Carla Devereux

29/10/2025

Innovation, Leadership, and a Touch of Fussy

In a marketplace saturated with products promising to make us cleaner, greener, and somehow better, few manage to stand out. Fussy, the sustainable body care brand that first caught public attention on Dragon’s Den, did just that, not through loud marketing, but through quiet conviction.

What began as a bold pitch for refillable deodorant has evolved into a case study in how innovation and integrity can drive meaningful business development. The launch of Fussy Body Wash continues that narrative elegantly designed, scientifically considered, and sustainably minded.

What’s striking is not just the product, but the leadership mindset behind it. The team’s approach reflects a new kind of entrepreneurial discipline: innovation with restraint, growth with responsibility, and ambition that doesn’t lose sight of purpose.

In times when 'innovation' is often synonymous with speed, Fussy reminds us that leadership sometimes means slowing down to design better, think longer, and build businesses that last.

30/09/2025

Unresolved relationship issues can lead to a break-up

What once started as minor frustrations often become big irritations when ignored. Sometimes we go into denial and focus on activities that take us away from facing our deamons. We concentrate on socialising, shopping, gambling, drinking or bury ourselves in work to avoid the root cause of the stress.

Although avoidance may be an attractive option in the short term, it will end up destroying what you once valued.

Full article https://www.carladevereux.com/how-relationships-can-impact-stress-levels/

Many unresolved relationship issues contribute to high stress levels, and if left unresolved can lead to much bigger problems, including separation or divorce. What once started as small frustrations…

27/09/2025

Perfectionism Is Not Sustainable

In the short term, perfectionism can fuel productivity. But in the long run, it corrodes. Not just your wellbeing, but your relationships with yourself, your team, and your loved ones.

The same high standards you apply to yourself often get projected onto others. When people don’t meet them, you may find yourself simmering with quiet frustration. At its worst, this can slide into micromanagement, stifling your team’s autonomy and creativity.

This is critical for emerging leaders to understand. Leadership isn’t about never making mistakes. It’s about creating space where mistakes can be made, examined, and learned from. It’s about showing your team, and yourself, that you are human, and that humanity is an asset, not a flaw.

And if you’re mentoring younger women, what are they learning from you? Are they seeing a leader who thrives on curiosity, flexibility, and self-compassion? Or are they watching someone sprint endlessly to keep the illusion of perfection intact?

Full article https://buff.ly/QSF2IY3

25/09/2025

Lessons from a Web

A spider’s web might look delicate, but it’s one of nature’s strongest designs.

Each thread is purposeful. Each connection matters.

And when part of the web is broken, the spider doesn’t give up, it rebuilds.

Leadership is much the same:

🔹 Every relationship is a vital thread
🔹 Strength lies in connection and collaboration
🔹 Resilience means repairing, not abandoning

Great leaders don’t just build, they weave networks of trust, adaptability, and shared purpose.

👉 What “threads” are you strengthening in your leadership web today?

24/09/2025

Success doesn’t always silence self-doubt

Many women leaders are plagued by a persistent, quiet fear that they’re not good enough, even when outperforming everyone else.

The Hidden Cost of High Standards

Perfectionism isn’t just about wanting to do well. It’s about tying your self-worth to doing well. It’s the sinking feeling that if you don’t get everything right, you’re not just doing a bad job, you are bad at your job.

At first glance, this might seem like ambition’s overachieving cousin. But perfectionism is sneakier than that. It wears a power suit, sits politely in meetings, nods along, and then later, when the office is quiet, produces a clipboard and begins listing, in exquisite detail, all the ways you failed to meet your own expectations that day.

And as you climb higher, shaping strategy, mentoring younger talent, representing your organisation on bigger stages, the inner critic doesn’t soften. It simply gets more articulate.

Many women leaders are plagued by a persistent, quiet fear that they’re not good enough, even when outperforming everyone else. Success, it turns out, doesn’t always silence self-doubt. Sometimes it just gives it a louder microphone.

Full article https://buff.ly/QSF2IY3

Are you the kind of leader who notices the detail, who takes pride in delivering work polished to a high standard and who sets standards that lift the whole team? Perfectionism may be your secret weapon. That part of you that ensures nothing slips through the cracks, that clients feel…

21/09/2025

When you’re in the fog, it’s easy to believe that the leader, the strategist, the thinker who once thrived has somehow disappeared.

You are still in there.

Your strength, insight and capability haven’t gone, they’re just temporarily out of reach, like an engine idling in neutral.

This is where a personalised leadership pathway incorporating coaching makes a difference.

Because you deserve a space with no expectations, no need to perform, no mask to wear.
👉 A space to pause and say the things you can’t say in the boardroom.
👉 A space to reconnect with what matters to you, beyond the title and the targets.
👉 A space to draw your own map forward with new priorities, values and compassion for yourself.

Coaching won’t erase the fog overnight. But it will remind you that you are not broken. You are not behind. You are still the leader who got here with the courage to say: I need help too.

💡 If you’ve been feeling lost in the noise and pressure, maybe it’s time to give yourself the gift of that space.

Because your true self, the one underneath the exhaustion, is still waiting for you to come home.

Full article https://buff.ly/vapGgEs

19/09/2025

Do you find yourself exhausted for no clear reason? Struggling to focus, feeling irritable, or losing motivation for the work you once loved?

If this resonates, you’re not alone.

Often referred to as high-functioning depression, unlike burnout, it doesn’t arrive with a bang. It creeps in quietly, draining your energy and sense of self one drop at a time.

In a culture that prizes output and performance, we are often reduced to our roles.

Over time, we may forget what we enjoyed outside of work, who we were before the title, the targets, the team.

Remote working can blur the lines between home and office. The daily rituals that once defined our identity, such as the commute, casual chats, and Friday night wine with colleagues, quietly vanished.

Depression is not your identity. It is something you’re experiencing, not something you are.

Even in your lowest moments, your strength, capability and insight have not disappeared. They may feel out of reach, but they are still very much a part of you. Like an engine temporarily stuck in neutral, waiting for the right time, space, and support to engage again.

This is particularly important for women on a leadership pathway. When your sense of self is built around capability and performance, depression can feel like the ultimate betrayal, like your mind and body are no longer working for you.

Depression is not a sign of weakness. It is often a sign that you have carried too much, too far, for too long without being met, heard or supported in the ways you needed.

Full article https://buff.ly/vapGgEs

16/09/2025

My grandchildren love playing 'café.'

Armed with a selection of snacks, they set up menus, create displays, and serve their 'customers' with great pride.

What fascinates me is how they use creativity, not instructions, to combine food in ways that are both appealing to the eye and surprisingly enjoyable to eat.

Leadership isn’t so different.

As leaders, we don’t provide the finished product. We provide the ingredients, the opportunities, resources, and encouragement for others to create something meaningful.

When we step back and allow space for imagination, people often surprise us with outcomes far more engaging (and appetising) than if we had dictated every move.

Great leadership is less about control and more about trust:

✔️ Supplying the right tools.
✔️ Creating an environment where ideas can flourish.
✔️ Celebrating the creativity and ownership of the team.

Whether in a child’s café or the workplace, the joy comes from seeing what people build when they’re free to play, create, and serve with pride.

14/09/2025

Last week, I watched the sun dip below the horizon over a calm sea.

The water was still enough to mirror the sky, reflecting every cloud, every colour, every subtle change.

It struck me how much leadership can be the same.

When things are calm, our teams often reflect back the environment we create — our clarity, our steadiness and even our storms.

As leaders, we may not control the sky, but we do influence the waters.

A calm presence can turn turbulence into reflection.
A clear vision can give others space to see possibilities.
And just like a sunset, those moments of steadiness can inspire far beyond the present.

Leadership isn’t always about bold moves. Sometimes, it’s about holding space so others can reflect, grow, and shine.

12/09/2025

Women face a double bind in professional life.

• We are often expected to lead like a man and care like a woman.
• To be assertive but not aggressive
• Warm but not weak
• Endlessly capable but never swamped

So when we do start to feel overwhelmed, it can be hard, sometimes impossible, to admit it.

Many women in senior positions worry that confessing to mental fatigue or emotional distress will be interpreted as a weakness.

So instead of speaking up, we retreat inward, berate ourselves for not coping, and become our own harshest critics.

This is the tragedy of high-functioning depression: from the outside, you look like you’ve got it all together. Inside, you’re barely holding on.

Full article https://buff.ly/vapGgEs

10/09/2025

High-achieving professional women are twice as likely as men to experience depression.

The very strengths that help us climb the ladder, resilience, ambition, emotional awareness and the ability to power through, can also mask the slow and subtle erosion of our mental health.

A Quiet Disintegration

Burnout tends to arrive with a bang, the breaking point, the outburst, the unmistakable I can’t do this anymore moment.

Depression is more of a silent slide. You don’t wake up one morning with a neon sign flashing ‘I’m Depressed.’ Instead, the colour just starts to drain, one drop at a time.

It starts small.

You stop enjoying the meetings you used to lead with gusto. Your inbox feels overwhelming in a way that no productivity hack can fix. You find yourself resenting the role you once loved, unsure if it’s the job, the industry, or just you.

And then there’s the identity piece.

For women in leadership, work is often more than work; it’s a reflection of who we are.

It’s proof that we’re capable, respected, worthwhile.

When that begins to slip, we don’t just feel unmotivated, we feel lost. If I’m not on it, if I’m not leading, solving, supporting, succeeding, then who am I?

This loss of identity can be more destabilising than the low mood itself. We begin to question not just our capacity, but our value.

Read more on how identity, expectations, and unspoken pressures impact women leaders, and how to find your way back. Full article https://buff.ly/vapGgEs

Do you find it hard to focus, feel tired beyond explanation, unusually irritable, or simply unmotivated by the work that once made you feel energised and important. Maybe you’ve stopped replying to texts, quietly retreated from your usual social circles, or started avoiding video calls because put...

08/09/2025

Unmasking Without Melting Down

Peeling back layers isn’t about recklessness; it’s about creating room for authenticity. It’s about letting go of the need to be perfect and allowing yourself to be real. Because true strength, especially in leadership, doesn’t come from never cracking. It comes from knowing your own limits, setting boundaries, and trusting that the right people will respect you more, not less, for your honesty.

Next time you find yourself armouring up for another day of heroic leadership, ask yourself:

What would happen if I showed up just 5% more as myself?

Full article https://buff.ly/XkaMP76