THE NOISE-CANCELLING LEADER
Finding Your Signal in a Noisy World
By Judith Jamieson
The Noise-Cancelling Leader is for capable leaders who find themselves overthinking decisions, carrying too much in their heads, second-guessing themselves or simply finding leadership harder than it needs to be.
The good news is the problem isn’t that you don’t know how to lead. Capable leaders rarely need more tools, more advice or to apply more effort. Under pressure, it is often overthinking, self-doubt, competing demands and mental overload that interfere with their best judgement.
Drawing on more than 20 years of executive coaching, Judith Jamieson explores a new approach to leadership development. The Noise-Cancelling Leader offers a different way to think about leadership: Recognise the noise that's holding you back. Reconnect with the potential you already have. Lead with greater awareness and impact.
Launching late 2026 — be the first to know when pre-orders open.
You’re not short of capability. But the noise in your head can make it hard to access
You know the meeting that keeps running in your head long after it ends. The decision you revisit despite having enough information. The conversation in which you’re preparing your answer instead of listening.
Under pressure, even experienced leaders can become caught in second-guessing, assumptions and the need to get everything right.
The Noise-Cancelling Leader explores how this mental interference shapes the way we see, listen and act—and how recognising it can open up a different way to lead.
What if better leadership begins with less interference?
Your experience, knowledge and capability matter. But how readily you can draw on them changes with your state of mind.
Inspired by Timothy Gallwey’s Inner Game principle—performance equals potential minus interference—this book explores a simple possibility: some of our greatest improvements come from seeing what gets in the way.
The same leader. A different state of mind
Move from Noise to Signal
When your mind is crowded, a challenge can look threatening, a colleague can seem difficult and the next step can feel elusive.
As the noise settles, you may see the same situation differently. You hear more. Your perspective widens. A way forward becomes clearer.
You haven’t suddenly become more capable. More of your capability is available.
A different starting point for leadership
The book invites you to explore three shifts in your thinking and how this impacts your leadership.
- The Thought Shift — Seeing Thought for What It Is: A thought can feel convincing without being a fact, a warning or an instruction. Seeing this creates room for a fresh perspective.
- The Interference Shift — Seeing What Gets in the Way: Careful thinking serves leadership. Replaying, second-guessing and trying to force certainty can cloud it. Recognising the difference changes how you meet pressure.
- The Signal Shift — Learning to Trust What Emerges: As mental commentary quietens, insight, perspective and sound judgement become easier to access. You can respond to what is happening with greater presence and clarity.
What becomes possible when the noise settles?
The Noise-Cancelling Leader describes the five leader qualities that become more available when you lead from Signal.
Being at signal. It all starts here: meeting the moment with greater presence.
Seeing clearly. Recognise assumptions and consider a wider perspective.
Connecting deeply. Listen with curiosity and hear what others are really saying.
Acting decisively. Make considered and timely decisions without becoming trapped in overthinking.
Expanding possibilities. Notice opportunities that pressure and habitual thinking can obscure.
A coaching conversation you can return to
The Noise-Cancelling Leader brings together stories, insights and questions drawn from years of coaching leaders through demanding decisions, relationships and change.
Read it at your own pace. Notice what resonates. Bring a current leadership challenge to its pages.
Each chapter offers space to reflect and see your experience afresh—and discover what that means for the way you lead.
About the Author
Meet Judith Jamieson
I’m an executive coach, leadership adviser and founder of Thriveatwork.
For more than 20 years, I’ve worked with CEOs and senior leaders across commercial organisations, international NGOs and not-for-profits. My background in senior people and organisational development roles grounds my coaching in the realities of leading organisations.
Across thousands of hours of coaching conversations, I’ve noticed something important: a shift in perspective can change what a leader sees as possible, even when the circumstances remain the same.
The Noise-Cancelling Leader brings together what I’ve learned from those conversations about clarity, judgement and the human side of leadership.
Based in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, I work with leaders globally.
Go beyond the book and bring greater clarity to your leadership
The ideas in The Noise-Cancelling Leader are not only for reading. They can be applied to the decisions, relationships and performance challenges facing you and your organisation right now.
Executive coaching
A confidential space for CEOs and senior leaders to work through the decisions, relationships and expectations that come with responsibility. Gain perspective on what is getting in the way and find a clearer way forward.
Leadership team alignment and performance
Help your team have the conversations that matter, work through assumptions and strengthen how you make decisions together. Build shared direction, trust and accountability around the results you need to deliver.
The Noise-Cancelling Leader Workshops
I help capable leaders lead with greater clarity and impact by recognising and reducing the mental noise that interferes with their best thinking. The workshops explore how mental noise affects the way you lead, listen and respond under pressure. Through conversation, reflection and real leadership situations, discover what changes when you recognise the interference and make more room for clarity.
"Judith has a wide-ranging skillset... She is empathetic and takes the time to learn about context and drivers. As a coach Judith develops strong personal relationships and brings a lovely mix of pragmatism and care."
— Lucy Laitinen, CEO, New Zealand
" Working with Judith as my leadership coach has been a truly transformative experience. She brings a rare combination of strategic insight, professional expertise, spiritual depth and genuine care. Judith asks the right questions, challenges assumptions, and helps uncover blind spots, all while creating a safe and supportive environment for growth."
— Bradely Thompson, INGO Leader, Australia
- The Thought Shift — Seeing Thought for What It Is: A thought can feel convincing without being a fact, a warning or an instruction. Seeing this creates room for a fresh perspective.
