The Prize That Poisoned the Soul
They clapped when you walked on stage. They admired the headline numbers. They applauded your bonus. But behind the cameras and congratulatory emails, you know the truth. That bonus cost you nights of sleepless restlessness, mornings you dreaded, family dinners you missed, and a body that has been keeping score in silence.

The culture of leadership has glamorized fatigue. We wear exhaustion like a badge of honor, convincing ourselves that the grind proves our greatness. We spiritualize self-abandonment, telling ourselves that sacrifice is the cost of destiny. But beneath the applause lies a truth too many C-level executives only confront when their body collapses: No bonus is worth the burial of your health, your peace, or your soul.

Today, we are discussing the silent epidemic sweeping through boardrooms, ministries, and corner offices. It is the burnout behind the bonus.

The False Gospel of Exhaustion
Somewhere along the climb, we were sold a lie. A dangerous gospel whispered through performance-driven culture:
• That exhaustion equals excellence.
• That sleep is for the weak.
• That your worth is measured in how much of yourself you can sacrifice.
And so you pushed. And pushed. Until push became panic. Until ambition became a slow-motion suicide.
But burnout is not simple tiredness. Tiredness can be cured with sleep. Burnout is deeper it is depletion. It is the day your soul whispers, “I’m done” but your calendar screams, “keep going.”

Research confirms this: The World Health Organization officially classified burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” in 2019, defining it as chronic workplace stress not successfully managed.

A Deloitte survey in 2022 found that 77% of professionals have experienced burnout in their current role, and 70% of executives admit that they are not doing enough to address it.

Yet, in boardrooms, we rarely name it. Why? Because executives are conditioned to perform strength, not confess strain. Because if you collapse, the market doesn’t pause. The economy doesn’t wait. Shareholders don’t care.
But here is the dangerous irony: the more we deny burnout, the faster it kills us.

The CEO Who Collapsed
Adaora is the CEO of a booming consumer goods company in West Africa. She was brilliant, charismatic and always “on.”

Under her leadership, revenue tripled in three years. She graced magazine covers. She sat on global panels. She had, as they say, arrived. But the headlines didn’t tell the whole story. Adaora hadn’t taken a vacation in five years. She was surviving on three hours of sleep a night. Her board kept raising the bar yet never asked if she had the energy to keep leaping.

She glamorized fatigue. She spiritualized self-abandonment. Then one day, in the middle of a strategy session, Adaora collapsed. Her body shouted what her mouth had refused to. Her body finally said Enough.

Two weeks in the hospital with adrenal fatigue, hypertension and clinical burnout. This woman who carried a billion-naira company could not even remember her assistant’s phone number.

And yet, when she returned to work, buried under 1,200 unread emails, she found a congratulatory note: “Bonus approved.”
She closed the laptop. And wept. Not tears of joy. Tears of clarity.

That bonus had cost her everything.
But here’s where Adaora’s story shifted. Instead of sliding back into the same cycle, she made a different decision: she reached out for coaching.

In our sessions together, we did the work her boardroom never made space for. We unpacked the patterns of overextension. We reframed her relationship with rest. We restructured her leadership so she could thrive without bleeding herself dry.

Within six months, Adaora was a different leader. She instituted protected rest days in her calendar. She built a stronger executive team that absorbed pressure she used to carry alone. She discovered joy in simple habits she had abandoned like morning walks, family dinners, solitude with her journal.

Most importantly, Adaora reclaimed her life. Today, she doesn’t just lead companies. She mentors emerging executives across Africa with a new mantra: “If I must rise, I will not ruin myself in the process. Dr. Abiola’s coaching gave me the tools to build success that sustains my soul.”
Adaora learned the truth that wellness is not a luxury. It is the strategy for a quantm leap.

If this article has been your mirror, let coaching be your next step. Because carrying burnout alone is not strength. It is slow destruction.
Your organization may celebrate your bonus. The world may applaud your results. But your body, your soul, and your legacy need more than applause. They need you whole.

So, here’s my invitation: Don’t wait for your collapse to become your wake-up call. Reach out. Let’s build a rhythm of leadership that lasts.
Visit www.tppafrica.com for the full articleThe Prize That Poisoned the Soul

They clapped when you walked on stage. They admired the headline numbers. They applauded your bonus.
But behind the cameras and congratulatory emails, you know the truth. That bonus cost you nights of sleepless restlessness, mornings you dreaded, family dinners you missed, and a body that has been keeping score in silence.

The culture of leadership has glamorized fatigue. We wear exhaustion like a badge of honor, convincing ourselves that the grind proves our greatness. We spiritualize self-abandonment, telling ourselves that sacrifice is the cost of destiny. But beneath the applause lies a truth too many C-level executives only confront when their body collapses: No bonus is worth the burial of your health, your peace, or your soul.
Today, we are discussing the silent epidemic sweeping through boardrooms, ministries, and corner offices. It is the burnout behind the bonus.

The False Gospel of Exhaustion
Somewhere along the climb, we were sold a lie. A dangerous gospel whispered through performance-driven culture:
• That exhaustion equals excellence.
• That sleep is for the weak.
• That your worth is measured in how much of yourself you can sacrifice.

And so you pushed. And pushed. Until push became panic. Until ambition became a slow-motion suicide.
But burnout is not simple tiredness. Tiredness can be cured with sleep. Burnout is deeper it is depletion. It is the day your soul whispers, “I’m done” but your calendar screams, “keep going.”

Research confirms this: The World Health Organization officially classified burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” in 2019, defining it as chronic workplace stress not successfully managed.

A Deloitte survey in 2022 found that 77% of professionals have experienced burnout in their current role, and 70% of executives admit that they are not doing enough to address it.

Yet, in boardrooms, we rarely name it. Why? Because executives are conditioned to perform strength, not confess strain. Because if you collapse, the market doesn’t pause. The economy doesn’t wait. Shareholders don’t care.
But here is the dangerous irony: the more we deny burnout, the faster it kills us.

The CEO Who Collapsed
Adaora is the CEO of a booming consumer goods company in West Africa. She was brilliant, charismatic and always “on.”
Under her leadership, revenue tripled in three years. She graced magazine covers. She sat on global panels. She had, as they say, arrived.

But the headlines didn’t tell the whole story. Adaora hadn’t taken a vacation in five years. She was surviving on three hours of sleep a night. Her board kept raising the bar yet never asked if she had the energy to keep leaping.

She glamorized fatigue. She spiritualized self-abandonment. Then one day, in the middle of a strategy session, Adaora collapsed.

Her body shouted what her mouth had refused to. Her body finally said Enough.

Two weeks in the hospital with adrenal fatigue, hypertension and clinical burnout. This woman who carried a billion-naira company could not even remember her assistant’s phone number.

And yet, when she returned to work, buried under 1,200 unread emails, she found a congratulatory note: “Bonus approved.”

She closed the laptop. And wept. Not tears of joy. Tears of clarity.

That bonus had cost her everything.

But here’s where Adaora’s story shifted. Instead of sliding back into the same cycle, she made a different decision: she reached out for coaching.

In our sessions together, we did the work her boardroom never made space for. We unpacked the patterns of overextension. We reframed her relationship with rest. We restructured her leadership so she could thrive without bleeding herself dry.

Within six months, Adaora was a different leader. She instituted protected rest days in her calendar. She built a stronger executive team that absorbed pressure she used to carry alone. She discovered joy in simple habits she had abandoned like morning walks, family dinners, solitude with her journal.

Most importantly, Adaora reclaimed her life. Today, she doesn’t just lead companies. She mentors emerging executives across Africa with a new mantra: “If I must rise, I will not ruin myself in the process. Dr. Abiola’s coaching gave me the tools to build success that sustains my soul.”

Adaora learned the truth that wellness is not a luxury. It is the strategy for a quantm leap.

If this article has been your mirror, let coaching be your next step. Because carrying burnout alone is not strength. It is slow destruction.

Your organization may celebrate your bonus. The world may applaud your results. But your body, your soul, and your legacy need more than applause. They need you whole.

So, here’s my invitation: Don’t wait for your collapse to become your wake-up call. Reach out. Let’s build a rhythm of leadership that lasts.

Visit www.tppafrica.com for the full article

About Dr. Abiola Salami
Dr. Abiola Salami is the Convener of Dr Abiola Salami International Leadership Bootcamp ; The Peak PerformerTM Festival Made4More Accelerator Program and The New Year Kickoff Summit. He is the Principal Performance Strategist at CHAMP – a full scale professional services firm trusted by high performing business leaders for providing Executive Coaching, Workforce Development & Advisory Services to improve performance. You can reach his team on [email protected] and connect with him @abiolachamp on all social media platforms.