Top 10 leadership challenges that keep executives awake at night… and how my approach can help
Executives often bear immense pressure, balancing strategic decisions, leadership challenges, and personal well-being. Many lie awake at night grappling with uncertainty, self-doubt, and relentless demands. Traditional coaching offers structured guidance and accountability. Being psychologically informed through frameworks and tools goes deeper, helping leaders understand the emotional and psychological patterns influencing their behaviours. Here’s what keeps leaders up at night and how leadership coaching that integrates psychotherapeutic tools can be truly transformational.
1. Strategic decision-making under uncertainty
Executives are required to make complex, high-stakes decisions without perfect information. The fear of getting it wrong can be paralysing.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: By addressing underlying anxieties and cognitive biases, leaders gain clarity, confidence, and the ability to trust their intuition rather than overanalysing every scenario.
2. The pressure to drive revenue & profitability
Financial targets loom large, and the fear of failure can lead to immense stress. Many executives feel personally responsible for their organization's success or struggles.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: Exploring deeper subconscious beliefs about worth, success, and failure enables leaders to shift their mindset—approaching financial goals with a sense of agency rather than fear.
3. Leadership & people management challenges
Managing people is one of the most emotionally taxing parts of leadership - difficult conversations, team dynamics, and culture-building require immense emotional intelligence.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: Leaders learn to regulate their emotions, navigate interpersonal challenges with empathy, and decode underlying patterns influencing team dynamics.
4. Staying ahead in a rapidly changing market
The speed of change in industries can be overwhelming, and leaders often feel trapped in a cycle of reaction rather than proactive innovation.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: By addressing limiting beliefs around control and adaptability, executives foster resilience—embracing change instead of resisting it.
5. Work-Life balance & burnout
Many executives find it impossible to switch off, leading to chronic stress and burnout. They may struggle with guilt or identity loss when attempting to prioritize personal life.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: Through somatic techniques, mindfulness, and reframing strategies, coaching helps leaders set boundaries, reconnect with themselves, and redefine success beyond work achievements.
6. Navigating organizational politics
Internal politics, competing agendas, and stakeholder tensions make executive roles complex. Fear of conflict can lead to avoidance, eroding trust and influence.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: Leaders uncover unconscious patterns that trigger defensiveness or compliance, enabling them to approach politics with authenticity, assertiveness, and strategic awareness.
7. Crisis & reputation management
Executives must respond quickly and effectively to crises - from PR disasters to internal upheavals. The emotional toll can be immense.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: By integrating resilience-building strategies and emotional regulation tools, leaders develop the capacity to lead through chaos without internalizing external pressures.
8. Managing growth & scaling the business
Rapid expansion brings uncertainty and new pressures. Leaders may feel imposter syndrome creeping in as they step into unfamiliar territory.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: Through deep self-reflection and identity work, coaching helps executives embrace their evolving role and trust their capacity for leadership, even in uncharted territory.
9. Decision fatigue & mental overload
Making thousands of decisions daily leaves executives mentally exhausted, increasing the risk of reactive rather than thoughtful leadership.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: Through cognitive recalibration, prioritization exercises, and somatic awareness techniques, leaders cultivate mental clarity and reduce overwhelm.
10. The fear of failure & imposter syndrome
Even the most accomplished leaders experience self-doubt, questioning whether they truly belong at the table.
🔹 How being psychologically informed can help: Unpacking the root causes of imposter syndrome enables leaders to shift their narrative - embracing self-worth beyond external achievements.
About the Author: Debbie Marshall is an Executive Leadership Coach, supporting senior leaders and teams through transformative, psychologically informed coaching that fosters clarity, resilience, and authentic leadership. For more information go to her website.