The dark side of the leadership.

That nobody talks about.

I was eager to climb the corporate ladder. Leadership roles looked highly appealing - the power, the money, the respect! VP title seemed to have it all, and I was determined to get it. FAST. I set an aggressive end goal: get to the VP level by the time I turn 30 years old.

And I did. I was promoted to VP of Growth by 29. And SVP by 30. Crushed it, right?

But it wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns.

I was getting lost in the dark side of leadership that is rarely spoken about.

It’s lonely.

Superficial hierarchy creates an invisible wall of fear and distance between you and your coworkers. Work relationships become artificial. I didn’t feel I could openly share with my coworkers, finding it hard to connect with people how I used to.

It’s overwhelming.

The weight of responsibility was crushing. I couldn’t sleep through the night. I dreamt of writing and rewriting Slack messages. I was living an unhealthy lifestyle: regularly skipping meals and not exercising. I was irritable and short. It was a …