What My Old Diary Taught Me About Leadership
Your Mindset is your greatest Competitive Advantage
It feels like every week there's another headline telling us that business is changing faster than ever.
👉Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries.
👉Customer expectations are evolving.
👉Economic uncertainty continues.
👉New competitors seem to appear overnight.
It's no wonder so many founders feel as though they're constantly trying to keep up, but recently, I was reminded that uncertainty isn't new. I was looking through a diary I kept when I was a young manager, building a business unit from scratch. Reading it made me smile, not because everything was going well, but because I'd completely forgotten how hard I was on myself.
Page after page was filled with self-doubt. There were notes about difficult conversations with staff, the pressure I felt, the long days and wondering whether I was good enough to do the job. If you'd handed me that diary without knowing the ending, you'd probably assume things weren't going very well.
But they were. Over the following years, that business grew into a USD 10 million operation with a brilliant team who were able to run everything without me. One diary entry stood out from all the others. I'd written about travelling all over the world, meeting colleagues and suppliers, and how positive everyone had been about the work I was doing.
Reading it now, I realised something. Other people saw confidence; while I felt uncertainty. Other people saw capability. while I focused on everything I didn't know. The truth is, I spent much of that time operating well outside my comfort zone. I wasn't confident because nothing felt easy. I grew because I kept going despite feeling uncomfortable. Looking back, I wish I'd realised that sooner. Your feelings are real, but they aren't always accurate.
I see exactly the same thing with the founders I coach today.
They don't lack intelligence or ambition. In fact, they're often incredibly capable. What they're lacking is space.
👉Space to think.
👉Space to reflect.
👉Space to make decisions from clarity rather than urgency.
The pace of business today makes that even harder. When we're under pressure, our brains naturally move into survival mode. We become reactive instead of intentional and we make quick decisions because we feel we have to. We spend our days responding to emails, solving problems and putting out fires, but rarely have time to think about where the business is actually heading.
One of the biggest mindset shifts a founder can make is recognising that not every decision deserves an immediate answer. Some of the best decisions I've made in business have come after stepping away from the problem rather than staring at it for another hour.
Whether that's a walk outside, an uninterrupted hour with a notebook, or simply asking myself better questions, creating thinking time almost always leads to better outcomes.
Many founders believe they should never feel anxious, overwhelmed or uncertain. I don't agree. Those emotions are often useful signals.
👉Anxiety might be telling you that you've lost sight of your priorities.
👉Frustration might be highlighting a process that no longer works.
👉Overwhelm could be a sign you've become the bottleneck in your own business.
The mistake isn't feeling those emotions. The mistake is allowing them to make your decisions for you.
Good leaders notice what they're feeling, become curious about why they're feeling it, and then choose how to respond. That's emotional intelligence in action.
Technology won't replace good Leadership
AI is transforming the way we work, and I believe founders should embrace it where it saves time and improves efficiency, but technology can't replace judgement, it can't build trust with your team, it can't create a compelling vision and it certainly can’t coach someone through a difficult conversation or inspire confidence when things become uncertain.
Those are human skills, and they're becoming more valuable, not less.
Every hour AI saves should be invested back into the things that only you can do.
☑️Build stronger relationships.
☑️Think strategically.
☑️Develop your people.
☑️Strengthen your culture.
☑️Lead with confidence, even if you don't always feel it.
One of the most valuable assets you have isn't your time. it's your attention. Where your attention goes, your business follows. If your attention is constantly pulled towards notifications, urgent requests and endless information, your business will always feel reactive. If you intentionally protect time for strategic thinking, your business becomes more focused and more resilient.
The founders who thrive over the next decade won't simply be the ones using the latest technology. They'll be the ones who know how to think clearly when everyone else is rushing.
Looking back at that old diary reminded me that leadership has never been about having all the answers. It's about making the best decision you can with the information you have, learning along the way, and having the courage to keep going even when you don't feel completely ready.
That's what grew a business from nothing to USD 10 million.
And I believe it's what will help founders navigate whatever comes next.
About the Author
Sarah is a business founder, MBA graduate and coach who has built and scaled businesses to over £8 million in revenue with teams of up to 25.. She now helps ambitious founders gain clarity, build motivated teams and create businesses that support the life they want to lead.
Register to receive her weekly email; The Thoughtful Founder where she'll be sharing honest reflections, lessons learned, and practical strategies from her own journey: co-founding and scaling an £8 million business… while navigating motherhood, financial challenges and self-doubt.
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☑️Recruit the right people first time so they fit with your core business values.
☑️Motivate your team and communicate effectively so they consistently deliver beyond expectations
☑️Step back from the day job and replace yourself with your team.
