From Burnout to Breakthrough: How I Reclaimed My Leadership Voice

This is what rebuilding looked like. Quiet mornings. Clear intention.

There was a season when every day felt like triage.

I was in constant motion—Teams calls, sales calls, coaching sessions with direct reports. I said yes to everything and everyone. I gave it all away to my team, and left very little for myself. Even when they came to me just to vent—about things I had zero control over—I held space. Because that’s what leaders do, right?

But I was breaking.

Not because I couldn’t handle the work—but because I was leading inside a broken system.

Since I couldn't change it, I was holding it up.

What “Tactical Work” Sounds Like to a Strategist

At one point, I asked about expanding my role.

I had been asking, quietly and not-so-quietly, for years.

And the response?

“I have tactical work for you to do.”

I was livid—maybe even insulted. It felt like everything I had built, contributed, and led was diminished in that moment.

Because that wasn’t an isolated comment.

Over the years, I had heard versions of the same thing:

That I was good at getting things done—but not a visionary.

But here’s the truth:

I wanted to change things.

I saw where the structure was broken.

I pushed for systems, strategy, and clarity.

I didn’t check out—I leaned in.

But those around me couldn’t see it.

Or didn’t want to.

Some had already checked out, choosing to operate in the same way because it was comfortable—even if it wasn’t working.

Meanwhile, I was over here building a scalable system—one that would work if we were ever acquired, or even if my team took what they learned and brought it elsewhere. Even they weren’t blind to the broken system. I wanted them to know how to lead inside something more structured.

I built standards. I clarified expectations. I created policies and communicated them consistently—from IT to operations and everything in between. I wasn’t just holding the team together—I was building something they could grow inside of.

I:

• Created a scalable sales infrastructure designed to thrive through acquisition or transition

• Established clear communication channels across departments—from IT to operations—so nothing got lost in translation

• Built a culture of high performance grounded in shared accountability and peer-to-peer support, not just individual results

  
  

I didn’t just execute—I created clarity where none existed.

But because I did it without drama or noise, it was easy for others to overlook.

And if I was seen as a task manager, not a strategist? That wasn’t on me.

But it was a signal.

I had been asking to be seen.

Instead, I decided to see myself clearly—and move.

The Quiet Breakthrough

Coaching had always been my “someday” plan.

I thought I’d get to it at 60, after a long corporate run.

But that conversation? That was the line in the sand.

I didn’t quit.

I didn’t blow anything up.

I got quiet.

I enrolled in a coaching program.

And I started rebuilding—this time, for me.

I spent a year waking up early to work on my business.

I kept working out. I kept showing up at my job, even when I had lost passion for it.

My team could feel I was going through the motions.

I could feel it too.

But after that year?

My niche was clear.

My message had sharpened.

And I had untangled my identity from my title—at least, mostly.

That gave me a new opportunity:

Not to leave my role, but to lead it differently.

I stopped chasing alignment from above.

I started building it from within.

I ran team meetings with intention.

I coached through resistance instead of solving around it.

I rewrote how I showed up—even in email.

I wasn’t just leading my team. I was coaching them.

You Can’t Scale What Isn’t Structured

There’s a myth in leadership that the answer is always more:

More effort. More endurance. More time.

But the truth?

You don’t need more hustle.

You need a system that matches your standards.

If you’re in a season that feels like triage, ask yourself:

• What are we building now?

• What still matters?

• What do I need to walk away from—even if I built it myself?

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Burnout isn’t always about fatigue.

Sometimes it’s your purpose knocking.

And the reset?

That’s what clears the way.

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