When Working Harder Stops Working

I’ve always been able to handle a lot. I can manage competing priorities, solve problems quickly, keep track of details, support the people around me, and continue moving even when life is demanding.

Like many high-capacity women, that meant I became accustomed to being the person others could depend on. But as my personal and professional responsibilities grew and shifted, I began to see that carrying the same load was costing me more than it used to.

I was functioning effectively, but not sustainably – and that distinction matters in leadership and in life because many women leaders are tempted to measure their capacity by their results. Did the project get finished? Did the problem get solved? Did the team get what they needed? If the answer is yes, we assume our approach is still working.

But the better question is: What did it cost me to produce that result? I have found there are a few places where this tends to show up for leaders.

Maybe you can still manage the workload, but it takes you longer to recover from a demanding week. Maybe you are still meeting expectations, but work occupies your mind long after the workday ends. Maybe your calendar looks manageable, but you are constantly moving from one responsibility to the next without enough margin to think strategically.

Too often, we interpret those as signs that we are not capable of this higher level, when a more accurate perspective may be that your capacity needs to be managed differently. Leadership maturity requires us to periodically reassess what deserves our attention, what drains it, and where our current way of operating is no longer serving us well.

So, rather than asking, “Why can’t I handle this the way I used to?” consider asking:

• Where does achieving the same level of performance require significantly more personal effort? If you are compensating for increased complexity by simply working harder, you may soon find yourself facing burnout and exhaustion.

• Where do you tend to absorb a problem yourself? High-capacity leaders are often very good at stepping in. The danger is that you can become the solution to every issue, even when your role has evolved beyond personally solving each one.

• Where has life changed, but your expectations of yourself have not? Personal and professional responsibilities shift regularly, yet many of us continue comparing our current capacity to what we could carry five or ten years ago under completely different circumstances. That comparison is rarely helpful.

Your capacity changing does not mean your capability has diminished. Sometimes it simply means you have reached a point where working harder is no longer the answer. Your next level of leadership may require you to stop asking how much more you can carry and start asking what you need to carry differently.

Be Well,

The LIPSTICK Coach