How I Stopped Letting Emotion Sabotage My Leadership — And How You Can Too Learn how one CEO transformed their leadership — and their company's growth — by breaking the habit of making emotion-driven decisions.
By Jason Barnard Edited by Maria Bailey
Key Takeaways
- Leading from clarity instead of emotion helps CEOs make faster, fairer decisions that improve team morale, client relationships and long-term business performance.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For years, I let fear, ego, and loyalty influence my biggest decisions. It felt noble. Human, even. But looking back, I can see how much it held us back.
Once I learned to pause, recognize what I was feeling and act from clarity — not emotion — everything changed. I became a better CEO. The business grew faster, ran smoother and became more profitable. And I showed up with a level of calm and confidence that transformed how others responded to me.
Now I lead with clarity, not chaos. And the difference is felt by everyone around me — my team, our clients, our partners and myself.
Related: 4 Emotional Struggles You Must Confront as an Entrepreneur
The real cost of emotion-driven leadership
As CEOs, we're responsible for making decisions that serve the company's long-term health. That doesn't mean we stop feeling — it means we stop letting our emotions make the final call.
I've made decisions I thought were compassionate, only to realize they were driven by fear or ego. I kept underperforming team members because I was scared of confrontation. I over-accommodated a demanding client because I didn't want to lose the deal. I held on to outdated systems because I'd built them and was too attached. I even took strategic advice I didn't fully believe in, just because it came from someone I respected.
Each time, the result was the same: confusion, drag and unnecessary setbacks. The team felt it. Our clients felt it. And I felt it most of all.
The three emotional triggers behind bad decisions
Almost every poor decision I made traced back to one of three emotional undercurrents: fear, fear of abandonment, and ego. Whether it was the fear of failure, of losing key people, or of being seen as wrong or weak, these emotions clouded my ability to lead clearly. Ego, especially, was just a sneaky form of fear disguised as confidence.
The shift that changed everything
Today, I use a simple internal check. If I don't feel calm, comfortable, and confident, I don't move forward. I pause. I name the emotion—whether it's fear, defensiveness, or discomfort—and I picture it sitting in the passenger seat, not behind the wheel. Then I act from what's best for the company, not from my own need to feel safe or seen.
This mental habit has changed how I communicate, make decisions, and lead under pressure.
What happened when I started leading with clarity
I started prioritizing performance over loyalty. I no longer let clients dictate terms that didn't work for the team. I stopped holding on to systems that no longer served us. I made tough financial calls faster and communicated them more clearly. And I started trusting our strategic vision over outside noise.
The business responded. We moved faster, executed better, and gained more trust from clients. Internally, the culture became more open and resilient. The team knew I was leading from stability, not stress.
Related: 8 Ways Emotionally Ignorant Entrepreneurs Sabotage Their Teams
The habit that made me a better CEO
Of all the things I've learned from great coaches, books and peers, this was the most transformational: pause and check for emotional interference. When in doubt, slow down. Notice what you're feeling. Then lead anyway — from a place of grounded clarity, not reaction.
That's how I stopped being the biggest bottleneck in my business.
And it's how I became the kind of leader I always wanted to be.
