Libby Swan is the founder of Axioned, in the last 14 years they’ve got to 80 people across the UK, the US and India.
Today, Libby takes us to October 2022. At the end of the pandemic.
She was in the UK, and she experienced a down period that she hadn’t had in a very long time.
Libby lives a life that requires her to be in the UK, the US and India frequently.
Which sounds exciting on paper, but the reality is, it comes with it’s challenges.
And this was one of those times.
She was in an unfamiliar Air BnB, hadn’t seen her family or husband in a really long time, and she felt really alone.
Libby wasn’t able to give the business what it needed to thrive. She wasn’t being accountable for her wellbeing. And it had an impact on the business.
When she got her energy back, she saw the impact this period had her ability to prioritise, motivate, and offer positivity that her employees needed from her.
What Created This Moment
For Libby, jumping between 3 countries can be disconcerting. Which makes it really hard to maintain a routine.
At the time, it wasn’t clear she needed one.
To add to the stress, her business wasn’t hitting its numbers after a period of sustained success. As a founder, she was always focused on these goals, both for her personal and business growth. But her level of accountability for the business was weighing her down.
She had given a lot, and was now at a point where she had not got that energy back. Which left her questioning why she was alone, in a room away from her family.
Focusing on Being Accountable for Yourself First
After October, Libby was conscious of asking what she could do to avoid this scenario happening again.
She took time to understand her make up and what she needed to maintain a certain level of equilibrium. And understood that self-care and her business relationship need attention to achieve this.
One of Libby’s greatest takeaways from this moment was recognising what she needed for her mental well-being. In the 6 months that followed, she created a structure and routine for herself that adapts according to the needs of her business and the country she is in.
For example, in India most of her calls are in the evening, so she has a scheduled time for physical movement in the mornings. Whereas, in the US, this is organised the other way around.
In reflecting on her business performance, she realised that this was nothing that they did, but a consequence of the pandemic.
She was hard on herself over something she had no control over.
One of her key insights from this was that she is not the company, but a functioning part of it.
With this reflection, she was able to re-engage in a way that could put her on the right path, irrespective of the numbers.
Libby has successfully managed to distance herself from her company and prioritise her well-being to better serve her business.
Ironically, this is a big part of what her business does for others.
In this episode we discuss,
- How reflecting has helped her in business and in life
- The what, when and who of questioning yourself
- Accepting that sometimes you make mistakes
Libby realised that she was much more intertwined with the business than she thought — tune in to hear how she stepped back, and how the business benefits from this perspective.