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  • Leadership Check-In

    When you’re meeting-ed to death and the work never ends.

    Why does leadership take so much out of you?

    This is not a stress quiz. It is a leadership load assessment.

    When we use the word load, we are not talking about weakness or overwhelm. We are talking about the total weight leadership places on you- decisions, responsibility, emotional labor, and constant readiness- all carried at the same time. Leadership asks a great deal of you consistently, relentlessly, and often without relief.

    Your decisions affect other people’s work, paychecks, and lives. You do what the role requires, day after day. You make calls that don’t come with clean answers and you’re still carrying them when the day is over. You are doing the job well. At the same time, your decision-making, emotional regulation, and vigilance systems are being worn down.

    This assessment helps you identify where the demands of leadership are taking their toll- responsibility, decision pressure, emotional containment, and constant readiness- and why that combination can start to feel like, “I can’t keep this up.” What you’re experiencing is not random. It follows patterns. And patterns can be stabilized.

    I’ve spent my career inside complex systems where leadership looks strong on paper but quietly takes a toll on the people carrying the weight. As a nurse, executive leader, professor, and organizational leadership scholar, I’ve watched capable, ethical leaders slowly erode under responsibility they were never meant to hold alone.

    This assessment exists because what exhausts leaders is rarely incompetence or lack of commitment- it’s sustained pressure, moral conflict, emotional containment, and constant vigilance. When those loads go unnamed, leaders start blaming themselves instead of stabilizing the system. Giving language to leadership load is the first step toward changing how leadership actually works.

    Dr. JoNeil Conley, DM, MBA, BSN, RN
    Leadership Stabilizer

     

     

  • Disclaimer & Consent

    Purpose

    This assessment is a leadership reflection tool. It helps identify areas where leadership demands may be concentrated or destabilizing. It focuses on patterns related to sustained responsibility, ethical strain, emotional containment, and chronic pressure.

    It is not a diagnostic or clinical instrument.

    Voluntary Participation

    Your participation is voluntary. You may stop at any time.

    Privacy

    Your responses are confidential. If used in an organizational or group setting, only aggregated, de-identified data should be reviewed.

    Not for Emergencies

    This tool does not provide crisis support. If you are in immediate distress, contact emergency services or a licensed professional.

    Use of Results

    Results are intended to help orient you to where leadership demand is concentrated and support reasonable next-step decisions. Any actions taken based on results are your choice.

    By continuing, you acknowledge and consent to participate.

  • Please indicate how much you agree with each statement based on your current leadership experience.

    Go with your first, honest reaction. Don’t overthink it. You’re answering from lived experience, not trying to get it right.

    Response Scale

    1 – Strongly Disagree
    2 – Disagree
    3 – Neither Agree nor Disagree
    4 – Agree
    5 – Strongly Agree

    There are no right or wrong answers. Answer honestly based on what is true for you now.

  • Relational Load & Emotional Containment

    This section looks at the part of leadership that rarely shows up on a job description. A lot of leadership means taking in what others bring. You hear complaints that aren’t yours to fix. You absorb reactions that don’t belong to you. You step into conflict, keep your composure, and do what the role requires, even as it quietly drains your reserves and your ability to care.
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  • Sustained Responsibility Without a Stop

    This section looks at what it’s like when responsibility just keeps coming and there’s no real off-switch. Many leadership roles are structured with increasing accountability and little true relief. Decisions stack, expectations persist, and responsibility continues even when you are technically off duty.
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  • Ethical Conflict & Impossible Trade-Offs

    This section looks at the ethical strain that can arise when leadership decisions do not have clean or satisfying outcomes. Leadership often means operating within constraints (policies, priorities, regulations, or resource limits) that shape what is possible. These situations are rarely about right versus wrong. They are about navigating trade-offs where something important is compromised regardless of the choice made.
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  • Chronic Vigilance & Role Pressure

    This section looks at what happens when leadership requires constant readiness.Even when nothing is actively wrong, leadership often means staying alert. Messages come through. Issues surface without warning. Something always needs attention.This is not about anxiety or overreacting. It is about what happens when leadership never fully shuts off and your nervous system stays on high alert.
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  • High Overall Load (73-100)
    Your total score reflects a concentrated leadership load that is likely affecting decision quality, recovery, and long-term sustainability. This range often indicates prolonged responsibility without adequate relief, support, or redistribution. Leaders may feel constantly “on” or notice increased strain, though this does not indicate failure or weakness. Stabilization and intentional load reduction would be appropriate at this level.

  • Moderate Overall Load (45-72)
    Your score suggests that leadership demands are beginning to press against your available capacity. Leaders in this range often compensate by working longer, staying more vigilant, or carrying more internally, even if performance remains strong. Early signs of reduced recovery or decision fatigue may appear. Attention here can prevent further accumulation and reduce the need for future stabilization.

  • Manageable Overall Load (20-44)
    Your overall leadership load is being carried within workable limits. Leadership demands require consistent attention and energy, but they are not overwhelming your cognitive capacity, emotional regulation, or recovery. Pressure may be present, yet it remains responsive rather than consuming. Regular check-ins at this level support sustainability and help prevent gradual overload.

  • Minimal Overall Load (0–24)

    Your total score suggests that your current leadership load is light or well-contained. While responsibilities and pressure still exist, they are not significantly interfering with your ability to think clearly, make decisions, or recover between efforts. This range often reflects effective boundaries, role clarity, or supportive systems that prevent excess accumulation. Ongoing awareness helps ensure load remains stable rather than quietly increasing over time.

  • Thank you for taking the time to complete this leadership load assessment.

    Your results are not a measure of competence, strength, or worth.

    They reflect how leadership demand is interacting with real limits over time.

    Use the scores as information, not a verdict.

    Pausing long enough to reflect on the weight you’re carrying is not a small thing. Many leaders move from one demand to the next without ever having space to notice how much has accumulated.

    Whatever your scores, this assessment was meant to give language to what you may already sense but rarely have time to name.

    You can return to it at any point as leadership demands shift and change.

     

    xoxo, 

    Dr. JoNeil

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