Simran Kaur, Founder and CEO, Pounce Agency
If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be leading an agency across two countries while raising a nearly two-year-old, I probably would’ve laughed or cried or both.
At Pounce Agency, we’ve always believed that the best outcomes don’t come from following the obvious path. They come from questioning it and staying curious. It’s a philosophy that’s shaped how we build brands, solve problems and importantly, how we lead as a team.
What I didn’t expect was how much that same mindset would be tested in my own life.
Shifting perspectives
As Mother’s Day rolls around, I reflect on my own journey.
Motherhood didn’t begin easily for me. Before my daughter Giana arrived, I lost two boys at 17.5 weeks. It is a kind of trauma that shifts your perspective in ways you can’t quite explain.
So, when Giana entered the world, she wasn’t just our baby; she became my everything.
More recently, I also lost my grandmother, who lived an incredible 100 years. Safe to say it’s been a challenging couple of years.
Now, as my daughter inches towards the terrible twos, I find myself in a very different season. One filled with moments that force you to stop and reflect.
So why am I sharing this?
Because somewhere between raising a toddler, the personal highs and lows, and the pressure of running a business, I realised something: Motherhood didn’t just change me. It changed how I lead.
I realised being a good leader – someone my team could trust and look up to had absolutely nothing to do with having all the answers. It’s about how you show up when things don’t go to plan.
Sim 2.0
I see it all the time: women in media smashing through ceilings with incredible finesse, attention to detail, and a baby monitor perched on their workstations.
Come my turn, I tried my best to hold onto the leadership persona I’d spent years building. That was the wrong move – and I’m really glad I made it, because the lessons I carried over from the experience helped me redefine who I am at work.
This was the birth of Sim 2.0.
Lesson 1: Control is an illusion (and that’s okay)
Becoming a mother broke the illusion that life would always follow my Gantt chart. Babies don’t care about deadlines. And neither, if I’m honest, does agency life half the time.
I used to want visibility across everything. Every client, every deliverable, every decision. But I couldn’t operate like that anymore.
So I changed how I lead.
At Pounce, that meant building a team that doesn’t rely on me to move. We’ve created clearer ownership across accounts, empowered people to make decisions, and shifted from top-down control to shared accountability.
Letting go of control was scary, but it was necessary because it created capability.
Lesson 2: Boundaries aren’t barriers, they’re guardrails
Before Giana, I wore overwork like a badge of honour. The 11 pm emails, weekend brainstorms, and the “I’ll sleep when it’s launched” mindset.
Now, I know that approach doesn’t work because it was a one-way ticket to burnout. Motherhood forced me to get ruthless with my time. It got me thinking about what actually needs my input and what’s going to move the needle.
That shift has changed how we operate at Pounce. We have learned to prioritise, and not everything is a fire that needs to be put out immediately. And we’re far more conscious of protecting our team’s time and energy.
Because burnout is no badge of honour – it’s a business risk.
Lesson 3: Family isn’t separate from leadership; it shapes it
At some point, family stops being something you balance around work. It becomes the lens through which you see everything.
Over the past year, I’ve felt that very deeply. In the everyday moments with my daughter, in the support around me, and in losing my grandmother, who showed me what resilience looks like over a lifetime.
Another experience that has changed my perspective towards Pounce.
It’s no longer just about growth or output. It’s about the kind of environment we’re building and the people we’re supporting. This shapes the example we’re setting as a business, reinforcing the idea that leadership shouldn’t be just about results. It’s about responsibility.
Lesson 4: Vulnerability doesn’t weaken leadership, it deepens it
The hardest thing for me wasn’t balancing work and motherhood. It was admitting that I was struggling.
I truly believed having strength meant keeping it together and never letting anyone sense my vulnerability, but when I finally opened up to my team about what I’d been through, something unexpected happened. They didn’t see weakness; they saw honesty. And that honesty created a new genre of trust that has become the lifeblood of Pounce’s culture today.
Lesson 5: Leadership is legacy
When you’re raising a child and building a company at the same time, you start asking different questions.
It’s no longer about asking the question “Is this working?”, but also “What am I building, and who is it for?”
For me, that’s reshaped how I define success at Pounce.
Yes, growth matters. But so does building something sustainable. Something people are proud to be part of and, more importantly, something my daughter could one day look at and understand what it stands for.