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After six weeks of travel, I’m home for a bit. It’s been amazing to get to travel, conference, mentor and speak- but it’s also nice to be writing this in my pajamas, drinking coffee in me “I Drink Coffee and I Know Things” mug.

Before diving in, I do want to share that I’m planning something for this newsletter- a paid tier. Every other week, I have so many notes, extra 1% solutions, one pagers that end up getting drafted. At the same time, I talk to a fair amount of folks (especially startups and smaller nonprofits) who would love a fractional Chief People Officer or strategist or coach but can’t afford one. I think good talent strategy should be accessible to all, so I’m developing this now. But first, I’m curious what you all think. Take 5 seconds to answer the poll below, and share your own thoughts.

Thanks in advance- I’ll keep you all posted!

If you are like me — and many, many others — you are obsessed with The Pitt. One of the things that makes it so real and captivating is how human everyone is. You see their flaws and their strengths, and it pushes you to sit with the fact that the world is rarely black and white. (Except maybe Monica. Though even then, you can start to deduce the forces that made her who she is.) I've also increasingly been drawn to how the show portrays burnout — and the very real, very complicated reactions to a broken system.

My own descent into burnout was slow and then sudden. Looking back, I kept a lot moving. I was sharp when it counted. I was also, at various points, depressed, unable to think straight, and short with people who didn't deserve it. What I know now is that my frustration with myself — and with a system I'd been quietly absorbing for years — probably registered to some on my team as frustration with them. And then there were the other moments: the people who genuinely warranted a direct conversation, who I'd been too practiced at working around to actually confront. I'd gotten so good at finding another way through that by the time I couldn't anymore, it came out sideways. Not cleanly or productively. Just — out.

It didn't look like collapse from the outside. It looked like more like competence with cracks. Which is maybe the most dangerous version — because you keep going, people keep expecting you to, and the system never has to reckon with what it's costing you.

That's why I’ve been thinking a lot about Dr. Robby.

Someone on Threads noted that if season 1 of The Pitt was about what the healthcare system asks of people, season 2 is about what happens after years of answering that ask. They're right. And while there are other characters carrying pieces of this story, it's starkest in Robby.

He's a complicated character. He sat with Mel before her deposition and just showed up for her. He went to bat for a patient the EMTs dismissed — because she was a woman and they weren't comfortable treating her properly (I’ll leave things vague for those not fully caught up). He carries the weight of that shift, every shift, because he genuinely believes it matters. And he's also been downright mean to Dr. Mohan, unnecessarily sharp with the new attending, visibly fraying while performing fine.

The good and the harmful are the same person. That's not a character flaw. That's what prolonged, unaddressed burnout actually looks like.

His relationship with Mohan might be the most telling thing in the show. He's not just frustrated with her — he's almost angry at her care. It’s almost as though her empathy is a threat to something he needs to stay intact. I think he's been trying to teach her how to survive the way he survived: push through, close off, make yourself useful and unavailable to be broken. And somewhere, maybe he knows that didn't actually work.

I also keep thinking about the night shift — there are two attendings, whereas Robby has been on his own. Did Robby volunteer? Or did people see competence and assume he didn't need the same consideration as everyone else? The most capable person in the room often gets the least protection. That's not just healthcare- that’s everywhere.

It's easy to hold space for burnout in the abstract. It's harder when it's Robby snapping at Mohan over her panic attack. It's harder when it's the talented leader on your team who has become a bottleneck and a liability at the same time. Burnout doesn't just affect the person experiencing it. It radiates.

And here's what organizations need to sit with: the system creates the conditions, then treats the outcome as a personal failing. We reward martyrdom quietly — through promotions, through "she's so reliable," through never once asking whether someone needs relief (or making it seem like that request would be heard and not treated as an inconvenience). By the time someone is costing the people around them in ways nobody's tracking, you've already missed a dozen earlier moments when a different choice was possible.

The oxygen mask framing isn't wrong. It's just incomplete. It assumes a contained moment of crisis. Burnout is cumulative, environmental, and structural. And it doesn't ask the harder question: what happens when the person grasping for their mask clumsily elbows someone in the ribs?

The question isn't just how do we support people who are burning out. It's what did we build that made this inevitable. Burnout doesn't announce itself. By the time it's visible, it's already been expensive — for everyone.

Over the last year, I’ve realized that time as well as money are the two limiting factors to folks engaging with learning programs and cohorts outside of work. So, this weekend I made a pivot- instead of running a Leading with Clarity cohort (which runs 3 weeks), I’ve designed a 3 hour workshop on Building Your Leadership Operating System. Same topics- but with videos, AI prompts, a beautifully formatted workbook and time together to actually design what you need to lead effectively. The last 30 minutes are Q&A and work time, so you have even more time to apply and plan. Think of it like high intensity interval training, but for your leadership practice.

Who should take it? This is best for leaders about to enter a period of change- and need space and support in designing what that means. A few folks who’ve found the content most helpful: founders, senior level operators in start ups; high growth or high-change orgs; new team leads; team leads taking on a new initiative (thing: new strategic plan, absorbing a team, dealing with a new existential threat). If that’s you (or someone who reports to you), sign up now. And for just this week- and only for you all!- the first 3 people to email me will get $75 off.

(If you’re interested in having me lead this for your team or leaders, email me- I’ve run this session for internal teams and it works very well.)

And if you’re free this Thursday, join me for a free 30 minute webinar on What Managers Really Need to Know (and the three mindset shifts that no one really talks about). The recording will be shared after to those who sign up.

And if you need some 1:1 time? You can book an hour mini-consulting call or 90 minute Strategic Clarity Conversation. These are good ways to figure out what you need before you invest heavily in a consultant or strategy. Email me or book a discovery call to discuss.