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Most burnout doesn't look like burnout

Jul 26, 2026
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Hi {{ first_name | default: "there" }},

Most burnout doesn't look like burnout from the outside. And if you're the kind of leader I work with, it probably doesn't feel like it either.

You're still turning up. Still getting things done. But somewhere underneath all of that, you are running very fast and no one can see it.

This week on Take 5 I'm busting the workload myth and naming what's actually draining you. It's not the decisions and it's not the meetings. It's the performance on top of them, and that's a different problem with a different fix. I also name the two patterns I see underneath almost every leader who comes to me stretched thin, and give you a place to start.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/KLEJnKgLt_I

Read the blog: https://www.edgeofpossibilities.com.au/blog/why-you-feel-exhausted-when-you-look-fine

Listen to the podcast: https://www.edgeofpossibilities.com.au/podcasts/leading-from-the-edge-podcast/episodes/2149234840

Read on Substack: http://edgeofpossibilities.substack.com/p/why-you-feel-exhausted-when-you-look

If you want a clearer read on where your own authority holds and where it quietly slips under pressure, The Leadership Mirror takes five minutes and shows you exactly that.Take The Leadership Mirror

Liz xx

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Who are you being?
Hi {{ first_name | default: "there" }}, All month we've been circling one idea. Authority isn't about how you look. It's about who you're being. When you're worried about how you're coming across, managing the image, trying to be who you think you're supposed to be, you're leading from the wrong place. That's the source of everything we've talked about this month, the performing, the drifting,...
The Cost Of Performing
  Hi {{ first_name | default: "there" }}, When we lead from performance instead of presence, we do not just feel tired. We start to drift, and most of the time we cannot see it happening. It shows up as one of three things. Getting louder and overcompensating. Going quiet and disappearing. Or gripping every detail because letting anything slip feels too risky. None of these are character flaws...
Calm Is The Tell
  Hi {{ first_name | default: "there" }}, Think about the most powerful person you have ever worked with. Not the loudest. The most powerful. I would put money on it, they were calm. Not switched off, not passive, just steady, even when someone pushed back or the room turned on them. That steadiness is not a personality trait. It is the tell. This week I am unpacking why calm is the clearest s...

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