Most leaders think high performance is a simple equation: more hours, more hustle, more grit. And in a short-term crisis, that approach can even look like it’s working—war rooms, late nights, and relentless pressure that “proves” productivity.

But sustained high performance doesn’t come from staying on all the time. It comes from knowing when to push—and when to recover—so your energy, judgment, and emotional control don’t quietly degrade the very results you’re chasing.

In this conversation with James Hewitt, we unpack why “always on” leadership can actually reduce inspiration, erode psychological safety, and trap teams in reactive cycles. And we explore a smarter alternative: treating recovery as a strategic advantage, using small experiments to shift behavior, and building teams that can respond skillfully under pressure instead of just grinding harder.

If you want high performance that lasts—without burnout—this is the mindset shift that changes everything.

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// ABOUT DAVID

One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David’s forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are changing how companies approach leadership, teamwork, and collaboration.

A skilled researcher and inspiring communicator, Dr. David Burkus is the bestselling author of five books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. Since 2017, David has been ranked multiple times as one of the world’s top business thought leaders. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS Mornings.

A former business school professor, David now works with leaders from organizations across all industries, including PepsiCo, Fidelity, Adobe, and NASA. David’s keynotes aren’t just entertaining and enlightening—they’re evidence-based and immensely practical, offering leaders at all levels a set of actionable takeaways they can implement immediately.

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Are all your productivity tools actually making you...less productive? The average knowledge worker toggles between platforms 1,200 times a day. That’s four hours lost just reorienting your brain. Email, Slack, project tools, shared docs… they were supposed to help us, not hijack our focus.

In this video, I’ll break down why productivity platforms often backfire and how to fix it. We’ll look at how context switching drains your cognitive energy, how to reclaim your focus with one central task list, and why organizing work visually boosts momentum.

Chapters:

00:00 This stat should scare you.

01:09 Where Did Our Attention Go?

01:59 Stop Treating Your Brain Like a Task Manager

02:47 Create a Single Source of Truth

04:00 Organize Work in a Way That Makes Action Easier

05:17 Redefine What Responsiveness Means

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Want to build your best team ever? Join 25,000+ leaders who receive these insights in my free newsletter: https://davidburkus.com/podcast

// SPEAKING

Like what you heard? Learn more or find out how to bring me to your company or event: https://davidburkus.com/keynote-speaker/

// ABOUT DAVID

One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David’s forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are changing how companies approach leadership, teamwork, and collaboration.

A skilled researcher and inspiring communicator, Dr. David Burkus is the bestselling author of five books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. Since 2017, David has been ranked multiple times as one of the world’s top business thought leaders. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS Mornings.

A former business school professor, David now works with leaders from organizations across all industries, including PepsiCo, Fidelity, Adobe, and NASA. David’s keynotes aren’t just entertaining and enlightening—they’re evidence-based and immensely practical, offering leaders at all levels a set of actionable takeaways they can implement immediately.

//CONNECT

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidburkus/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/davidburkus

Facebook: http://www.FB.com/DrDavidBurkus

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DavidBurkus

If you're struggling to delegate as a manager, it's time to fix that. Have no fear.

In this video, I break down the most common mistakes managers make when delegating and then I’ll give you strategies to delegate in a way that actually builds high-performing, autonomous teams. We’ll talk about task vs. ownership, how to create trust without micromanaging, and why delegation isn’t about offloading your least favorite tasks.

Delegation isn’t just a skill. It’s a responsibility. And when you do it right, you don’t just get more tim, you build a team that gets stronger every time you hand something off.

00:00 The struggle to delegate is real.

00:46 Mistake: delegating tasks instead of ownership

01:44 Mistake: never really letting go

02:35 Mistake: delegating the wrong work

03:44 Solution: Match Responsibility to Readiness

04:36 Solution: Establish Checkpoints

05:22 Solution: Share Real Authority

06:21 Close the Loop

06:50 Question to ask when reflecting on delegation

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Want to build your best team ever? Join 25,000+ leaders who receive these insights in my free newsletter: https://davidburkus.com/youtube

// SPEAKING

Like what you heard? Learn more or find out how to bring me to your company or event: https://davidburkus.com/keynote-speaker/

// ABOUT DAVID

One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David’s forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are changing how companies approach leadership, teamwork, and collaboration.

A skilled researcher and inspiring communicator, Dr. David Burkus is the bestselling author of five books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. Since 2017, David has been ranked multiple times as one of the world’s top business thought leaders. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS Mornings.

A former business school professor, David now works with leaders from organizations across all industries, including PepsiCo, Fidelity, Adobe, and NASA. David’s keynotes aren’t just entertaining and enlightening—they’re evidence-based and immensely practical, offering leaders at all levels a set of actionable takeaways they can implement immediately.

//CONNECT

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidburkus/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/davidburkus

Facebook: http://www.FB.com/DrDavidBurkus

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DavidBurkus