In the world of entrepreneurship, success is often taught as a series of strategic wins: scaling, KPIs, and market dominance. But a recent report highlights a critical, often overlooked capability that many founders only discover after a crisis: Emotional Risk Tolerance.
NDIS Business Coach Vanessa Norman has brought attention to this “silent skill,” arguing that true leadership isn’t just about growth—it’s about the capacity to think clearly while grieving a loss. We sat down with Vanessa to discuss why traditional business education fails to teach this, how to practice “micro-losses,” and why the ability to hold uncertainty is the ultimate competitive advantage.
Q: You’ve highlighted that many entrepreneurs only discover their most essential skill—”Emotional Risk Tolerance”—after experiencing a major collapse or loss. Why do you believe this specific capability is rarely addressed in traditional business coaching or education?
Vanessa Norman:
Think about a bullet-proof vest; it’s worn to protect you in the worst case scenario, and business education should provide business owners with the ability to stay safe in the worst case scenario. Think of the year 2020, unexpected crises can strike out of the blue, and the vast majority of businesses still do not have the basic skills to survive the unexpected. This is where emotional risk tolerance comes in. Most business education focuses on skills that can be taught in predictable environments: planning, strategy, systems, and execution. These are important, but they assume relative stability. Emotional Risk Tolerance develops in unstable conditions, where outcomes are uncertain and decisions must be made without full information.
Traditional coaching often avoids this area because it’s harder to measure and harder to standardise. It requires discussing failure, uncertainty, and emotional pressure in ways that don’t fit neatly into frameworks. As a result, many entrepreneurs don’t realise how central this capability is until they’re forced to operate without the safety nets they previously relied on.
Q: Emotional Risk Tolerance is described as more than just resilience; it’s the “capacity to think clearly while grieving.” Can you explain how this distinction changes the way a founder navigates the chaotic period between a business failure and their next decision?
Vanessa Norman:
Resilience is usually framed as recovery after difficulty. Emotional Risk Tolerance is about decision-making during difficulty. That distinction matters because the most consequential choices are often made while emotions are still active, not after they’ve settled.
Founders who can acknowledge disappointment or loss without becoming overwhelmed are better able to separate emotion from information. They pause long enough to assess what actually happened, rather than rushing to fix or escape the discomfort. This leads to more accurate diagnoses of the problem and more deliberate next steps, instead of reactive decisions that create new issues.
Q: One of the practices you advocate for is introducing intentional “micro-losses,” such as letting go of a routine or habit. How does voluntarily inviting small discomforts help an entrepreneur build the muscle needed to handle high-stakes uncertainty?
Vanessa Norman:
Small, intentional changes expose leaders to manageable uncertainty in controlled ways. When entrepreneurs regularly practice letting go of familiar patterns, they build confidence in their ability to adapt without everything falling apart.
Over time, this reduces the emotional charge associated with change. When higher-stakes situations arise, like a shift in market conditions, a loss of revenue, or a strategic pivot, the discomfort feels familiar rather than overwhelming. The leader is less likely to freeze or overreact and more likely to respond thoughtfully. It’s about creating small, intentional opportunities for the mental gymnastics it takes to leap from “stressed” to “solving problems”.
Q: A common trap for leaders in crisis is delaying honesty. You suggest “addressing uncomfortable truths early” is vital. Why is the instinct to delay these conversations so strong, and how does breaking that pattern reduce long-term emotional strain?
Vanessa Norman:
Delaying honesty often comes from a desire to maintain stability or avoid disappointing others. Leaders worry about the consequences of difficult conversations, with staff, partners, or themselves, and hope that time will make the issue easier to handle.
In practice, a delicate balance must be found, sometimes it takes time to process a hard truth and find the best way to present it to someone but on the other hand, avoidance is deeply damaging because delay can increases pressure. Problems become more complex, options narrow, and the emotional burden grows. Addressing issues early keeps choices open and prevents unnecessary escalation. It also reduces ongoing stress, because energy is no longer spent managing uncertainty and avoidance at the same time.
Q: In an economic environment defined by rapid change, you’ve noted that businesses don’t just scale through strategy, but through a leader’s capacity to “experience loss without losing identity.” What advice do you have for a founder whose personal identity is currently too deeply wrapped up in their company’s performance?
Vanessa Norman:
When a founder’s identity is tightly linked to business outcomes, every fluctuation feels personal. This makes it difficult to assess performance objectively or make necessary changes.
The first step is to consciously separate self-worth from results. This doesn’t mean lowering standards; it means recognising that outcomes provide information, not definitions. Founders who develop interests, values, and measures of success outside their business tend to make clearer decisions and sustain leadership over longer periods.
This separation creates stability. It allows leaders to respond to change without becoming defensive or discouraged, which ultimately supports both personal wellbeing and long-term business performance.
To learn more about these insights and leadership resilience, read the full article at MarketersMedia.
