Perfection Is Overrated—Joanna Wilson’s Real Talk on Leadership & Legacy In Gymnastics and Business

She Who Dares, Wins.

In this episode of She Who Dares Wins, we sit down with Joanna Wilson — Cambridge grad, head of operations at Niall Wilson Gymnastics, and the quiet powerhouse behind a fast-growing movement to make gymnastics more fun, more inclusive, and way less obsessed with perfection.

From outworking everyone in school to learning leadership on the fly, Joanna talks openly about burnout, boundary-setting, building a business with her brother, and why she’s done with the toxic pursuit of "perfect."

If you’ve ever doubted whether you’re qualified enough, strong enough, or experienced enough to lead — this one’s your wake-up call.

Key Takeaways:

• Hard work beats the highlight reel. Joanna credits her success to pure graft — not glossy plans or overnight wins.
• Leadership isn’t earned by years, it’s earned by action. She stepped into a leadership role early, made mistakes, learned fast, and kept showing up.
• You can’t grow a team by doing everything yourself. Joanna opens up about the danger of being the fixer and why letting go is essential to growth.
• Perfection is a myth — especially for women in male-dominated or performance-driven spaces. Gymnastics might score you down from 10, but life doesn’t have to.
• Working with family can be hard — but it can also build a legacy. Joanna shares the highs and lows of teaming up with her Olympic medalist brother.

⏱️ Timestamps:

• 0:20 – How sibling rivalry led Joanna to academia (and beating her brother in her own lane)
• 1:38 – The hard-graft mindset that got her into Cambridge
• 4:45 – From grad scheme to social media and diving into operations
• 5:55 – The accidental start of a personal brand (and YouTube lockdown chaos)
• 9:46 – Building a legacy with family: The business behind Niall Wilson Gymnastics
• 13:06 – Why she's determined to change how gymnastics is taught and perceived
• 17:55 – The damaging psychology of chasing “perfect” in sport — and in life
• 21:35 – Leading a team with little experience: “I’m learning on the job, and that’s okay.”
• 26:24 – Setting boundaries as a young female leader (and the guilt that comes with it)
• 33:13 – The real bottleneck in UK gymnastics: coaches and capacity
• 36:15 – Shifting coaching from hobby to full-time career path
• 37:11 – From northern state school to Cambridge: imposter syndrome and holding your own
• 40:51 – The one skill Cambridge taught that shaped everything: learning how to work hard

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