Lonely at the top – what founders can do

Each year, Loneliness Awareness Week (15th-21st June 2026) creates an opportunity to have open conversations around loneliness and build connections. Whilst a natural human emotion, it can feel difficult to talk about.

Amidst the pressure of guiding teams through uncertainty, taking the lead on decision-making, and growing in a volatile world, being a founder comes with a variety of unique challenges. It can quickly become very lonely at the top. In this feature, experts share their guidance on how founders can manage feelings of loneliness, invest in themselves and their wellbeing, and build better workplace cultures.

Build your network to learn from others who’ve been in your shoes
For Dennis Kuipers, entrepreneur, founder of Lancestone and author of Breaking Out of Founders’ Prison, founder loneliness is often a sign that a founder has reached the limits of their current experience. “Most entrepreneurs learn through trial and error,” Kuipers says. “That works well in the early stages, but every phase of growth requires a different way of building and leading a business. What got you to seven figures will not necessarily get you to the next level.”

“Many founders eventually find themselves running a successful company that still depends heavily on them. Decisions, problems, and opportunities keep flowing back to the founder. Over time, that can become isolating,” Kuipers adds. The challenge is not a lack of effort. The challenge is that the founder has reached a stage they have never navigated before.

He says that is why the right network matters. “The fastest way to solve a problem is often to learn from someone who has already solved it. Founders who surround themselves with experienced peers and mentors gain access to perspectives, lessons, and shortcuts that are difficult to discover alone,” Kuipers sums up.

Immerse yourself across the business
When organisations become siloed and founders find themselves removed from their teams or day-to-day activities, feelings of isolation and loneliness can intensify, notes Edward Rowe, governance executive and author of The Standard Model for Business. Breaking down barriers and silos across the organisation is crucial, Rowe says. To build a more connected business, he encourages founders to immerse themselves across its functions.

“Leaning into other functions and making time to understand how they operate helps build stronger relationships, improves collaboration, and often sparks new ideas.” Beyond managing loneliness, Rowe adds, developing broad business understanding rather than focusing solely on a single area of expertise enables founders to see how the organisation operates as an interconnected system. This perspective becomes increasingly important as the business grows, helping leaders strengthen capability across the organisation while fostering stronger connections between teams. “Dismantling silos and strengthening connections across the business is one of the most effective ways to reduce both founder and employee isolation,” Rowe concludes.

Find your thinking partner
“You’re watched – by your team, your investors, your customers – yet often there’s nobody watching out for you.” This is how Julie Smith, executive coach and author of Contagious Confidence, frames the loneliness inherent in being a founder. She explains, “You learn to project confidence because that’s what the role requires. But projection is exhausting, and it doesn’t fool the inner critic. When there’s no one to think out loud with, self-doubt creeps in to fill the silence. You start paying what I call the self-doubt tax: the cumulative toll of second-guessing, hesitation, overthinking.”

Smith suggests that the antidote is to find the right companion. “Your thinking partner could be a fellow founder who gets it, or perhaps a coach – someone who can hold up a mirror and ask good questions. You’re looking for someone who can be a critical friend.” The reflection question that Smith offers for founders during Loneliness Awareness Week is: “Who do you have alongside you to counter the loneliness inherent in being employee number one?”

Focus on connected culture
“For founders, loneliness is even sharper,” says Amale Ghalbouni, transformation strategist and author of Experimental. “People look to you for certainty, even when you’re still figuring things out yourself. That can make it hard to say, ‘I’m not sure,’ ‘I need help,’ or ‘This is heavier than it looks.’”

The danger is that founder loneliness can become a cultural pattern. “When a founder carries too much on their shoulders, decisions get centralised, communication gets thinner, and the team waits for direction instead of sharing ownership. Founders might then start to feel unsupported, while the team feels disconnected from the thinking behind the work,” Ghalbouni explains. “Your team is also less likely to speak openly about their challenges if they see leaders silently absorbing all the pressure.”

“I see a similar disconnect inside larger organisations. Leaders often feel isolated by ambiguity, pressure, and the need to come across as more confident than they are. Teams feel it when strategy is unclear, trust is low, or people don’t feel safe enough to say what they really think,” she adds. According to Ghalbouni, the real question isn’t just “how do we make founders less lonely?” It’s “how do we build connected cultures where people don’t have to carry uncertainty and pressure on their own?” She recommends creating stronger rhythms for frequent reflection, clearer decision-making, and more honest conversations that proactively build the psychological safety necessary to discuss loneliness in the workplace.

Look after yourself
As Lesley Cooper, founder of WorkingWell, points out, loneliness isn’t just an emotional issue but one that has real implications for both wellbeing and performance. “Feeling alone in the role can contribute to fatigue, increased stress levels, and even burnout. This, in turn, affects how you show up, the quality of decisions you make, and your overall performance.”

Coping with this requires both awareness and intention. “Founders need to treat their wellbeing with the same seriousness as financial or operational risks. That means actively paying attention to early warning signs such as feeling drained or overwhelmed, and being intentional about how they manage their energy resources,” Cooper says. She highlights the importance of creating space to step back and recover. “As a founder, you’re expected to operate at your best, but that’s only possible if you can properly recover and sustain your energy over time. Loneliness often sits quietly underneath other pressures, so it’s important to look after yourself and take action early,” Cooper concludes.