Entrepreneurship gets framed as all strategy and hustle—but it’s also deeply emotional. One day you’re on fire with ideas; the next, you’re questioning everything. Ever wonder where that emotional rollercoaster comes from? There’s a good chance your attachment style – the way you connect, protect, and respond to stress – has something to do with it.
In my practice there are primarily two main reasons clients seek me out. One is my experience in working with entrepreneurs, c-suite folks and small business owners. The other is my interest in modern attachment which applies to all folks, not just the ones listed above. The longer I’ve worked with clients the more I’ve come to appreciate how much attachment stuff shows up with folks in career and business.
What’s Attachment Theory?
Attachment theory is a psychological framework that explains how our early relationships shape how we deal with closeness, independence, and stress as adults. Originally developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, it’s since been expanded and supported by research—including studies on entrepreneurs.
Most people fall into one of these four attachment styles:
- Secure – Comfortable with closeness and autonomy. Can self-soothe and build trust.
- Anxious (Preoccupied) – Craves closeness but fears rejection. Needs external reassurance.
- Avoidant (Dismissive) – Prioritizes independence. Uncomfortable with dependence or emotional intimacy.
- Disorganized (Fearful-Avoidant) – Craves connection but also fears it. Tends to feel overwhelmed in relationships.
Sound familiar? These patterns don’t just show up in dating or parenting. They show up everywhere, including in how you run your business.
How Does Attachment Style Affect Entrepreneurship?
1. Risk-Taking and Control
Entrepreneurs face constant uncertainty. Your attachment style can influence how you respond to that risk:
- Avoidant entrepreneurs often pursue business ownership for control and autonomy. According to Wang, Pollock, and Zhou (2016), they tend to avoid collaboration and overemphasize independence—which can hurt innovation and scalability.
- Anxiously attached entrepreneurs may obsess over outcomes and overcontrol their team out of fear of failure or rejection.
- Securely attached entrepreneurs, on the other hand, tend to take measured risks and recover more easily from setbacks (Baum & Locke, 2004).
“Attachment-related avoidance is linked to reduced team cohesion and lower firm performance.” (Wang et al., 2016, Academy of Management Journal)
2. Relationships and Networking
Whether it’s co-founders, investors, employees, or clients—entrepreneurship is built on relationships. And attachment style shapes how we build (or avoid) those connections.
- Secure entrepreneurs are more trusting, communicative, and emotionally available. This leads to stronger social capital and collaborative partnerships (Huyghe et al., 2016).
- Anxious entrepreneurs may be overly dependent on affirmation, chasing validation from mentors or followers.
- Avoidant types often struggle with delegation, mentorship, and emotional transparency.
Healthy business relationships require vulnerability. Your ability to tolerate that is shaped early.
3. Leadership Style
Attachment patterns also affect how you lead:
- Securely attached leaders tend to foster psychological safety—a trait that predicts better team performance and innovation (Davidovitz et al., 2007).
- Anxious leaders may micromanage or over-apologize. Their emotional highs and lows can ripple through the team.
- Avoidant leaders may come across as cold or unavailable, making it harder for teams to trust or approach them with challenges.
The ability to co-regulate with others—especially under pressure—is often a marker of earned or secure attachment.
4. How You Handle Stress and Setbacks
Entrepreneurship is full of stress. Rejection. Uncertainty. Burnout.
- Securely attached people can ask for help, stay grounded, and recover quickly from failures. They also tend to maintain healthier work-life balance.
- Avoidant types often suppress stress and isolate, which can lead to chronic burnout.
- Anxious types may catastrophize and spiral, making it harder to move forward after a setback.
“Secure individuals experience less distress and show greater resilience in stressful situations.” (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007)
Here’s a quick run down for research nerds:
| Authors | Key Takeaway |
| Wang et al., 2016 | Entrepreneurs with anxious or avoidant attachment had lower firm performance due to emotional regulation and team dynamics. |
| Davidovitz et al., 2007 | Leaders with secure attachment styles created more trust and better outcomes in high-stress environments. |
| Huyghe et al., 2016 | Attachment security enhances interpersonal functioning in networking and fundraising. |
| Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007 | Secure attachment predicts emotional resilience and flexible problem-solving – core traits for entrepreneurs. |
Can You Change Your Attachment Style?
Modern Attachment takes a more nonpathologizing view of attachment. It is much more nuanced than simply saying Secure Attachment = good, everything else = bad. Our attachment styles are much more something to be understood and navigated rather than completely changed. Through therapy, reflection, and supportive relationships, many people are able to develop an awareness of and deeper understanding of their internal responses. This can dramatically improve stress tolerance, decision-making, and leadership capacity.
In business, that looks like:
- Delegating more confidently
- Handling setbacks without spiraling
- Building partnerships that are grounded, not reactive
- Making strategic decisions that aren’t fear-based
It’s not about “fixing” yourself – it’s about growing beyond survival patterns.
Why Entrepreneurs Should Care?
If you’re an entrepreneur, your nervous system is part of your business plan – whether you realize it or not. Whether you like it or not. Understanding your attachment style helps you:
- Recognize when your emotions are running the show
- Make better decisions under stress
- Build stronger relationships with employees, clients, and collaborators
- Recover faster when things go wrong
It’s not just personal development – it’s business development.
- Your attachment style shapes how you handle risk, stress, leadership, and relationships.
- Avoidant or anxious tendencies can undermine growth if left unexamined.
- Secure attachment—either natural or earned—correlates with better emotional resilience, stronger teams, and sustainable leadership.
- You can absolutely shift your attachment patterns through awareness, support, and inner work.
Entrepreneurship asks you to hold a lot: vision; risk; emotions; uncertainty. If you’ve ever wondered why you react so strongly to a team member’s comment or why you freeze up during hard conversations – it might not just be about business. It might be about the part of you that’s still protecting an old emotional wound.
The good news? You don’t have to run your company from that place. You can lead from security. And if you’re not there yet, you can get there.