Be the Captain of Your Own Team
Leadership begins with how you lead yourself
There’s a line I’ve always loved from William Ernest Henley: “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”
A reminder that you don’t wait to feel ready - you lead your own life, even before you believe you can.
When I was in my early twenties, I was working in a university marketing a management diploma that slowly drained the life out of me. I’d left university with a First in English and Drama, vague dreams of acting or journalism, and absolutely no appetite for the sofa-surfing lifestyle that came with them. So I drifted into a job that felt small, grey and nothing like the future I imagined.
My dad, seeing this, took me to lunch with a man named Bob Jones, who ran a multi-million-pound PR agency. I expected strategy. A plan. Maybe even a roadmap.
Instead, he told me he built the agency after reading a book called something like How to Start a PR Agency. And then… he just did it.
No extra qualifications. No long list of credentials. No waiting until he felt legitimate.
Just belief, courage and a frankly impressive amount of gumption.
It was the first time anyone had challenged my assumption that you needed endless proof before you deserved an opportunity. It lodged itself somewhere deep.
The moment everything shifted
A few months later, I stood high in the Twickenham stands with my dad during England v Australia. England scored, the crowd erupted, and my dad put his arm around my shoulders as we jumped up and down in that irrational, joyful way sport makes you do.
And mid-jump, something in me said: “I want to be part of this.”
Not as a player — but as someone who got to hold the keys to these moments. To be inside the heartbeat of sport. To feel that electricity every day.
From that moment on, anything else felt unacceptable.
I had no idea how to break into sport. No contacts. No real qualifications. And yes, the old voice of doubt still whispered that I wasn’t ready.
But I acted anyway.
I volunteered to help a friend in women’s motorsport. I supported GB Pentathletes. I wrote to sponsors, magazines, agencies — anyone who’d listen. I told everyone (whether they asked or not), “I want to work in sport.”
Every small action built momentum. Every conversation moved me an inch closer.
Acting before you feel ready creates readiness
Months later, at a freezing Newbury RFC match, shivering with a cold, I met the CEO of Bath Rugby. He asked me two questions:
“Do you understand rugby?” “Yes.” (Mostly.)
“Can you write match reports?” “Yes.” (I’d learn by the end of the night.)
That moment changed my whole career.
Not because I was ready. But because I’d made myself ready enough.
The leadership lesson
In sport — and every high-performance environment — one rule is universal:
You don’t become ready and then act. You act, and readiness follows.
Leaders who wait for confidence stay stuck. Leaders who act — who step forward before they feel qualified — build the momentum that changes everything.
Sitting still never changed anyone’s life. Movement always does.
How to captain your own team
Say what you want out loud. The embarrassment fades. The conviction sticks.
Stop waiting for perfect conditions. Knock on the doors. Send the email. Start the thing.
Act before you feel qualified. Evidence creates confidence — not the other way round.
Lead your life like the opportunity is already yours, and work backwards.
Because here’s the truth I wish I’d known sooner:
You will look far sillier doubting yourself than trying. You can do it — but only if you back yourself first.
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