Every Friday, I'm answering one real question from a real leader. No theory. No fluff. Just the stuff you're actually dealing with.

If you've got a question you'd like me to tackle, just hit reply. I read every one.

Theo, I want you to know something before we get tactical.

You're carrying two jobs right now.

The department. And the performance of being fine.

The second one feels heavier.

2025 nearly broke me.

My wife and I had a baby in February. For 9 months, he didn't sleep through the night.

I was up with him 2 or 3 times a night to give my wife a chance to sleep.

Then I'd be on calls by 9am running my startup.

And on most of those calls, I performed. Steady voice. Clear answers. The leader everyone could count on.

Very few people knew what I was actually carrying.

The cost showed up anyway. My focus slipped. My patience disappeared. I made decisions I wouldn't normally make.

The “performance” was protecting my image. It was doing nothing for my mental and physical health.

What finally helped was recognizing I was in a season. A hard one. And it required me to reset my priorities so I could show up for what mattered most without burning out completely.

I also reminded myself of something I keep having to relearn.

I've been in moments like that before. Moments where it felt impossible. Where I was convinced I didn't have the capacity.

Every single time, I made it through. I stretched. I set new boundaries. I learned skills I didn't have before. And I came out the other side different than when I went in.

That's the pattern. Not that hard seasons end on their own. But that you've already proven you can survive them.

You're in good company, by the way. Gallup's research found that managers are even likelier to burn out than the people they manage.

The average manager also works about half a day more per week than an individual contributor.

The people responsible for everyone else's wellbeing are the ones running the biggest deficit.

So what do you actually do? 4 things.

Your team needs steadiness. They do not need a superhero.

There's a version of honesty that builds trust instead of shaking it:

"I'm at capacity this week, so I'm protecting my mornings for deep work."

That sentence shows a leader who manages their energy on purpose. It also gives your team permission to do the same.

Hiding everything teaches them that leaders must be limitless. That's a lesson they'll pay for later.

You can't be fully real with the people who report to you. Fair.

But don't isolate. I have a tendency to withdraw when I'm going through a hard time. Most high-performers do. It feels safer in the moment, but it makes everything worse.

Reach out to people. A peer at your level. A mentor outside the company. An old colleague.

The conversation doesn't have to be about your situation. Talk about sports. A book you read. A vacation you'd love to take even though you can't take the time off right now.

Those moments of normal connection pull you out of your worried, anxious state. Even for a few minutes, your nervous system gets a chance to relax. That matters more than you think.

Burnout at your level is rarely just about sleep.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith's work on the 7 types of rest changed how I think about this. Physical, mental, emotional, sensory, creative, social, spiritual.

For me in 2025, the emotional tank was the emptiest one. I was carrying a lot and telling almost no one.

Figure out your emptiest tank, then aim your recovery at that one. It works much better than defaulting to "I just need a vacation."

Grand recovery plans fail. Small protected ones work.

Pick one block. 60 to 90 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week.

A workout. A walk without your phone. Lunch away from your desk with the door closed.

Put it on the calendar with a boring name. Then defend it the way you'd defend a meeting with your CEO or board.

Your team doesn't lose anything in that hour. They get a sharper, calmer leader for the other 39.

Write down one hard season you've already survived. One you didn't think you'd get through at the time. Maybe it was recent or years ago, either works.

Then write down what got you through it. New boundaries. A priority reset. A skill you didn't have before.

Whatever it was, it's still in you. The same capacity that got you through that season will get you through this one.

Until next time, keep being brilliant,

Justin

P.S. Are you a window seat or an aisle seat person? I'm aisle, every time. I don't even get up that often during the flight. I just love being first one up when that seatbelt sign goes off. Hit reply and tell me your pick.