems is before the pressure hits. Physical routines (like regular exercise) and mental routines (like journaling) are non-negotiable.

“Stress will come. Sadness will come. You can’t outrun it. You have to be prepared to meet it.”

His other non-negotiable: never doing it alone. Whether it’s a coach, a mentor, or a peer - leadership is too heavy to carry solo.

Coachability is a leadership superpower.

Cameron stressed that the most successful leaders stay coachable.

They seek out feedback. They listen. They stay open to growth, even when it’s uncomfortable. “Put yourself in conversation with wise people,” he said.

Integrity and insight - that’s what you want from the people around you. Not just support, but truth.

You asked for this.

In the hardest moments, Cameron reminds leaders: you chose this.

You wanted the role. You worked for it. You don’t get to choose the pressure without also accepting the cost.

“We don’t just ask for the good bit. We ask for the whole bit.”

Final reflections.

Leadership at the highest levels isn’t just about resilience, it’s about preparation. 

• Build systems before you need them.
• Surround yourself with people who care enough to be honest.
• Stay coachable.
• Separate yourself from the judgments and focus on the work.

Thanks again to Cameron for the conversation.

You can read the full transcript here or watch the video here. If something here resonated, share it, forward it, talk about it. These aren’t easy conversations but they’re necessary ones.

Remember that we all signed up for this game, but it doesn’t mean we need to play it alone.

Cheers,

Ben