You may know Steven Bartlett as a renowned entrepreneur and host of Europe’s no.1 podcast, The Diary of a CEO.
But he is a seasoned business leader in his own right. From founding media and investment companies, Flight Fund and Flight Studio, to co-founding the San Francisco-based software company Thirdweb, Steven has years of entrepreneurial experience. He’s also the youngest-ever “Dragon” on BBC’s Dragons’ Den and the established author of Diary of a CEO - 33 Laws for Business and Life, the fastest-selling personal development book in the UK.
In this article, we highlight Steven’s five key leadership principles for the modern, unpredictable world and suggest simple steps you can put into action tomorrow.
Business leaders should always make long term, right decisions over short term popularity, especially amid constant change. This is easier said than done because of a concept Steven calls "obvious pain paralysis," in which leaders avoid making difficult but necessary decisions.
When making tough calls, leaders often face two scenarios: Immediate conflict or backlash, and visible improvements over time. As humans are wired to avoid discomfort, leaders are sometimes paralysed by the short-term pain of a necessary decision, rather than focusing on the long-term benefits.
“As a leader, you live in this constant state of pain and the consequence of your decisions. If you want to be liked, you will never pick the long term delayed gratification over the obvious pain paralysis.”
Do this tomorrow:
Steven lives by the 1% improvement philosophy both in his professional and personal life. Citing fellow entrepreneur Jeff Olson, the smallest things you do repeatedly have the biggest impact. Tiny actions compound over time, and small daily wins create psychological momentum to achieve success in the future.
Therefore, he advises leaders to focus on small things and experimenting more than forecasting and planning a big change.
“A 10 second change we made to The Diary of a CEO increased our view to subscription rate by 178% and is the reason we have 11 million more subscribers.”
Do this tomorrow:
Ask your direct reports these 2 questions:
What is a 1% improvement you can implement this week that could make a huge impact?
What do you need from me to make that happen in terms of support, tools, and resources?
Discuss the answers at the next leadership meeting and shortlist 2 to 3 improvements and a concrete plan to make them happen.
Steven’s approach to incentives and work culture is about creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up, experiment, and care more. That, in turn, boosts morale and positivity.
“Every company is just a function of the incentive structure. If systemic incentives in your organization disincentivize certain behaviors, it’s just wishful thinking.”
He is also an advocate for transparency, two-way communication, and constructive feedback. For example, he talks about a young employee who gave him good feedback on how he handled a situation. Steven thanked him and informed his team about the interaction.
“I told everybody what he had done. By creating a culture where that was incentivized helps both me and my team lean into candor.”
Additionally, Steven mentions that managers and leaders in his company are incentivized to share their team’s 1% gains daily, creating social reinforcement, rapport, and trust.
Do this tomorrow:
In your next team meeting, invite one piece of critical feedback on how you lead or how the team operates.
Create a shared channel to recognise, praise, and congratulate wins big and small.
Change and transformation are inevitable in any organisation. Great leaders know how to communicate change effectively to make their teams feel safe instead of scared. Steven says the best way to do that is through storytelling. In change, storytelling creates motivation, while mandates alone create quiet resistance.
“Humans are story motivated creatures. If you tell a story, you will get motivation instead of compliance. It wasn’t a mandate; it was a story.”
Do this tomorrow:
Consider one change (e.g., new market entry, restructuring, AI rollout) you are planning to announce.
Rewrite it using this structure:
Mission: What are we really trying to achieve as a business?
Reality: What has changed in our environment?
Logic: With this new mission and reality, what capabilities do we need now?
Decision: Therefore, the decision we’re taking is X.
What it means for the team: Offer practical impact and support.
Deliver this revised version in your next town hall or email, starting with the why before the what.
“Company objectives, processes, and culture are all reasoned back from this mission. It starts with the mission you want to accomplish. This involves the behaviors, values, processes, and people needed. This is what I call agreeable foundations.”
Most companies are at various points in their tech adoption journeys. Each stage of adoption and implementation, most recently with AI technologies, requires clear communication and reassurance from leaders to avoid fear and resistance.
“Why do some people push technology away? The psychology is quite clear on this. This happens when new information threatens what you currently believe in or who you are.”
People reject tech not because it’s useless, but because it threatens their status, expertise, or role. Therefore, the right governance, tools, and support must be in place for tech to be leveraged, embraced, and celebrated.
Do this tomorrow:
Acknowledge the reality of tech adoption – that it may feel threatening to current jobs and routines.
Again, use storytelling to communicate the ethos and goals of tech adoption.
Share a concrete timeline of how the technology will be rolled out in each function.
Share positive tech use cases company-wide and invite feedback.
*Steven Bartlett was a keynote speaker at a recent virtual In Conversation With session hosted by Aurora Live. The insights have been edited for length and clarity.