For British media personality and magazine editor Jo Elvin, she learned two major lessons once she became the editor ofGlamour Magazine.

Along with the status and the biggest salary in the room, Elvin said her job came with a lot of responsibility – and some harsh truths too.

The first lesson was that some employees struggle to see the head of the company or a senior leadership figure as one of them – a human. Someone who has real emotions, faults and feelings.

"It seemed that I was just the 'boss' object, whose personal life wasn't a real thing, just the focus of amusing gossip as sport," Jo wrote in her newsletter My Goodness! this week.

"There's often an assumption – perhaps an expectation – that the boss can take as many punches that come their way and carry on standing. Quite often, people forget their boss is an actual human being."

The second lesson was that employees are never really your friends when you are the boss.

"You realise that no matter how well you think you get on with the people you’re paid to manage, some of them will never really view you a fully-formed person," Jo explained.

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"When you're 'the boss', this means you're often viewed as nothing more than the buzzkill who makes unpopular decisions. It's something you just have to make your peace with, otherwise you'll crumble every time you realise they all went to the pub without you."

She noted that the high standards set for bosses/managers are important – and they have a place. Because we all want a leader who is fair, empathetic, flexible and respectful.

But as Jo said, she wishes that people could empathise more with people in her position - because it's not all rosy being at the top.

To unpack this topic a little further,Mamamiaasked nine prominent women in business on the tough lessons they learned when they became the boss.

Here's what they had to say.

Monika Tu, Founder and Director of Black Diamondz Group and star of Luxe Listings Sydney.

Monika Tu became a cast member on season two of Amazon Prime Video's Luxe Listings Sydney, and has been a fan favourite ever since.

She is one of Australia's leading luxury real estate and lifestyle experts, working with clients to find them their dream property in Sydney.

Speaking toMamamia, Monika said that she has learned a lot since founding the Black Diamondz Group. Over the years, she has built Australia's number-one agency for luxury property sales for Chinese buyers.

Reflecting on what she's discovered along the way, Monika said: "Staying calm and resilient in the male-dominated industry is key. There will be a lot of betrayals, but refuse to lose faith. Be kind and in everything you do, be kind."

Shelley Johnson, HR consultant at Boldside and a podcast co-host of My Millennial Career.

"One of the toughest leadership lessons was learning to say these three words out loud: 'I don't know'.

"As a young leader, I wanted to prove myself. I thought that meant I needed to have it all figured out… I was wrong (another three words leaders need to say often)."

Shelley continued: "As leaders, we feel like we need to have all the answers. There's pressure to exude confidence and certainty, so our team will trust us. But trust is forged in moments of vulnerability and humility. When we're not certain of the right call, and we invite our team into that uncomfortable space to help us solve it. You don't need to know it all. But know that as a team, you'll figure it out."

Laura Henshaw, Co-Founder and CEO of Keep It Cleaner, author and law graduate.

"I think the toughest lesson is that the hard stuff gets more challenging and complex as the business grows. I used to believe that the more successful the business became and the more milestones we ticked off, the fewer problems there would be to solve. The reality is the number of problems never drop off, and actually the problems get more complicated," Laura explained toMamamia.

"As women, we so often default into 'I am not experienced / smart/ready enough' mode, and this is something I grapple with often in my role as CEO of KIC, but it is something I have learned I have to push to the side and replace with 'I have got this.' If you are running a business right now, it means that there has not yet been a problem that you have not been able to solve. There is almost always a solution, and as the leader of a company you have to back yourself and know that you can solve it (with or without Imposter Syndrome rearing its ugly head)."

Adina Jacobs, co-Founder and Director of Product for STM Brands, and an Entrepreneurs' Organization member.

"Some of the toughest lessons I've learned as a business owner and manager have been when I've allowed people get away with bad behaviour because they are good sales people. This happened a few times early in the business when all eyes were on revenue and I wasn't an experienced leader. There was bossiness and toxicity that I initially put down to 'a different style to me' and then excused for too long because on the surface the sales were coming in so I justified that those methods were working. I didn't understand early enough the damage done to