Female Founder Diaries: Leading When You’re Exhausted

I held this book launch pumped with antibiotics and painkillers . The pictures don’t even show how awful I felt on this day. It got me thinking about how challenging it is to be a leader founder and CEO. There’s a certain kind of exhaustion that comes with being a founder and CEO—a deep, unshakable tiredness that doesn’t just sit in your body but weaves itself into your thoughts, your responsibilities, and the weight of the people who depend on you. Even in my sleep sometimes I have nightmares about deadlines payroll regulatory responsibilities! It’s the kind of exhaustion that doesn’t always grant you the luxury of stopping.

When your body is weary, when illness sets in, when life outside of work demands attention, the organisation still needs to function. The vision still needs to be driven forward.

The Weight of Leadership To be a female founder is to carry a unique burden. Not just the day-to-day operations, not just the financial pressures, but the emotional responsibility of leadership. It’s knowing that your team looks to you for direction, that the people you serve rely on your ability to keep things moving, and that every decision you make ripples beyond just yourself. There are days when your body begs you to slow down, when your mind feels clouded, and when the weight of it all feels unbearable. But unlike in a conventional job, there is no one above you to take over. You can delegate, you can slow down, but you can never abdicate. The responsibility remains yours. The Mental and Physical Stamina It Takes Being a founder requires a level of resilience that isn’t often talked about. It’s not just about having a good business model or being strategic—it’s about:

• Pushing through mental fatigue when decisions still need to be made. • Holding the vision in focus even when everything feels overwhelming. • Managing people and expectations, even when you’re struggling yourself. • Keeping the organisation alive, despite personal struggles, health challenges, or burnout. And yet, this resilience is not about glorifying overwork. It’s about understanding that while you can rest, you cannot quit.

There is a difference between pausing and stopping. The challenge is so unique. The Challenge of Resting Without Guilt One of the hardest lessons for many founders is learning to rest without feeling like they are failing. The world will tell you to hustle harder, to push through, to grind until success comes—but what happens when the body refuses? When your mind reaches its limit?

Rest is not a weakness, it is a strategy for longevity. But rest, for a founder, looks different. It’s about:

• Learning to pause without letting go. • Delegating effectively so that things still move forward. • Building systems that allow you to step back when necessary.

Coming Too Far to Go Back There are moments of doubt, moments where exhaustion makes you question whether it’s worth it. But here’s the thing: you didn’t come this far just to stop now. The road behind you is full of lessons, growth, and sacrifices that cannot be ignored. So you dig deeper. You refocus. You push forward—not recklessly, but strategically. Because the weight of responsibility is heavy, but so is the reward of seeing the vision through.

To every founder out there pushing through exhaustion, know this: Rest when you need to, but don’t quit. You were built for this.