Leadership Feel Heavy?? These 3 Shifts Changed Everything for Me...

Hyla Penn
Dec 8, 2025
3 min read

There was a season in my leadership journey when I was showing up, getting the job done, and hitting the goals, but inside? I was drained.

I didn’t need more discipline.

I didn’t need another checklist.

I needed a reset.

If you’re leading while exhausted, navigating decision fatigue, or just feeling disconnected from your joy, it’s not a flaw in your leadership. It’s a sign that your system is off.

And when I say system, I don’t just mean Google Docs and workflows. I mean your energy.

Your rhythm.

Your boundaries.

Your leadership lifestyle.

SHIFT 1: Joy Is a Leadership Strategy

In most leadership trainings or development programs, no one mentions joy as a part of your leadership experience.

However...Joy fuels leadership energy, and leadership energy drives results.

When I look back at the most impactful seasons of my leadership, they weren’t the ones where I worked the longest hours or led the biggest projects. They were the seasons when I felt the most aligned.

✅ I had joy.

✅ I had clarity.

✅ I had energy.

When your leadership energy is high, you don’t have to force your authority. You move with grounded confidence. You stop micromanaging and start mentoring. You lead your team with steadiness instead of stress.

Joy isn’t fluff. It’s fuel. And if you’ve been leading without it, it’s no wonder everything feels harder.

SHIFT 2: Sleep + Systems = Strategy

Let me say this plainly...You cannot out-lead your exhaustion.

We’ve glorified hustle.

We’ve normalized burnout.

We’ve treated overwork like proof of passion.

But leadership that’s always reactive, chaotic, or last-minute doesn’t come from lack of commitment, it comes from lack of support.

Sleep protects your brain.

Systems protect your leadership.

Whether it’s clear delegation, time-blocked priorities, or decision-making frameworks, systems reduce the noise and help you focus on what really matters.

When your nervous system is regulated and your systems are aligned, you don’t just work better, you lead better.

SHIFT 3: Reset the Rhythm, Don’t Just Push Through

Leadership doesn’t have to feel like a pressure cooker.

If you’re in a season where everything feels urgent, your team is leaning on you for more than you can carry, and your calendar is one long to-do list with no recovery time, you don’t need more hustle. You need a reset.

Here are three that have helped me and the leaders I coach:

Reset #1: Step out of urgency mode.

Not everything is an emergency. When you pause long enough to think, your decisions get sharper.

Reset #2: Reconnect with the people, not just the problems.

Check in on your team beyond the deliverables. Leadership is relational. And when your people feel seen, they perform better.

Reset #3: Clarify what’s actually yours to carry. A lot of stress comes from holding responsibilities, emotions, and expectations that were never yours to begin with. Real leadership is about clarity, not carrying everything.