By James Fleming, Co-Founder of The Power Within Training

Most leaders believe they’re making rational decisions.

Logical ones. Sensible ones. Decisions based on experience, data, and what the situation calls for.

In reality, many of the decisions we make as leaders are driven by beliefs we’ve never questioned. Beliefs that formed long before we ever had a team to lead.

And those beliefs shape everything.

They shape how much we trust people. How we respond to mistakes, how we handle pressure, how comfortable we are with letting go of control. And how we speak to ourselves when things don’t go to plan.

I didn’t always see this clearly. I’ve led teams while believing I was being “hands-on”, when in truth I was operating from a belief that if I didn’t stay close to everything, it would fall apart. That belief didn’t come from the team in front of me. It came from years earlier, from experiences that taught me control felt safer than trust.

That’s the thing about beliefs. We don’t choose most of them. We absorb them.

Where leadership beliefs come from

Beliefs are built quietly.

They form through early experiences at work, comments from managers, moments of failure, praise we received, or criticism that stuck. They form through what we watched growing up, what success looked like around us, and how we learned to stay safe, valued, or in control.

Over time, those beliefs harden into rules.

If I don’t stay on top of everything, I’ll be seen as weak.
If I show uncertainty, people will lose confidence in me.
If I don’t push, nothing will happen.
If I trust people too much, I’ll get burned.

Most leaders don’t walk around thinking these things consciously. They just act them out.

What hidden beliefs look like at work

Beliefs always show up in behaviour.

For example… a leader who believes mistakes equal failure will struggle to create psychological safety, even if they talk about learning. A leader who believes their value comes from being needed will find delegation uncomfortable, no matter how capable their team is.

A leader who believes pressure produces results may unintentionally create tension that drains motivation over time.

I see this play out constantly. Leaders frustrated that their team won’t take ownership, while unknowingly holding a belief that says, “If I don’t do it myself, it won’t be done properly.” Teams sense that immediately. They stop stepping forward.

The belief becomes a self-fulfilling loop.

Beliefs don’t switch off after work

These belief patterns don’t stay neatly contained in the workplace.

The same leader who struggles to let go at work often struggles to switch off at home. The same belief that says, “I need to stay in control” shows up in family life, relationships, and rest.

This is why leadership work is never just about leadership. It’s about how you live.

When leaders tell me they feel constantly on edge, tired, or frustrated despite their success, we’re rarely dealing with workload alone. We’re dealing with belief systems that keep the nervous system in a permanent state of alert.

Why tools alone don’t change this

This is where a lot of leadership training falls short.

There’s nothing wrong with tools, frameworks, or practical techniques. They’re useful. Necessary, even.

But tools don’t override beliefs.

You can give a leader a delegation framework, but if their belief says trust is risky, they’ll find a reason not to use it. You can teach communication skills, but if a leader believes conflict equals danger, they’ll avoid the conversation anyway.

At The Power Within Training, we start at the root. Mindset. Belief. Self-awareness.

Because once the belief shifts, behaviour follows naturally. Without force. Without pretending.

This is the foundation of Motivational Intelligence. Understanding why you do what you do, especially when emotions are involved. Recognising when old beliefs are driving present-day decisions.

When leaders see this clearly, change stops being exhausting.

A moment of tough love

Here’s the part that might sting a little, but it comes with care.

If the same issues keep showing up in your leadership, it’s probably not a people problem. And it’s probably not a skill gap either.

It’s more likely a belief you’ve outgrown.

That belief may have served you once. It may have protected you earlier in your career. But it might now be limiting the very team you’re trying to build.

Letting go of that doesn’t make you weaker. It makes you more effective.

Something to take away

If you take one thing from this, let it be this.

Notice what you do under pressure.

Not what you say you value, but what you default to when things feel uncomfortable. That behaviour is pointing directly at a belief worth exploring.

Ask yourself where that belief came from. Ask whether it still fits the leader you are today.

That level of awareness is where real leadership growth starts.

A final thought from me

Leadership isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about understanding yourself.

When leaders change their mindset and beliefs, everything around them changes too. Conversations shift. Teams respond differently. Pressure feels more manageable.

This is why our work feels different to so many leaders. We don’t start with surface-level change. We start with what’s underneath.

If this has struck a chord, and you’re curious about what might shift if you explored your own belief patterns, we’re here. Not with a one-size-fits-all solution, but with the space, support, and challenge to help you lead in a way that feels more aligned and sustainable.

Sometimes the most powerful leadership work begins with looking inward, and being brave enough to question what you’ve always assumed was true.

James Fleming
The Power Within Training
The Motivational Intelligence Company
james@tpwtd.com

The Hidden Beliefs That Influence How You Lead Your Team