You worked for this. The title, the authority, the ability to make decisions that actually matter. You’ve climbed the ranks, built your reputation, and now—you’re in charge.
So why does it feel so s***?
Why does every day feel like a battle between exhaustion, frustration, and the creeping sense that this isn’t what you thought it would be?
Why does leadership—something you once aspired to—now feel like it’s draining the life out of you?
When Leadership Becomes a Slow Burnout
You probably didn’t get here by accident. You’ve pushed hard, outperformed expectations, and navigated challenges that would have made others quit. But in the process, something happened:
- The weight of responsibility never lets up. No matter what you do, the pressure is constant. There’s always another decision, another crisis, another problem no one else wants to deal with.
- You’re managing people more than you’re doing actual work. You used to love solving problems, building things, making an impact. Now, your days are filled with meetings, bureaucracy, and cleaning up other people’s messes.
- You feel like you’re losing yourself. You’ve had to adapt to fit the role, but in doing so, you’ve strayed further from the way you naturally work and think.
- Your neurodivergence is working against you. The very things that make you a great leader—your creativity, your deep thinking, your ability to see patterns others miss—are being buried under the grind of executive function struggles, decision fatigue, and constant overstimulation.
- Burnout is creeping in. You’re not just tired. You’re disconnected. You go through the motions, but the spark—the drive that got you here—is flickering out.
The Myth of “This Is Just How Leadership Feels”
Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that this is just how it is at the top. That feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or constantly under pressure is part of the job. That leaders don’t get to complain—they just push through.
But here’s the truth: leadership doesn’t have to feel like this.
Yes, it’s challenging. Yes, it’s demanding. But if your experience of leadership is mostly exhaustion, frustration, and detachment, something is off.
The problem isn’t that you’re not cut out for this. It’s that you’re leading in a way that doesn’t align with how your brain actually works.
What You Can Do About It
You don’t have to burn it all down to make leadership work for you. But you do need to start shifting how you approach it.
- Reclaim your strengths. Stop forcing yourself to lead like others. What’s your natural leadership style? What are the things you do best? How can you restructure your role to play to those strengths?
- Redefine your boundaries. If everything feels like your responsibility, it’s because you’ve let it become that way. Where do you need to step back? What work isn’t yours to carry?
- Recognize the signs of burnout. If you’re already at the stage where everything feels pointless or overwhelming, you need to step back before it takes you out completely.
- Adjust your environment to fit you. If your current way of working is constantly pushing against how your brain operates, something has to change. Structure, delegation, energy management—what small shifts would make your days more sustainable?
How Coaching Can Help You Stop Feeling Like S***
When you’re this deep in it, it’s hard to see the way out. Coaching gives you the space to step back, reassess, and start making changes before it’s too late.
- Get clarity on what’s draining you—and what needs to shift.
- Develop strategies that work with your neurodivergence instead of against it.
- Find ways to lead that don’t lead to burnout.