“For Father’s Day, my wife asked my daughter, ‘What’s Daddy’s favourite thing?’ She replied, ‘His laptop.’ It broke me.”
– A delegate on one of our leadership programmes
We live in a world where productivity is glorified and exhaustion is worn like a badge of honour. But what if the real secret to performing at your best isn’t doing more—it’s resting better?
This has been one of my hardest-won performance lessons. For years, I equated recovery with laziness. Rest felt like weakness. That was, until I hit a wall and burnt out spectacularly. It was then I learnt something powerful: Recovery isn’t a reward for hard work. It’s the foundation of it.
Even Harvard researchers agree. When they studied tennis champion Ivan Lendl, they found his edge wasn’t just in how he played—it was in how he recovered. Between each point, Lendl rested more intentionally than his competitors. That micro-recovery strategy? It kept him at the top of his game for five straight years.
The truth is:
Our brains and bodies weren’t designed for non-stop output. Yet, in the corporate world, we push through back-to-back meetings, endless emails, and late-night deadlines, expecting peak performance without giving ourselves a break.
We’re essentially corporate athletes, but without the structured recovery time professional sportspeople rely on.
And that needs to change.
So, here are a few powerful questions to reflect on:
- What signals the end of your workday—if anything?
- Do your weekends recharge you or just offer more screen time in a different location?
- What’s your “off-season” plan—before burnout shows up?
Because here’s the truth: You can’t pour from an empty cup. And trying to lead, create, or perform from a place of depletion is a fast track to fatigue and disengagement.
Leading with Energy, Intention, and Resilience
At The Networking Company, our Corporate Athlete Leadership Programmes are designed for organisations that want to develop high-performing teams.
We work with forward-thinking leaders who understand that sustained success requires more than just hard work. It requires recovery, resilience, and intentional energy management.
Through this programme, your team will learn to:
- Build sustainable recovery habits that fuel performance,
- Manage stress effectively and consistently,
- Lead with clarity, resilience, and focus—even under pressure.
If your team is showing signs of burnout, fatigue, or disengagement, this isn’t just a wellness fix—it’s a leadership solution.
👉 Learn more about bringing the Corporate Athlete Programme to your team.
Because the quality of your team’s recovery directly impacts the quality of their performance.
Here’s to helping your team breathe deeply—and lead powerfully.
Big love,
Helen Nicholson
CEO and Founder, The Networking Company
