Last week, we brought in Alexandra Wennerholm, the leadership advisor behind Spotify, PwC, BDO and The Absolute Group, for one of our monthly Karisma Power Days.
What I didn’t expect was...
That I would need this session more than anyone.
And that it would expose the blind spot quietly pulling me toward burnout.
Because the truth is: the last few weeks, something in me felt off.
One sentence from my co-founder a few days prior hit me straight in the chest:
“You seem less excited.”
And he was right.
I wasn’t sleeping badly.
I wasn’t working insane hours.
But I was doing something far more dangerous:
I was making everyone else’s problems my own. Stepping into everything. Touching everything. Overthinking everything.
Not because I wanted to...
But because letting go still scares (more than I admit).
And during the event, it clicked:
The problem wasn’t workload. It was control.
It was the part of me that believed things only work if I push them.
Except it doesn’t.
Control kills creativity.
Control suffocates teams.
Control burns founders alive from the inside out.
And lately...
I was taking everything too seriously. Snapping at small things. Losing compassion for myself and others.
That’s not the leader I want to be.
That night, I journaled about one of my biggest takeaways:
“My biggest indicator of how good I am is my level of playfulness.
When it disappears, I know I’m on the wrong path.”
And it’s true.
The moment I lose my playfulness, everything else collapses with it. My leadership, my patience, my joy, my creativity.
So I made a commitment:
To trust.
To delegate.
To let go of control.
To protect my energy like my life depends on it (because it does).
That’s exactly what this expert helped us uncover:
How to lead from authenticity.
How to make work exciting again.
How to stay grounded while building big.
For me, it was a reset I didn’t know I needed.
And that’s why these Power Days matter.
Because they give founders something rare:
A space to see yourself clearly.
A space where one insight can change the next six months of your life.
A space where you walk out lighter, clearer, more you.
That day saved me from a path I didn’t see myself walking.
Life is good,
Marc