Red Thread Check-In: Fueling Your Leadership Endurance
What's fueling vs. draining your energy?
I’ve started a Friday post series anchored in my FIRE framework—checking in weekly on our Focus, Intentions, Resilience, and Energy.
This week, I found myself zeroing in on energy—specifically, where it’s being fueled and where it’s being drained.
One of the biggest contributors to our energy levels is how we feel about the work we do each day. Marcus Buckingham’s research on “red threads”—the work that energizes us—is particularly relevant here. He notes that it only takes about 20% of energizing work in your week to prevent burnout. While that number seems surprisingly low to me, it also shows how powerful even small pockets of fulfilling work can be.
Still, if we want to lead for the long haul, we ideally want that percentage to be much higher.
⚡️Reflecting on My Red Threads
This theme really landed with me this week as I compared the work that filled me up with the work that drained me.
For those of you who’ve followed my journey, you know part of why I left my corporate role was to focus on what I love most—strategy and coaching leaders. It’s not that I couldn’t do the operational parts of leadership. I just knew those tasks didn’t play to my strengths.
And as Marcus Buckingham frames it:
“Strengths are not what you’re good at. Weaknesses are not what you’re bad at. ... The simplest and best definition of a strength is ‘an activity that strengthens you.’ And the proper definition of a weakness is ‘an activity that weakens you’—even if you’re good at it.”
That resonates deeply.
I remember one leader describing me as someone who was strategic, but also got things done. But when too much of my time is spent on “getting things done,” it becomes draining—even if I’m capable. That’s the hidden cost of operating outside your red threads for too long.
🎯 What Red Threads Looked Like This Week
I had several client sessions this week that lit me up. Here are just a few examples that show how leaders are using endurance coaching to navigate what matters most:
Strategic Alignment with the Board
One client was prepping for a strategy session where she anticipated friction with a board member. We simplified her messaging, crafted a prompt for AI-supported market research, and explored potential obstacles to her influence.Quarterly Strategy Review & Reset
Another client and I reviewed her annual and Q1 goals—what worked, what didn’t, and where she wanted to shift her Q2 priorities. We clarified what she wanted to recommit to and defined the right level of accountability to keep momentum.Navigating a Career Crossroads
A longtime client needed a sounding board as he considered a new opportunity amid organizational change. We prepped questions, explored alignment with his longer-term goals, and reflected on past themes from our work together.Processing Difficult Feedback
One client brought in recent feedback tied to organizational performance and team dynamics. My role was to listen, ask the right questions, and create space for her to work through next steps with clarity and confidence.
Each of these sessions looked different—but they all supported leadership endurance in real time. That’s what this work is about.
🧭 Red Threads as Fuel for Endurance
Leadership isn’t linear—it’s full of uncertainty, human complexity, and constant recalibration. Add in the personal layers—family, health, community—and it’s no wonder it can feel like a lot.
But when more of your work aligns with your red threads—the things that strengthen you—you’re far more likely to lead with energy, clarity, and sustainability.
So, as you reflect on your own week:
What percentage of your time was spent on your red threads?
What drained you—and what energized you?
If this topic resonates, several of this week’s quotes and articles are also focused on energy and endurance. I hope they give you a moment of clarity as you head into the weekend.
Thoughts for Reflection
“As with a strength, a weakness is not merely something you are bad at (in fact, you might be quite competent at it). It is something that drains you of energy, an activity that you never look forward to doing and that when you are doing it, all you can think about is stopping.”— Marcus Buckingham, What Great Managers Do
“Your personal energy is your most valuable asset. Guard it with your life.”
— Robin Sharma, leadership expert and author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
Announcements
📣 Register Now: The June Leadership Endurance Round Table will be on Wednesday, June 18th, and we’re focusing on preparing for a less stressful summer. You can register for this session and future ones with this link.
🎤Looking for a speaker who brings both strategy and soul to the leadership conversation? Whether your audience is made up of senior leaders, HR professionals, or emerging talent, I deliver practical, engaging talks on sustainable high performance, intentional leadership, and the habits that build long-term impact.
From navigating leadership fatigue to aligning people strategy with business growth—I’ll help your group think differently about how they “train” to lead when there’s no finish line in sight.
Leadership Learning Content
Articles
With Goals, FAST Beats SMART
“The power of specific, ambitious goals to improve the performance of individuals and teams is one of the best documented findings in organizational psychology, and has been replicated in more than 500 studies over the past 50 years. Compared to vague exhortations like “Do your best,” a handful of specific, ambitious goals increases performance of an average team or individual to the 80th percentile of performance.12 Adding a set of metrics for each goal and providing frequent feedback on progress can further improve results.“
Author Talks: How to fall in love with work
“It’s the same with any workday: it’s not a Wednesday, it’s thousands of these little threads. Some of them are red, black, gray, white, or blue, but the red ones have those qualities where, before you do it, you positively look forward to it. While you’re doing it, you vanish into it and feel an almost innate sense of mastery—it’s just easy and natural for you. Those are red threads. Your day needs to be 20 percent red threads, every day.”
Podcasts
If you missed past podcast episode recommendations, you can find them here.
Looking for other valuable resources we offer? Check out all of the resources here.
If you want other resources to read or watch, check out My Favorite Things list here.
If you missed this week’s daily content, you can find the notes here or see below for individual notes:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
You can also find additional daily content from me on LinkedIn.