{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Performance Intelligence","title":"The Science of Neurotransmitters: 5 Chemicals Every Leader Must Understand | Dr Tom Buckley","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3568,"description":"Much of what leaders put down to stress, or to a lapse in discipline, is chemistry at work. Andrew chose five of these moments, drew a real scenario from our coaching practice for each, and asked an expert to identify the neurotransmitter behind it, without warning.\nPlay along. One scenario is the board presentation that keeps replaying long after midnight. Another is the leader whose drive has quietly gone flat, and it gives even our expert pause.\nProfessor Tom Buckley is a University of Sydney academic and Andrew’s co-author on MatchFit.\nSee if you can name each chemical before he does, then learn the levers that lift it and the ones that bring it back down.\n\n00:00 Five chemicals, five real leadership scenarios\n02:04 What the human body is actually made of\n04:52 The challenge: name the chemical\n07:39 Chemical 1: when you can't get started\n13:55 Chemical 2: wired before the board meeting, awake after it\n20:34 Three minutes in the car before walking inside\n24:00 How to come down after a big day\n27:00 How to ramp up: sunlight, cold water and caffeine timing\n31:07 Chemical 3: the team that won't say what it thinks\n40:46 Chemical 4: snapping at the kids at 9am on Saturday\n49:53 Hot milk, cooked tomato and what our grandparents knew\n52:12 Chemical 5: when nothing feels fun anymore\n55:52 Vitamin FLPJ and the joy diary\n1:03:14 Coming down is two jobs\n1:04:27 Why leaders can wind up but can't switch off\nFind Dr Tom Buckley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-buckley-06a76b98?originalSubdomain=au\nDownload the neurotransmitters sheet: https://performanceintelligence.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Chemistry-Table-PQ-White.png\n-\nHigh performance is not about pushing harder. It is about building the capacity to perform when it matters and sustain it over time.\nHosted by Andrew May, one of Australia’s leading experts in human performance, leadership and mental skills, the Performance Intelligence Podcast explores how leaders, athletes, coaches and researchers think clearly,...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/crvu0qkU_nPKdfaX6_m4Qg8iubjexgpghzQo9EZjyAU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83N2Fh/MWFmM2U1OTAyMDRj/ZDg3MTVjZTdiODM1/ZTVkYS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}