The Position Papers (3/3) | Favourite Positions Podcast

What if the most valuable lessons from business school aren’t the frameworks you learn, but the assumptions they quietly dismantle?

In this final episode of The Position Papers mini-series, Alexandra Young reflects on five core MBA subjects — finance, macroeconomics, marketing, innovation and strategy — and the perspective shifts each one created in her day-to-day leadership. Rather than theory, this episode explores how concepts like opportunity cost, behavioural decision-making, external forces and organisational readiness change how we diagnose problems, make commitments and lead change at work.

Across five short stories, this episode reframes common career instincts — saying yes, pushing ideas, attributing outcomes, staying in motion — and offers practical ways to think more strategically in complex environments.

In this episode

• Opportunity cost and the hidden trade-offs behind every yes
• How external conditions shape performance outcomes
• Why human decisions are rarely rational
• The role of organisational readiness in innovation
• Strategy as focus, commitment and translation into action

Research referenced

• Frederick, Novemsky, Wang, Dhar & Nowlis (2009). Opportunity Cost Neglect. Journal of Consumer Research.
• Shows people make poorer decisions when opportunity costs are not made explicit.
• Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow.
• Foundational research demonstrating systematic biases and non-rational decision-making.
• Thaler, R. & Sunstein, C. (2008). Nudge.
• Evidence that defaults and choice architecture strongly influence behaviour.
• BCG (2024). Most Innovative Companies Report.
• Found 83% of firms rank innovation as a priority, but only 3% are ready to deliver.
• Case literature on organisational readiness and timing (e.g., technology adoption cycles).
• Shows innovation success depends on environmental and organisational conditions.

About The Position Papers

The Position Papers is a three-part Favourite Positions mini-series on business school, confidence and growth, recorded during Alex’s MBA alongside full-time leadership. Each episode explores how ambition, identity and modern work intersect in practice.

Connect

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who might need it!

You can connect with Alex on LinkedIn and follow Favourite Positions on Instagram for future episodes and resources.

Follow Favourite Positions on LinkedIn and Instagram, connect with Alex here.

The Position Papers (2/3) | Favourite Positions Podcast

Confidence is often framed as a personality trait – something you either have or you don’t. But what if confidence is actually contextual, shaped by environment, familiarity and perceived expectations?

In this second episode of The Position Papers mini-series, Alexandra Young reflects on how business school reshaped her understanding of confidence. Drawing on psychological research and her experience of being in a high-achieving MBA cohort, she explores why self-doubt often increases in stretch environments, why visible confidence can be misleading, and how participation – not certainty – is what actually builds confidence over time.

This episode reframes confidence as something situational and learnable rather than fixed, and offers practical ways to participate more fully in rooms that matter.

In this episode

• Why confidence is situational rather than a fixed trait
• How high-achieving environments amplify self-doubt
• The gap between performed confidence and internal experience
• The psychological “spotlight effect” in group settings
• Why action builds confidence more reliably than preparation
• Rethinking presence beyond volume or airtime

Key reframes discussed

• Confidence is familiarity with an environment, not personality
• Visible confidence often masks private uncertainty
• Readiness rarely precedes participation
• Silence increases pressure while contribution reduces it
• Presence does not require constant speaking

Key questions from the episode

• Where do you currently feel most confident – and why?
• Is there a room you’ve been avoiding until you feel ready?
• What would you do if discomfort meant learning, not misfit?

Research referenced

• Korn Ferry (2024). Global Imposter Syndrome Study.
• Found 71% of CEOs report experiencing imposter syndrome symptoms, with prevalence increasing at senior levels.
• Gilovich, Medvec & Savitsky (2000). The Spotlight Effect in Social Judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
• Demonstrates that people significantly overestimate how much others notice their behaviour and mistakes.
• Google Trends / global search data (2024).
• Reported ~75% increase in searches for “imposter syndrome,” indicating rising public concern and self-doubt discourse.

About The Position Papers

The Position Papers is a three-part Favourite Positions mini-series on business school, confidence and growth, recorded during Alex’s MBA alongside full-time leadership. Each episode explores the intersection of ambition, identity and modern work.

Connect

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who might need it!

You can connect with Alex on LinkedIn and follow Favourite Positions on Instagram for future episodes and resources.

Follow Favourite Positions on LinkedIn and Instagram, connect with Alex here.

The Position Papers (1/3) | Favourite Positions Podcast

Burnout is usually framed as doing too much of what you don’t care about. But what happens when the exhaustion comes from things you genuinely love?

In this opening episode of The Position Papers mini-series, Alexandra Young explores a quieter, more complex form of burnout – the kind that exists alongside high engagement, ambition and growth. Drawing on research and her experience of balancing an MBA with a full-time leadership role, she reframes burnout as a design and misalignment problem rather than a personal failure.

This episode explores why highly invested people are often most at risk, how competing commitments create hidden strain, and what actually helps when stepping back isn’t realistic or desirable.

In this episode

• Why burnout and engagement can exist at the same time
• The difference between working hard and cognitively carrying work
• How pace misalignment between individuals and systems creates friction
• The hidden guilt of caring about multiple things at once
• Why traditional burnout advice often misses ambitious, invested people
• Burnout as a design problem rather than a workload problem

Five shifts discussed

1. Defining what “good enough” looks like in the current season
2. Naming trade-offs out loud instead of carrying them privately
3. Designing recovery before depletion
4. Being explicit about how you work best
5. Recognising early personal warning signs

Key questions from the episode

• Is your current pace chosen or accumulated?
• What trade-off are you carrying silently?
• If you redesigned your week around how you actually work best, what would change?

Research referenced

• DHR Global (2024). Workforce Trends Report.
• Found 82% of workers report burnout while 88% report high engagement, highlighting that burnout and engagement can coexist.
• Lang, J. J. et al. (2023). Are algorithmically controlled gig workers deeply burned out? BMC Psychology.
• Demonstrates that burnout and work engagement can be positively correlated.
• World Health Organisation. ICD-11 Burnout Definition.
• Defines burnout as chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
• Primeast (2025). The Manager’s Guide to Spotting Employee Burnout.
• Practitioner research on how burnout can coexist with high responsibility and investment at work.
• DHR Global (2024). Generational burnout findings.
• Shows Gen Z and millennials report the highest burnout rates across the workforce.

About The Position Papers

The Position Papers is a three-part Favourite Positions mini-series on business school, confidence and growth, recorded during Alex’s MBA alongside full-time leadership. Each episode explores the intersection of ambition, identity and modern work.

Connect

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who might need it!

You can connect with Alex on LinkedIn and follow Favourite Positions on Instagram for future episodes and resources.

Follow Favourite Positions on LinkedIn and Instagram, connect with Alex here.