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"The realisation that I wasn't the best person for the job anymore was a big one."
Kate Sikora hit the 8–10 person tipping point in her business and realised everything had to change, including herself. What followed was a three-year journey from Kate 1.0 to Kate 3.0, transforming not just how she led, but the entire trajectory of Noble Performance.
In today's episode, I'm joined by Kate Sikora, Managing Director of Noble Performance, a Bristol-based SEO and search agency. After growing the business past that critical 8–10 person mark, Kate discovered that the scrappy, wear-all-the-hats approach that got her there was now breaking the business. Her solution? Invest in herself first – leading to less stress, more trust, better clients, and a team with genuine autonomy. Along the way, she also became a ceramicist (pottery throwing, not throwing pottery at people).
Together we unpack:
- Why the 8–10 person mark is a critical tipping point that requires complete reinvention
- How stress management and delegation aren't about control – just different types of control
- Why revisiting your values can completely reposition your business and client profile
- The concept of "speed of trust" and how it determines your growth rate
- How bringing your whole self to work (including vulnerability and flaws) makes you a better leader
👆 If you're approaching that 8–10 person mark in your business, or feeling like you're becoming the bottleneck, this conversation will show you how personal development directly impacts business performance.
About Kate Sikora
Kate Sikora is the Managing Director of Noble Performance, a Bristol-based SEO and search agency. After hitting the critical 8–10 person growth phase, Kate embarked on a transformative personal development journey that she calls evolving from Kate 1.0 to Kate 3.0. This wasn't just about leadership skills – it was about stress management, values clarification, and learning to bring her whole self to work. The result? A complete repositioning of the business, attraction of higher-quality clients, and a team that thrives on autonomy and trust. She's also recently taken up pottery throwing as the ultimate form of escapism.
Connect with Kate Sikora on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katesikora/
More from James:
Connect with James on LinkedIn or at peer-effect.com
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