It's Not a Legacy, It's Just Me

Every project has a critical path.
But too often, we forget that people have one too.

In engineering and project management, we’re trained to manage risks, budgets, and timelines — yet one of the greatest risks to any project isn’t a missed milestone. It’s a burned-out team.

Burnout doesn’t always announce itself loudly. It creeps in quietly:
through late emails, forced smiles, or the moment when “We’ve got this” starts sounding like “We have no choice.”

I’ve seen high-performing teams lose momentum not because of lack of skill, but because the pace became unsustainable.
And here’s the truth: recovery is harder than prevention.

Protecting teams from burnout isn’t about lowering expectations — it’s about leading with awareness.

Here’s what I’ve learned works:

• Normalize check-ins, not checklists. Ask people how they’re doing — not just what they’re doing.
• Model boundaries. When leaders take real breaks, teams feel permission to do the same.
• Celebrate progress, not just completion. Recognizing milestones keeps motivation alive through long cycles.
• Design systems, not heroics. A healthy project doesn’t depend on exhaustion to meet goals.

In high-stakes industries, burnout often hides behind dedication. But leadership means noticing when drive turns into depletion — and stepping in before it’s too late.

Because no deadline is worth a team that can’t recover.

Sustainable performance starts with sustainable people.