When Purpose Becomes Pressure: A Leadership Story
EmPower Reflections – Shared Anonymously
Working in the purpose-driven world of the charity sector, it’s easy to assume you’re living a fulfilling life. After all, your job is focused on helping others — on solving problems that matter.
But what happens when that sense of purpose begins to erode your sense of self?
For over two decades, I held senior leadership roles across a number of organisations doing vital, challenging work. On paper, I was successful. Respected. Purpose-driven.
But inside, I was unravelling.
I began having recurring dreams of a tsunami — always running from a wave that threatened to swallow me whole. That wave became the metaphor for my day-to-day reality: leading an organisation facing deep-rooted challenges that demanded urgent action.
The stakes were high. The work was essential. I believed — as many leaders do — that giving more of myself was a fair trade-off for protecting services that people desperately needed.
So, I sprinted. For two years straight.
Until my body said no.
The warning signs were impossible to ignore: hair loss, panic attacks, re-emerging trauma. The lived experience I once saw as a strength — a source of empathy and motivation — became too heavy to carry. I left my role. Burnt out. Exhausted. Ashamed.
That’s when I found EmPower.
At the time, I hoped it might be a reset. What I didn’t expect was a space that felt immediately safe — where I could speak honestly for the first time in years. The programme gave me tools, yes. But more than that, it gave me the permission to see myself again.
Through small, daily actions, a personalised tracker, and group support, I began to rebuild.
But the biggest shift? Realising that I had mistaken lived experience for life purpose.
The work I’d done was meaningful — but it had anchored me to trauma. Through EmPower, I uncovered a truth that changed everything: I didn’t have to keep reliving the hardest parts of my life to make a difference.
I wanted to write. To travel. To support change in a different way — not from a place of depletion, but from alignment and strength.
Since EmPower, I’ve chosen a new path. I now consult, write, and live more flexibly. I’ve started choosing my mountain — not the one I felt I had to climb.
And for the first time in a long time… I feel free.
If you’re a leader on the edge — know that you’re not alone.
The EmPower programme helps individuals reconnect with who they are, what matters to them, and how to take meaningful action without burning out.
📩 Learn more or speak to our team: Duncan.batty@em-po.com
Join Us in London for Something Special 💛
Alan and Duncan are returning to London this Septemper to host the EmPower Live Seminar this 8th and 9th September in London — and we’d love for you to be part of it. This is more than just an event; it’s an opportunity to reconnect with what matters, recharge your mindset, and start building real mental fitness.
✨ Limited spaces. Big impact.
Interested?
Email Duncan directly at duncan.batty@em-po.com — he’d love to hear from you.