“You ever feel like you’re crushing it — and then one Tuesday, you wonder if you even know what you’re doing anymore?”
That’s how my coaching call with a CEO started.
We’ll call him Gary.
(That’s not his name.)
It began with a text:
“Running late. Board meeting blew up.”
By the time he got on the call, I could see it.
The look of two cold coffees, three fire drills, and zero minutes to think.
He sat down, sighed like his soul was leaving his body, and dropped the real line:
“I think I’ve lost it. I should be better than this. I shouldn’t need help anymore.”
Sound familiar?
Because here’s the thing —
Gary’s launch didn’t tank because he was incompetent.
It tanked because the system cracked under the weight of unchecked momentum.
Slack threads turned into blame games.
Marketing blamed sales.
Sales blamed ops.
Ops blamed Gary.
Gary blamed himself.
Classic.
But here’s where the real leadership work began.
What Most Leaders Get Wrong in These Moments
When a high performer spirals, it’s usually not about the situation.
It’s about their expectations.
The ones no one else is holding them to.
The ones they silently stack on themselves.
Because deep down, leaders think:
“If I’m good enough, I should not need help.”
Wrong.
The higher you go, the more crucial clarity becomes.
The more responsibility you carry, the more you need spaces to think, recalibrate, and lead with precision.
On Gary’s “worst day ever,” he didn’t need another motivational quote.
He needed someone to hand him back his vision.
And a system to steady the chaos.
We revisited the Mindset → Vision → Structure → Strategy framework.
Not just to fix the launch — but to fix the internal operating system.
BIG TAKEAWAY
The worst day isn’t when everything falls apart.
The worst day is when you convince yourself you shouldn’t need help.
Great leaders aren’t the ones who never wobble.
They’re the ones who know when to stop, recalibrate, and protect their momentum before it’s too late.
If you feel the wheels starting to shake — even while you are winning — now is the time.
Not later.
Not once it’s urgent.
Now.
Quote Me On This!
“You don’t fix chaos with force. You fix it with clarity.”
“The weight of leadership is real. And you were never meant to carry it without recalibrating your vision.”
“Even rockstars need coaches. Especially when they’re already on stage.”
“The worst day isn’t the day you fail. It’s the day you believe you have to figure it out alone.”
Ready to Recalibrate?
If you’re winning but you know you’re built for more
If your vision feels heavy instead of exciting
If you want clarity before chaos shows up again
Let’s have a conversation.
No pressure.
No hype.
Just real coaching for real leaders.
Rockstars need coaches too.
Level Up Leader Tip: Your Calendar is a Mirror
If you want to know what matters to you—look at your calendar.
Don’t tell me you value growth if you’re not blocking time to build.
Don’t say you care about strategy when every hour is spent in someone else’s emergency.
Here’s the move this week.
Do a five-minute audit.
Pull up your calendar and ask:
- What should I stop giving time to immediately?
- What’s missing completely that needs a dedicated block?
- What am I doing out of guilt or habit instead of purpose?
Leaders who own their calendar own their outcomes.
Stop saying “I just need to manage my time better.”
Start making decisions that reflect what actually matters.
This Week on The Level Up Leader Podcast
Coming up this week, I sit down with Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chairman of the Board for the C-Suite Network.
This guy knows how to scale, how to build high-trust leadership, and how to challenge you without sugarcoating a thing.
We talk about real influence, executive presence, and what it really takes to stay relevant at the highest level.
Do not miss this one.
Listen and subscribe now: www.levelupleaderpodcast.com
Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your content
Keep Showing Up
This newsletter exists to challenge the way you think, the way you lead, and the way you build.
No fluff. No filler. Just frameworks, questions, and bold moves.
If this story hit home, I’d love to hear it.
If you’ve had to make a tough stop lately, reply and share.
If you’re clinging to something you know you need to release—what’s holding you back?
Keep leveling up.
You were built for better.
Until next time,
Michael
About Michael King
Michael King is an award-winning executive coach and the founder of Teams.Coach, Gawker Traffic, and CatalystCo. With two master’s degrees in Leadership and Executive Coaching from Bellevue University, he helps high-performing executives simplify complexity, optimize their leadership, and build teams that actually work.
A certified executive coach, Michael has spent years guiding Fortune 500 leaders, entrepreneurs, and teams through the real work of leadership—creating clarity, building systems, and driving results without the burnout.
When he’s not coaching, Michael is an accomplished singer/songwriter and music producer with over 100 published songs to his credit. He’s also a Ducati aficionado, a die-hard Apple fan, and probably has a Starbucks in his hand right now.
