The Hidden Weight of Leadership
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but… what do you actually do all day?”
My coachee heard this question from one of her team last week. She told me — with a tired smile and a hint of desperation.
“If only they knew.”
It Looks Like Nothing — But It’s Everything
The higher up the ladder you go, the more it looks like you’re doing nothing... and the more it feels like you’re carrying everything.
To your team, you might seem distant, unavailable, or even disengaged.
They might expect you to remember the minute details of every project they’re working on, forgetting that they’re just one of many direct reports.
And that line management is only one of your responsibilities.
Behind the scenes, you're:
Protecting your team from politics and chaos
Dealing with shareholders
Making complex decisions with limited information
Thinking months ahead
Holding the emotional load of your team, your boss, your peers… and yourself
It can feel invisible — but it’s invaluable.
You’re the Container
You are the person they look to when everything’s falling apart.
You’re the one who can’t lose it, can’t drop the ball, can’t afford to not know what to do.
It’s lonely up there.
Especially when you’re doing your job so well that no one even notices you’re doing it.
Let Someone Hold You
This is what leadership coaching is for.
To hold you, while you’re holding everything else.
To say the thing no one else dares to say to you.
To help you remember who you are — beyond the doing.
Because you are more than the decisions.
More than the diary.
More than the KPIs.
More than the 8pm emails and the back-to-back-to-back-to-back Zoom calls.
You’re the leader.
The visionary.
The one they turn to.
Let someone turn to you.
