Are you ignoring early warning signs?
Most leaders are experts at pushing through.
Stress? Keep going.
Fatigue? Just grind harder.
Irritation? Brush it off.
That was me.
I powered through exhaustion. I dismissed the tension. I rationalized the short fuse.
Until I snapped.
And it never landed where it should have.
It landed on someone else.
A colleague.
The person delivering dinner a few minutes late.
Or the hardest ones to admit…my wife and kids.
I see it in my clients too.
One CEO told me about the day he spent 12 hours in back-to-back meetings.
His day was filled with putting out fires and making nonstop decisions.
He came home depleted and irritable.
His 7-year-old asked an innocent question at dinner.
He snapped. She cried and left the table.
Confused. Scared. Sad.
He said it was like watching himself from the outside.
He immediately felt shame and spent the rest of the night beating himself up.
Then trying to repair his bad conduct with his daughter and his wife.
That moment shook him.
Now, like me, he’s learning to treat irritation as an early warning sign.
Sometimes that means a walk.
Sometimes it means stopping for the day.
It’s not a weakness. It’s your responsibility.
Fewer blowups. Fewer apologies. Less regret.
What’s one early warning sign you’ve learned to pay attention to?
How are you showing up for those you love?
Are they getting your best or worst?