LEADERSHIP COACHING AND TRAINING CALLED – THEY WANT THEIR BEST EMPLOYEE BACK
Every team has one. The person who never seems to crack, who’s first in and last out, who everyone quietly assumes has it handled.
What’s Actually Happening
- Being needed and being okay are two separate conditions
- The more reliable someone looks, the less anyone checks in on them
- Capability often functions as camouflage for exhaustion
- Sometimes the “fine” person in the room is the one closest to empty
A Story
A senior leader came into coaching describing herself as “just tired, like everyone is.” What surfaced was a pattern of supporting her entire team through hard conversations while avoiding her own — with her manager, with an overstepping direct report, even with herself about whether the role still fit. The exhaustion wasn’t the workload. It was the one-directional flow of support: always giving, never receiving.
Try This
- Name one hard conversation you’ve been avoiding by staying “too busy”
- Write down the outcome you’re actually afraid of
- Ask if that outcome is more likely, or just more vivid, than a neutral one
- Schedule the conversation before you talk yourself out of it
The Takeaway
Real leadership training isn’t about adding capacity. It’s about learning to lead the one person most leaders forget: themselves.
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