Growth Mindset for Leaders: How Entrepreneurs Build Real Confidence Without Having All the Answers | EP 30

You're running a business, and people are looking to you for answers. Your team needs direction. A client asks something you didn't see coming. And in that split second, instead of saying "I don't know yet," you feel the pressure to perform certainty because leaders are supposed to have it all figured out, right? Sara knows that pressure firsthand. Five years into building her business, she's still navigating real-time decisions, learning from mistakes, and choosing transparency over performance. And what she's discovered is this: admitting you don't have all the answers isn't what breaks your authority. Pretending you do is.

Today, Sara explores what growth mindset actually looks like in leadership, not the inspirational-quote version, but the honest, daily practice of staying curious while building a business in real time. She digs into why entrepreneurs feel pressure to appear certain, what vulnerability and transparency really do for trust, and how modeling a learning mindset can make you a stronger, more credible leader.

What to Listen for in This Episode:

The myth of knowing everything. Performing confidence instead of building it keeps leaders stuck. Admitting you're still learning isn't a weakness, it's what actually earns long-term trust from your team and clients.

What growth mindset looks like in real decisions. It's not constant positivity. It's testing ideas, adjusting when something isn't working, inviting feedback, and staying curious especially when things get uncomfortable.

How to lead through uncertainty without losing authority. Authority isn't knowing everything. It's guiding progress. When you model openness to learning, the people around you feel safe to do the same — and that's where real growth happens.

Strong leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about being willing to keep learning, even when people are watching. So where in your business are you putting pressure on yourself to have it all figured out and what might change if you didn't?

Transcript

You're running a business. People are looking at you for answers. Your team asks you questions or your client asks something you didn't anticipate. And in that moment you realize you actually don't know the answer yet. But instead of saying that out loud, you feel the pressure to respond like you've already haven't figured out because you're the leader and you're sup-

to know everything, right? And that's when fear starts to show up in a lot of entrepreneurs because we think that we need to know all the answers. And when we admit that if we're still trying to figure something out, will people lose confidence in me? Like if I am saying, I don't know how to do anything, right? If I don't know how to do a certain task and I tell you that,

that should that kill my confidence? I don't think so. We are continually learning and we don't have it all figured out. So what happens is we start performing confidence instead of actually learning that whole phrase, fake it till you'll make it. Yeah, in a sense that could work, but that's not going to work in the long run. You have to be willing to put in the effort to learn and

be okay with not knowing everything. Today, we're talking about growth mindset and it's not the version that's going to get plastered all over, know, inspirational quotes. We're talking about the growth mindset and what that looks like in leadership, especially when you're building a business right now in real time. Because right now in real time, recording this is in real time and I wish I knew all the answers for certain things, but I don't.

And that's where I believe admitting that is building the confidence of myself, believing that I know that I can do something, believing in the fact that if I don't know how to manage a team, if I don't know how to write a blog post or any task that comes into my business or any task that comes along with my clients, I'm willing to hit the ground running and learn.


If you're business owner, a team leader, or even someone that's navigating big decisions in your work, and you probably felt the pressure to look like you've have it all figured out, you're going to want to keep listening. We're going to discuss three things today. One, why leaders feel pressure to appear certain. What growth mindset actually looks like in real business decisions. And how can you model this learning behavior

without undermining your authority. Now, before we jump in, and this is already the kind of conversation you want more of, we actually have a free gift for you. It's called the 20-minute clarity map. It's a quick, practical planning tool that's going to help you set your priorities and the soft skills to make that happen. So you're to learn how to pick three goals that will make the biggest impact. You're going to pair each goal with a soft skill.

to boost your follow through, you're going to define simple realistic actions you can actually complete and stay consistent without burning out. Don't we all want that not to burn out? So if you are curious of what that looks like, definitely grab that free gift. That link is going to be in the show notes so that you can get that right in your inbox today. You can now follow us on LinkedIn at entrepreneur encounter.

I think one of the biggest myths in leadership is that you have to know it all. You have to know everything. And this, this reminds me of parenting. You have to figure out as things go on, right? So I am in year five of my business. Someone that's in 10 years, they are most likely going to know more than I am, but I have to be willing again to put in the work to learn what they're doing.

We're not going to have all the answers. Even in year 20 and 30 and beyond, we're not going to have all the answers. Every early stage entrepreneur, when you start your business, you're going to feel like you're being evaluated all the time. I feel this to this day, we're all going to feel this. We're all going to feel like someone's judging me. Well, that's the reality of it. Unfortunately, everybody's going to judge somebody for something. Doesn't matter.

What kind of business you have, it doesn't matter what kind of person you are. It doesn't matter what kind of leadership style that you have. You're going to feel it, but as time goes on, it's going to feel less as time goes on because I know when I started my business, I felt like I needed to know everything right now, but we have to realize that that is not the case. And I know confidence is like this whole buzzword over the last couple of years. Oh, you know, be confident, show up and be confident.

And there are going to be times when you don't feel confident. I'm telling you right now, yesterday morning, as I was driving into my part-time job, I made a mistake and I was just thinking of things over and over and again in my head and wondering because of this mistake, I'm gonna lose my confidence. But if you take accountability for what your mistake is and you understand the fact that, I made a mistake and you learn from it and you grow from it.

That is what is going to beat out anything else. And going back to the pressure, there's so much pressure that we have to be a certain way. We have to talk a certain way. Don't say things like that because you're a leader. Don't dress like that because you're a leader. Don't do these things because you're X, Y, and Z and all of this stuff, right? And social media reinforces that. We see all these polished things on social media and we almost
always think that if that's it, that's where I should strive. And unfortunately we get stuck. We get so stuck and we feel again, like we have to perform. We have to be somebody that we're not. And that's not fun. I remember one time I went to a networking event and I was told that I need to dress a certain way because I'm a business owner. And let's step back for a moment and let's actually have a conversation because I believe that

having conversations with people and asking questions and asking open-ended questions, learning about what they do, you get to know somebody. And I said, no, I'm not going to change my appearance because it might make you feel uncomfortable or that I'm not professional enough. It's just, we have to take a step back and really think about what is going to make an impact.

And it's not necessarily the way that you dress. It's your confidence in the way that you speak and how you light up, maybe light up a room or you bring the questions to people's answers. You, you have that authority. You're showing up in a way that people admire. To me, that's a great leader. That's a great mindset to be in. If you can make an impact on somebody in one conversation, although they might not buy your service, you're not.

Performing you're being you most leaders most entrepreneurs Most people are figuring out all of this in real time You're not gonna know until you know, like there's some things that are hard to pinpoint the difference is whether You hide through the learning process or you lack allow people to see parts of it And this is where it gets tough because yes, we don't want to be vulnerable

In a sense, you don't want to admit that you're having trouble. You don't want to ask for help. But when you start asking for help and you allow people to come into your space in a way that makes you feel comfortable, you don't have to go, you know, all personal or say everything all at once. You just want to, you know, take it little by little and show that you're human, show that you're a person that is


trying their best. Imagine a client asks you a question you don't immediately know the answer to. Or a team member asking you about a process that hasn't been built yet. You can pretend that you're certain or you can invite learning. So if the client asks you a question that you don't immediately know the answer to, you can say, hey, I'm in the process of learning this.

It's going to take a couple of days. I'm resourceful. I'm going to do some research. I'm going to learn. I'm going to ask questions. And if going back to the team, if they ask you about a process that hasn't been built yet, ask them, invite them in to build a process with you. Say, hey, like, how do you want to build this process? What does this look like for you? And how is this going to help you grow? So if confidence isn't about pretending that you know everything, what does growth mindset

actually look like for leaders. Growth mindset isn't constant positivity because again, you're going to feel like you're not confident. You're going to probably feel overwhelmed. You might feel as if you want to throw in the towel and you don't want to do this anymore. And that's okay. But it's staying open to learning while leaving. Every day is different. Every single day is different. Yes, you might have the redundancy of some aspects every day, but

There's always learning curves. A client might call you and ask you a question that you've never been asked. A team member might ask you a question that they've never asked. So learn as you go. It's that mentality of wanting to actually be curious and learn. Growth mindset and leadership often looks like you're testing ideas, you're adjusting decisions, you're admitting when something doesn't work. Because if something does not work,

Why continue doing it? If there is an issue or something that comes up that requires feedback from somebody that you work with, your client or your team, come up with solutions, test those solutions. If those solutions don't work, then go back to the drawing board and say, what other solutions can we come up with? Those that are around you are going to trust you more. So I believe.


when you're navigating uncertainty, when you actually like say, don't know, like, I don't know how to do this. I don't know what I'm doing. I need help. Because you're showing that you're human. You are showing that it's okay to be uncertain. Because when you show up like that, your people in your space, your clients, your team members, know, vendors, whomever is going to say like, okay, well, if they're uncertain, so I'm okay with being okay with not knowing.

So it goes back to the example of as a leader, you're leading your team, you're delegating, you have systems and you're leading by example, your team, client, whomever will follow through. That's the same way as uncertainty. Your people are going to feel comfortable enough to come to you and say, Hey, I don't know what this is. I have questions. I'm uncertain. Can you help me with this? There may be leaders out there that pretend that

This doesn't exist, but it exists. There are those leaders that don't want to show up like that. And that might make you question things. That's where leaders get stuck. They don't want to be vulnerable. They don't want to say, hey, I don't know this. And now they're stuck in their office, frustrated because they don't want to admit that they're uncertain. They don't want to admit that they have to put in the work.

Because this facade of if you're a leader, you have to know everything. You have to be this great person of certainty and that knows everything and doesn't have issues. No, it doesn't exist. So here's a question to ponder on. So if you say, if I admit I'm learning, will people stop trusting me? I don't believe so. Ask yourself this question. If I admit I'm learning, will people stop trusting me? I don't believe so.

I truly don't believe so because again, going back to, you know, where I just said a few minutes ago, being transparent, saying that you don't know the answers and showing up in a way that you welcome feedback, you welcome solutions. You're there in the trenches with the people that you're working with. It's not about oversharing confusion. It means that you're modeling through decision-making. You're making decisions in real time and those people around you are seeing that and you're like, okay, I'm going to make this decision today.


What is your thought? What are your thoughts? Do you have feedback and take action on that feedback because you're actually asking for help. You're wanting to learn and you are wanting to get through this, but you don't want to do it alone. Authority isn't knowing everything. Authority is guiding progress. You're guiding your people through in real time. I'm constantly asking questions. I want to know things and I've been told in the past that I'm

could be annoying for us and questions, but to me that's ridiculous because if I don't know and someone has been through that experience before, why not ask that person? Strong leaders are gonna create environments where learning is normal because it is. If you are saying, okay, I'm done learning, this is what I wanna do today, that's it, I don't wanna learn no more, your mind's not gonna grow. We're...

continually learning. There's so many things going on and currently it's been going pretty fast, pretty fast. And, and sometimes it's hard to keep up. But then when you are learning things, now you have to figure out what is good for my business. How can I help my clients navigate through these challenges? How can I help my team? All the things you're going to continue learning. It never stops.

Couple of questions I would like to ask you guys before we end this and I would love to know what your answer is. So wherever you're listening, watching, drop down in the comments, send an email, we would love to know. Where in your business are you putting pressure on yourself to have it all figured out? And what might change if you allowed yourself to learn a little more openly? Strong leadership.

isn't about having all the answers. It's about willing to keep learning even when people are watching. Thank you for all that have been here through this whole entire episode. All of our information and links are down in the show notes. Until next time, you can now follow us on LinkedIn at entrepreneur encounter.


Thanks for spending time with us today. If something in this episode gave you a fresh perspective, share it with a friend or send us a DM. We love hearing how these conversations land with you. And if you're curious about how Soft Skills can support your next season of growth, we each have more resources to share. You can find Dana on Instagram at danas.desk.nc for Pinch's Strategy and Intentional Marketing. And Sara.

at You Are Rembert for team development, business leadership, and podcast support. Until next time, keep leading with purpose and growing with intention.