Why business leaders need to prioritise calm in a chaotic world.

Last week I took a week off and ran away to a beautiful cottage with a friend who was also writing her book. Lost in woods and nature and listening to the change in birdsong as it got dark, we both realised how lovely it was to just be able to focus on one thing for a whole week…. So calm and relaxing.

So, when was the last time you truly felt calm? Not just a momentary deep breath before your next meeting, but real, deep, unshakable peace. The kind where your mind isn’t racing, your phone isn’t pinging, and you’re not running through a mental checklist of everything that still needs to be done.

If you’re anything like most business leaders I start working with, that kind of calm probably feels like a luxury, something you’ll get to eventually. When the next deal is done. When the team or kids are settled. When everything is finally under control. But if we’re being real, that moment never actually arrives. There’s always another task, another demand, another problem to solve. And so, the cycle continues—until, one day, it does stop, because you get seriously ill or burnout.

For some, they can’t seem to see that in a business, there’s never a final end point, never a clean desk or an end of ideas. There’s never a level their business couldn’t grow to. There’s rarely going to be a time when there are no challenges to sort out. There’s only a place where they can say no. Constant motion isn’t leadership - it’s survival. And survival mode is exhausting and incredibly bad for you. It stops you being creative, communicating well and being kind…. leaving you trapped in reacting rather than inspiring.

I see this typical leader all the time, leaders who are running at full speed, only to realize they’ve lost their clarity, their spark, even their sense of purpose. The irony is that if they just slowed down, they would rediscover the thing that they want – to be sharper, more creative, and more effective. Some of the best decisions, the most ground-breaking ideas, don’t come from grinding harder. They come in the quiet, in the space between the noise, the space when you are out collecting eggs from the chickens.

These quiet moments don’t mean giving up work, they mean making small, intentional shifts in how you move through your day. It could be as simple as starting the morning without immediately reading emails, taking an extra pause before reacting to something, or carving out non-negotiable time for reflection and deep thinking. This is something I get my clients to do and reaps huge rewards.

It means recognizing that you set the tone for how your team operates. When you’re constantly stressed, your energy ripples out and smothers them like a tidal wave. But when you show up grounded your team feels that too.

It just means being more honest about what is necessary and what’s just noise. Not everything needs your immediate attention. Not every request deserves a yes. Real leadership isn’t about handling everything—it’s about handling what truly matters and having the intelligence to know the difference.

This isn’t about being less ambitious or working less hard. It’s about working smarter, from a place of purpose rather than panic. When you find those moments of peace and calm, you’ll make better decisions, have a deeper impact, and reach a level of leadership that isn’t just about getting through the day, but about shaping your whole life so that you and those around you feel good. Peace isn’t a distraction for successful people, it’s their foundation, and the leaders who understand that don’t just build amazing businesses and home lives they build legacies.