Self-Leadership Unlocks What's True: Depth Over Scale
Last week, as I walked around Narrabeen Lake, earbuds in, soaking up the beauty of the morning, I heard something on Elise Loehnen’s Pulling the Thread podcast that stopped me in my tracks:
"I’m not interested in scale. I’m interested in depth."
It hit me right in the heart. That single sentence summed up something I’ve been living and building my business around for years, even if I hadn’t quite articulated it that way before.
We live in a world that tends to glorify scale, don’t we?
Bigger, faster, more, it’s the default script for success.
But that’s never been my truth. For me, fulfilment comes from depth - meaningful connections, intentional growth, and a business that
Elise’s words were a solid reminder of what I already know: chasing someone else’s version of success will never feel as good as creating your own.
Depth over scale: The courage to lead yourself
Self-leadership is where this all ties together. It’s about turning down the volume on what the world tells you you should want and reconnecting to what’s real for you. That’s not always easy, because the noise is everywhere - “Do this to grow faster,” “Try that to stand out,” “Follow my five-step plan to hit six figures in six weeks.”
And let’s not even start on the endless scroll of social media, where everyone else seems to have it all figured out.
I know from experience that unconscious consumption of social media and the Comparison Traps it can fling you into can breed self-doubt. You see someone else’s version of success and think, Should I be doing what they’re doing? Before you know it, you’re questioning your decisions, chasing someone else’s dream, or trying to emulate a strategy that doesn’t feel like you.
But self-leadership is like saying, Hang on. What do I actually want? It’s recognising when you’re drifting into mimic mode - following someone else’s formula or chasing a goal that doesn’t even excite you - and pulling yourself back into alignment.
For me, a key aspect of this looks like focusing on depth, not scale.
I’m not trying to build a massive business with thousands of clients. What lights me up is working closely with women who are ready to recalibrate, who want a business (and life!) that reflects their values and goals. It’s about real connection and transformation,not just ticking boxes or hitting arbitrary targets.
Why Depth Feels So Right
Let me share a little more about what this shift to depth means for me:
I want a business that reflects my values, not one that pushes against them.
I want a business that fits around my life, not one that takes it over.
I want revenue goals that feel supportive, not stressful.
I want work that fuels me, not drains me.
None of this means I’m anti-growth. Far from it. The philosophy I work with - my Clarity Point, is a blend of Contribution, Fulfilment and Financial reward. You absolutely, resolutely deserve to be well rewarded for the value you create in the world.
But growth doesn’t have to look like scaling up.
It can mean going deeper, refining, and creating a model that works for you. That’s the beauty of self-leadership - you give yourself permission to define success on your terms.
Disconnecting from the “shoulds”
What I’ve learned, and what I see again and again with the women I support, is that the “shoulds” are loud. Very loud.
You should want to grow faster.
You should follow this formula.
You should aim for X revenue, hire Y people, and offer Z services.
But when you step back and lead yourself, you can cut through the noise and say, Actually, that’s not for me.
That’s when the magic happens. When you build your business (and your life) based on your values, strengths, and priorities, everything starts to feel lighter. You stop striving for some imaginary finish line and start creating a model that genuinely works for you.
And a little extra insight….for sparky-brained businesswomen (like me!), the pressure to scale can feel particularly intense. We're creative, we see possibilities everywhere, we can imagine ten different versions of "bigger." But I've learned: our brains already operate at high speed. Adding the pressure to scale UP when what we might actually need is to go deeper instead on what really lights us up? That's a recipe for overwhelm. Choosing depth is about designing a business that works with our wiring.
What does depth look like for you?
Elise’s words reminded me how important it is to pause and check in with yourself. What does growth look like for you right now? What do you actually want your business to do for your life - not what anyone else says it should do?
For me, it’s about meaningful work, rich connections, and the kind of business that doesn’t just fit into my life but supports it. My calendar has boundaries built in for this. The services I offer support this.
Because at the end of the day, scaling up isn’t the be-all and end-all goal.
Building a life and business that feels right? That’s where the gold is for me.
So, perhaps you'd like to consider the question too? Are you interested in scale, or in depth? Because self-leadership will always help you unlock what’s true for you.
And that’s where your Next Chapter really begins.
An Invitation
Self-leadership means giving yourself permission to define success on your terms, whether that's depth, scale, or something entirely different.
The Ignite Community is built on this philosophy: depth over scale, meaningful connection over endless growth, sustainable success over burnout. I’m building a small, intentional community focused on mutual support and elevated impact, not empire-building and competition.
If you’d like to find out more about what depth might look like for you as a focus for your business, you can book a Catalyst Conversation with me here.
