With a background in the arts and not-for-profit sectors, Manisha is passionate about creating engaged communities and bringing them together with unforgettable experiences.
Part of our ‘Inside Perspectives Series’, Manisha Chauhan, Marketing Coordinator at IoL, explores the shift from hero to architect leadership and why sustainable performance starts with human-centred leadership.
Meet the Hero Leader
We’re officially in the age of burnout, and the best leaders are doing everything, showing up everywhere, and sacrificing their own needs regardless of the cost - or so we’re told.
The Hero Leader is the first to log on and the last to leave. Lunch is taken with their trusty sidekick (their laptop), and a healthy work-life balance is an urban legend. It’s no wonder they’re always there to save the day - even if it’s 7:00pm on a Friday.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: heroism isn’t sustainable or strategic. In fact, heroism is the leading contributor to burnout - not just for the leader, but for the whole organisation.
The heroism paradox & why it's actually slowing everything down
As humans, we all want to be needed and feel useful; we get a rush from being the only person who can save the day. When we are called upon by colleagues, we feel like the most important person in the room, if not the organisation, and the immediate sense of being needed is satisfying, even if it’s gone by the next morning. However, being the hero in an organisation can feel so intoxicating that it’s hard to break free from it.
The strategic shift: From hero to human
To move from Hero to Architect, we have to redefine what ‘value’ looks like, and remind ourselves that we aren’t superhuman beings with special powers. Humans aren’t built to operate like machines with no sign of recovery, so why do we hold ourselves to such impossible standards, and then beat ourselves up when we fall short?
It’s time to stop trying to save everything and step back just enough to see how you can prevent the need for heroism in the workplace to begin with.
Meet the Architect
If the Hero is defined by their infinite availability, productivity and crisis-fighting superpowers, the Architect is defined by their sustained effectiveness, strategic recovery and the strength of the systems they build - so that even in their absence, the organisation continues to power on.
Becoming the Architect
Start with one simple question: Can my team function without me?
If the answer is no, and your team fall apart within a couple of days without your presence, then you have unfortunately built a team of your number one fans. They may shine bright, but if they need you to flick the switch, then something isn’t quite right.
Instead, build a team on strong foundations so your presence is valued, but not constantly required.
Invest in systems & processes, from the start
Invest in real systems and processes, and take the time to fireproof them - make them the real heroes of the story so you don’t need to be. In fact, by building a truly resilient infrastructure, you’re saving yourself and your team from burnout. Equip everyone with the knowledge and process to back them when they need it.
Go beyond procedure and focus on creating a framework that grows leadership across the team. Break your own approaches down and use:
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Documentation: Share your knowledge and the ‘reasons why’. Humans are curious, so let’s start feeding that desire for knowledge and create teams that know exactly what they’re doing, and why they’re doing it.
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Clear guardrails: Define the boundaries of autonomy, so your team don’t need to ask you everything. Give them the confidence and safety to make decisions and take action without waiting for the Hero to save the day.
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Strategic distance: Practice stepping back. During a crisis, are you really needed, or is there a process stopping you from stepping away? When we’re always on the ground, the Architect disappears, and the Hero has to take over. By stepping back, you can take full stock of the facts and identify the hidden strengths, and weaknesses, already present in your team.
Now you’ve become the Architect of your team, and left the Hero behind, it’s time to lead with humanity. By stopping the cycle of servicing everyone and choosing to protect your own mental health, time and wellbeing, you’ve finally given your team the permission to do the same.
Leading with humanity & making it last
Even though giving up the cape might feel like you’re working less, or not doing enough, the reality is that you’re finally giving yourself the space to lead and lead well. Now that you’re treating yourself with humanity, you can lead others with humanity, whilst fully comprehending and actively addressing the nuances that come with leadership.
Lead by example
Unlock your inner athlete
Athletes treat recovery as part of their strategy: vital to their consistent and sustainable performance, without compromising their mental or physical wellbeing. Teams will always look to their leaders to inform their behaviours and what they’re ‘allowed’ to do. If you don’t take the time to rest and recover, your team will never feel safe to do so.
If great performance is modelled by leaders who are constantly drowning under the pressure, prioritising work over their own wellbeing, and choosing to provide infinite energy and availability, teams will only breed the same culture.
Become the model of strategic recovery:
- Disconnect during evenings and weekends
- Prioritise ‘breathing space’
- Be vocal about how you recharge
Drop the cape & celebrate the human
Human leadership requires the human, and that is you. Psychological safety trickles down from leadership.
Step 1: Share your difficulties or challenges
Step 2: Let your team know it’s safe to struggle and speak openly about it
Step 3: Actively talk about how you plan to address your concerns; whether you’re going to take some strategic recovery time, simply recalibrate your workload or set boundaries to protect yourself.
Your honesty signals that it is okay to be human and that mental health is a priority in this team.
Leading your own energy
Perhaps you’re an individual contributor, and whilst you don’t lead the team, you lead yourself and regularly work across teams and external clients. Leadership isn’t just a title, and the way we lead ourselves can still feed into everyone else around us.
It’s easy to fall into the Hero trap, whether you’re a CEO or an administrative assistant. Leading your own energy puts you in the driving seat, as the Architect. Burnout can hit hard and fast when you let others take the wheel. Protect yourself by setting boundaries, managing your capacity, prioritising your own recovery, and speaking up when things aren’t quite right.
Set an example for others in your position, and advocate for your own mental health with the same energy you would normally use to save the day. Your performance will become more consistent, and collaboration will become stronger, all whilst keeping burnout at bay.
The sustainable leader: Retiring the hero
The choice is clear. It’s time to retire the hero and start putting yourself first with human leadership that truly lasts. In an age where burnout continues to grow, you have the power to shape a future of leadership where people come first, and mental health doesn’t suffer.
By choosing to lead as an Architect, you aren’t just protecting yourself - you’re allowing others to do the same and proving that high performance can exist without leading to burnout.
Lose the cape, stop saving the day and start building a future that is architecturally sound.
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