You know this person. The one who works relentlessly hard. Overachieves. Delivers 100% -- sometimes 200%. Always helping, always available, always “on.” Maybe it’s someone on your team. Maybe it’s your boss. Maybe it’s you.
Companies love people like this. They look like superstars. They carry projects, teams, sometimes entire departments.
But peek under the hood and often you’ll find something else. Someone endlessly looking for validation that they’re good enough. Someone with imposter syndrome who works twice as hard to prove themselves. Someone who feels guilty for resting. Who says yes when they should say no. Who puts others’ expectations above their own reality.
Confession - I used to be like this. I’ve coached dozens of leaders like this. And while technically this isn’t the company’s “problem,” burnout always ends up being the company’s problem. And here’s the paradox: yes, you’re getting 200% from this person right now. But if they were truly thriving — they could deliver 500% without the burnout.
What’s one step you can take?
Don’t just celebrate output and outcomes. Celebrate boundaries, recovery, and sustainable pace as leadership behaviors.
Build wellbeing check-ins into performance cycles — so conversations aren’t only about goals, but also about energy and capacity.
Train leaders and managers to spot the signs of unsustainable overachievement driven — and open up conversations about what support looks like.