What happens when this gets missed - and why this point in the year matters
Last month, I wrote about how high performers don’t always switch off - even when things appear to ease.
The challenge with that?
It doesn’t stay hidden.
It builds.
I was working with a senior lawyer not that long ago - let’s call her Matilda - who, on paper, was doing everything right.
High standards.
Careful.
Thorough.
But over time, something started to shift.
She would draft something, then re-draft it, and then sense-check it with one colleague - and then another.
Decisions that used to take minutes started taking much longer.
Not because she didn’t know what she was doing.
But because she had less headspace and was second-guessing more - so everything took more effort than it used to.
You could see it in small ways.
She paused longer before sending emails and asked for reassurance on things she would have previously trusted herself on.
Decisions that used to feel straightforward started to feel heavier than they should
Not because the work was more complex - but because her capacity to carry it had reduced.
And if you looked at it through a personality lens, it made sense.
She had a strong preference for getting things right.
Detail mattered.
Accuracy mattered.
Doing a good job mattered.
Which, under pressure, didn’t disappear.
It intensified.
What were strengths had been overextended.
So instead of trusting her judgement, she checked more, questioned more, and slowed herself down trying to reduce risk.
And the impact?
Things slowed down.
Work became less commercial.
And it started to impact those around her.
Colleagues noticed she was sense-checking with multiple people across the team - sometimes asking the same question in slightly different ways.
It wasn’t intentional.
But it left people unsure whether she trusted their judgement.
And over time, that creates a shift.
People start second-guessing themselves.
They slow down.
And pressure doesn’t reduce - it spreads.
Nothing had “gone wrong”.
But everything had become harder.
And no one could quite point to why.
And by the time this shows up clearly in performance or behaviour, it’s already costing you.
This is where I often see a gap in businesses.
The data being discussed is:
utilisation
output
performance
But what isn’t being named is:
pressure
sustainability
long-term risk
So the conversation stays at:
“they’re still performing”
Instead of moving to:
“is this sustainable - and what happens if it isn’t?”
As we look forward to summer, we must remember August doesn’t fix this.
August gives people space.
Space to think, reflect, and reassess what they actually want.
And most people don’t decide to leave because of one bad day.
They leave because of what’s been building for months.
Which means the pressure you’re seeing now often shows up as decisions… resignations!... in September.
I often see organisations wait until September to act.
By then, the decision has already been made.
So if you want to retain your high performers, this is the moment that matters.
Not when performance drops or someone resigns - now.
While they are still delivering, engaged, and open to support.
This is also when investment tends to deliver the strongest return - while people are still performing well
Yet this is where many People Directors feel the tension.
You can see what’s happening.
But the language being used across the business is stil
- utilisation
- performance
- delivery
Not:
pressure
sustainability
risk
So the question becomes:
How do you translate what you’re seeing into something the business will act on?
Because unless it’s framed commercially, it doesn’t get prioritised.
This is why understanding how individuals respond to pressure - and how their strengths show up under it - becomes so important.
Because high performers don’t burn out because they are weak.
They burn out because they are strong enough to carry too much for too long.
And when that isn’t addressed early, you don’t just lose wellbeing.
You lose performance, fee income - and ultimately people.
Returning to ‘Matilda’ – this is what we addressed.
We didn’t focus on working harder (in fact the hours she worked reduced but her output was significantly improved!).
We focused on helping her understand herself and what was driving the change.
She was carrying too much cognitively, her confidence and self esteem had taken a knock, and she was operating without enough recovery.
Once she could see that clearly, we focused on:
understanding her preferences
rebuilding trust in her own decision-making
recognising when her standards were tipping into over-checking
and creating clearer ways of working with her team so she wasn’t carrying everything herself
Not by lowering standards.
But by helping her apply them in a way that was sustainable.
And the shift was noticeable.
Decisions became quicker.
Communication became clearer.
And the pressure she had been carrying stopped spreading into the team.
If this is something you’re starting to see in your team right now, I’d encourage you not to wait until later in the year to address it.
Reply and let me know what you’re noticing - I’m always happy to sense-check it with you and talk through what I’m seeing in other firms.
Because this is rarely something that fixes itself.
Best wishes
Vikki
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