Most high achievers assume they fail at their goals because they didn’t push hard enough or weren’t disciplined enough.

But after working with thousands of leaders, Maya Gudka knows that’s almost never the real issue.

In this episode, Maya shares the goal-setting method she’s using for 2026 - a simple but powerful approach designed to make your biggest goals inevitable, not exhausting.

Instead of relying on short bursts of motivation or unrealistic “perfect week” plans, this method focuses on designing how you pursue your goals so that it’s easy, fun, and fits your real life, even in your hardest weeks.

This episode is essential listening for high achievers who want ambition and joy, progress without burnout, and goals that finally stick.

 What You’ll Learn

 * Why most goals fail (and it’s not lack of discipline)

 * The hidden flaw in traditional goal-setting for high achievers

 * Why big goals require regularity over time, not intensity

 * The Easy, Fun, Fits (EFF) Method for sustainable success

 * Maya’s Word of the Year for 2026 and how to choose yours

You can find the Vision Unblocked programme here https://www.mayagudka.com/vision-unblocked

The Vision Code programme here https://www.mayagudka.com/vision-code

And download your Vision Checklist here https://www.mayagudka.com/vision-checklist

You can also connect with Maya on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/m/in/mayagudka

And subscribe to her YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@MayaGudka?sub_confirmation=1



Making Big Goals Inevitable: My 2026 Easy, Fun Method

In this solo episode, Maya takes you behind the scenes of her own 2025 year in review  and shares an easy, data-informed method you can borrow for your own reflection.

Instead of relying on fuzzy memory or end-of-year recency bias, Maya uses a monthly “Ta Da List” (a done list), Apple Notes, and a touch of AI support to create a much more accurate picture of what actually happened this year: in work, life, family, health, money, and more.

She also shares what surprised her most when looking at the honest ‘data’

If you’re a high achiever who tends to underestimate what you’ve done (and rush on to the next thing), this episode will help you slow down, take stock, and see just how much your effort has really created

💡 You’ll Learn

 * A simple monthly reflection method (the “Ta Da! List”) you can start now
   

 * How to use notes + tech to make your year-end review more accurate
   

 * Why we underestimate our progress when we only review at the end of the year
   

 * How seeing the full picture of your year shapes your 2026 goals for what’s next

You can connect and find out more about Maya on her website www.mayagudka.com [http://www.mayagudka.com] or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/m/in/mayagudka

Plus find her on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE8JBk-eQ0dA8zv1eWJZelA/

What We Really Achieved This Year (and How to Measure It)

If you hold many roles but want to do so with clarity, calm, and joy, this episode gives you a rare behind-the-scenes look at Sarah Hart-Unger’s systems, mindset, and rituals. In this episode, Maya sits down with one of her long-time planning and productivity influences: Sarah Hart-Unger, a physician, mother of three, podcaster, planner, blogger, and now author. 

Sarah shares the practical planning habits that make her life work, how she avoids burnout, and why she believes planning should feel fun, not rigid. From morning routines to nested goals, daily rituals to quintiles, this episode is packed with insights to help you design a life that aligns with your values, ambition, and reality,  not someone else’s expectations.

 You’ll Learn:

 * How Sarah manages multiple roles without burning out

 * Why planning doesn’t need to be rigid and can actually create joy

 * Why not being a perfectionist is a key to Sarah’s success

You can connect and find out more about Maya on her website www.mayagudka.com [http://www.mayagudka.com] or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/m/in/mayagudka

Purchase or pre-order her book here: https://amzn.eu/d/95dhVyL 

Connect and find out more about Sarah on her website www.theshubox.com [http://www.theshubox.com] 



Planning Without Perfectionism - with Sarah Hart-Unger

What does it really look like to be fully supported as a high achiever and how do you know if this is your moment to do it? 

Whether you’re considering coaching for the first time, thinking about your next career or life chapter, or simply craving more alignment and ease, Maya breaks down the common hesitations and mindsets that hold people back and how to move past them.

💡 You’ll Learn:

 * How to recognise the signs it’s time to seek support

 * The real reason high achievers delay getting help

 * The difference between being “fine” and being fulfilled

You can find out more about Maya's programmes below

Vision Unblocked - https://www.mayagudka.com/vision-unblocked

Vision Code - https://www.mayagudka.com/vision-code

Unwritten Rules - https://www.mayagudka.com/unwritten-rules

Life Work Design - https://www.mayagudka.com/lifework-design

The Shortcut to Relaxed Success

If you’ve ever wondered why certain triggers, conflicts, or self-sabotaging habits keep reappearing, this episode will help you understand them at a deeper, transformative level.



By the end, you’ll have a clearer sense of how to access your own shadow, reclaim lost parts of yourself, and unlock a level of self-awareness that elevates both your leadership and your life.



Every high achiever has a few “derailers” lurking beneath the surface, patterns that show up under stress, exhaustion, or uncertainty. In this episode, Maya and Steven D’Souza explore how your shadow influences your leadership, your choices, and your career path… often without you realising it.



Drawing on psychology, Jungian theory, embodiment, biology, culture, and meaning-making, Steven explains how the shadow forms, how it shows up in adulthood, and why ignoring it keeps leaders repeating the same patterns on autopilot.



You’ll Learn:

 * What the shadow is — and why high achievers often overlook it

 * The link between shadow work and career choices, fulfilment, and identity

You can connect and find out more about Maya on her website www.mayagudka.com [http://www.mayagudka.com] or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/m/in/mayagudka

Connect and find out more about Steven on his website https://stevendsouza.com/ or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-d-souza-5351712/



How Your Shadow Shapes Your Leadership (and Your Life) - with Steven D’Souza

If you’re a high achiever who has built success through relentless doing, pushing harder, and staying “always on,” this episode will challenge and transform the way you think about achievement.



Maya is joined by bestselling author and leadership thinker Steven D’Souza, whose book Not Doing explores how pausing, letting go, and working with natural rhythms can lead to more success, not less. Together, they unpack the paradox every high achiever eventually faces: you can’t think, act, or lead clearly from a place of frenetic action.



Steven offers a radically refreshing perspective on leadership, ambition, creativity, and sustainable performance. This is not about sacrificing drive, it’s about discovering a more effective, easeful way forward.



If you’ve been feeling burnt out, reactive, overstretched, or like the world is pushing you faster than you want to go… this conversation is for you.



You’ll Learn:

 * Why high achievers become trapped in over-action
 * The concept of negative capability and why leaders need it
 * A new, calmer relationship to time that unlocks creativity



You can connect and find out more about Maya on her website www.mayagudka.com or LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/m/in/mayagudka

Connect and find out more about Steven on his website https://stevendsouza.com/ or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-d-souza-5351712/





Why Doing Less Helps You Achieve More - with Steven D’Souza

Confidence isn’t one thing, it’s many. There’s confidence in your expertise, confidence in being visible, confidence in your new identity, and even confidence in speaking your truth.



In this episode, Maya breaks down three things she often finds herself saying to clients about confidence. From treating confidence like a muscle you can train, to understanding how external factors (like a disengaged boss) can chip away at your self-belief, she reveals what truly helps high-achievers rebuild confidence that lasts.



You’ll also hear why fluctuating confidence is actually a good sign, one of self-awareness, not weakness and how to reframe imposter syndrome as a useful inner signal rather than an enemy to silence.



You'll Learn

 * The three types of confidence every high-achiever needs
 * Why confidence is built through doing, not waiting
 * How toxic dynamics (or poor managers) quietly erode confidence
 * Why confidence naturally fluctuates and why that’s normal
 * How imposter syndrome can reveal valuable self-awareness
 * A small communication tweak that signals confidence instantly

Download the free Career Blindspots Checklist (https://www.mayagudka.com/career-blindspots-checklist)designed for high achievers who want to uncover the subtle habits that quietly hold them back.

To find out more about Maya you can connect with her at www.mayagudka.com [http://www.mayagudka.com/] and https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/







3 Confidence Shifts Every High Achiever Needs to Hear

If you’re waiting for a promotion, title, or recognition before you start showing up as a leader, this episode will change your approach.



In this short and powerful reflection, Maya shares how one simple shift in energy and self-perception helped a client step into leadership long before the title arrived - and how that ripple effect transformed his time management, confidence, and balance.



Through personal stories from her own career at KPMG and lessons from coaching hundreds of senior leaders, Maya unpacks the truth: people promote you when they can already see you at that next level. The secret is to embody it first.



You'll Learn

 * Why confidence and energy signal leadership readiness
   

 * How to “act as if” without being inauthentic
   

 * The real power of executive presence  and how it’s built
   

 * How others start to see you differently once you shift your own energy
   

 * A simple daily exercise to embody your next-level self

To find out more about Maya you can connect with her at www.mayagudka.com [http://www.mayagudka.com/] and https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/

Get Promoted! Act Like a Leader Before You Win The Title 

If you’ve ever been told “let your work speak for itself,” “say yes to everything,” or “stay out of office politics,” this episode will change the way you think about career success.



Maya breaks down three of the most common and well-meaning pieces of advice that secretly hold high achievers back. These beliefs can quietly limit your visibility, overload your schedule, and block your access to real influence inside your organisation.



Through client stories, practical insights, and mindset shifts, you’ll learn what to do instead so that your career effort actually moves the needle without burning out or playing the political games you’ve avoided.



What You'll Learn

 * Why “let your work speak for itself” is career sabotage in disguise

* How to stop saying yes to everything and protect your focus
* The truth about “office politics” — and how to build influence authentically

 * The mindset shifts that free you from invisible effort and help you rise

 * A simple next step to identify what’s keeping you stuck
   
   

Download the free Career Blindspots Checklist (Career Blindspots Checklist | Maya Gudka ExecCoach) [https://www.mayagudka.com/career-blindspots-checklist] designed for high achievers who want to uncover the subtle habits that quietly hold them back.

To find out more about Maya you can connect with her at www.mayagudka.com [http://www.mayagudka.com/] and https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagudka/



3 Pieces of Well-Meaning Career Advice that are Keeping You Stuck

In this final part of our mini-series, Maya and Graziela dive into two of the most common and misunderstood patterns in high-achievers, especially those in leadership or caregiving roles. You’ll discover why avoiding conflict and over-giving can erode your confidence, your clarity, and your career and most importantly, how to shift into the sage mindset that restores power, presence, and peace.



We cover:



The hidden costs of people-pleasing and conflict avoidance



How these saboteurs undermine leadership and wellbeing



A 4-step framework for having difficult conversations with grace



Why boundaries are not selfish



How to activate your “sage” powers to lead with empathy and impact

The hidden costs of people-pleasing and conflict avoidance



How these saboteurs undermine leadership and wellbeing



A 4-step framework for having difficult conversations with grace



Why boundaries are not selfish



How to activate your “sage” powers to lead with empathy and impact



To find out more about Maya you can connect with her at www.mayagudka.com



Connect with Graziela on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracoaching/

Setting Boundaries when it’s Tricky - w/ Graziela Cajado-Ogland

For intelligent leaders wishing to step up, craft, or transition into their dream roles, without burning out. Instead of pushing ourselves harder, we take a step back, find the less trodden path, and invite spaciousness & intentionality into our work and lives. Hosted by Maya, MSc, MA (Cantab) Master Accredited Coach (EMCC), seen in HBR, Stylist, Psychologies Mag, top Academic Journals. Clients include Sony, London Business School & Legal & General. Career Growth. Positive Leadership. Work/life balance. Virtual Work. Executive Coaching. Get Promoted. Earn More.

Maya Gudka

Shows