Priya talks with a former finance director about the year after burnout: what recovery looked like, why rest alone did not fix it, and how she rebuilt her working week around energy instead of hours.
High performers rarely say they are struggling. Their stress shows up as more work, not less: longer hours, refusing help and taking on the problems nobody else wants.
Watch for cynicism in someone who used to be enthusiastic, and for perfectionism on low-stakes work. Both are early signs, months before anything appears in their results.
Leaders who sleep badly make harsher judgements, read neutral faces as hostile and take more risks with other people's work. None of that feels like tiredness from the inside.