Most recruitment business owners are trying to lead better, grow faster and scale their agencies without realising what's actually driving their behaviour.

In this episode of The Recruitment CEO's Insider Guide, host Katy Green sits down with Rob Lenaghan, a recruitment business owner who attended Beyond Beliefs - our immersive retreat designed to help leaders deconstruct the unconscious biases and mental blocks holding them back.

Rob walked away with a powerful realisation that every founder needs to hear: you can't change patterns you can't see.

Before the retreat, Rob describes the classic symptoms of "founder burnout" - feeling mentally overloaded, struggling to create balance and unknowingly letting past experiences shape how he showed up - both in business and in life.

Like many busy recruitment leaders, he was focused on pushing forward and "doing more," without noticing the unconscious thinking patterns silently sabotaging his decision making.

Stepping away created something rare and valuable: space to observe himself clearly.

In this honest conversation, Rob shares how deep reflection, unfamiliar experiences and intentional time away from the business helped him recognise how his mind had been replaying old stories and how awareness alone began to change everything.

This episode is a must listen for any recruitment leader who feels stuck on the hamster wheel. It's about seeing the internal patterns that shape leadership and why self-awareness must come before real business change.

By the end of this episode, you'll understand why stepping back can be the most strategic move a recruitment leader makes for long-term success.

You'll learn:

• Why unconscious thinking patterns influence leadership more than strategy.

• How past experiences silently shape your reactions, decisions and behaviour.

• Why awareness, not more hard work, is the first step to real change.

• How stepping away from the business creates clarity you can't access in the day-to-day.

• A simple grounding technique to interrupt overthinking, worry and CEO anxiety.

• Why "inner work" has a lasting impact on both your leadership style and your life.

• What makes transformational retreats different from traditional business coaching or leadership training.

Most recruitment business owners are focused on doing more - better systems, better plans, better execution. This conversation explores what happens when you focus instead on seeing more clearly.

If you've ever felt stuck in familiar patterns, mentally stretched or curious about what's really driving your leadership, this episode will resonate deeply.

Does your leadership feel like a constant uphill battle of effort over awareness? If this conversation sparked something - a nudge, a curiosity or a quiet knowing - trust it.

Email [email protected] if you'd like to learn more about Beyond Beliefs or the deeper work we do to help recruitment leaders reach the next level.