An HPG Keynote for All Staff

The Burnout
Force.

Seven Forces. Seven Antidotes.
One Fight Worth Picking.

Talk It Through

The Situation

Seven forces are already operating in your system. They have names.

The people who develop, heal, and lead others work inside some of the least sustainable systems there are. Seven structural forces are already operating across your organization — and they don't prey on weakness. They prey on commitment. The person who burns out is almost always the person who cared most.

Dr. Joe Hill didn't come to this from a research paper. He led a real system under real pressure — and in 2013, burned out inside it, the same way plenty of your best people are burning out right now without anyone naming it. This isn't theory from the outside. It's the map he wishes someone had handed him.

This isn't a staffing problem, or a generational one. It's structural — and it has been running quietly in your system, without a memo, for a long time. This keynote names every force, diagnoses its root, and hands every seat in the room a specific antidote.

“You cannot build what you have not become.”
— Dr. Joe Hill · Central Thesis, The Burnout Force
70%
less likely to experience regular burnout when people feel strongly supported by their manager
Source: Gallup
44%
of managers worldwide have ever received formal training in how to lead people
Source: Gallup

Force No. 01

Fragmentation. The Silo Tax.

“I am not safe unless I am in control.”

Every silo in your organization started as someone protecting something real — a budget, a decision, a team. But protection that never opens back up becomes control that isolates everyone else. Fragmentation doesn't look like conflict. It looks like everyone technically doing their job, and nothing ever quite lining up.

The Antidote
The Launch Check
Before any initiative launches, answer publicly: what problem are we solving, who needs to know this exists, and what breaks if we don't coordinate here.

The other six forces — and their structural antidotes.

Every force names a real belief driving real behavior. Every antidote is something a leader can start using this week.

02
Exhaustion
The Parking Brake
The Antidote
The Brake Audit — find one thing the team does only because a system is broken, and eliminate it.
03
Isolation
The Solo Sport
The Antidote
Who's Next — every leader names who they're developing to surpass them, and models asking for help.
04
Scarcity
The Empty Table
The Antidote
Name What Counts — recognize not just the contribution, but the kind of contribution it was.
05
Comparison
The Reference Group
The Antidote
Shine the Light — name specific contributions to widen what "excellent" is allowed to look like.
06
Noise
The Translation Tax
The Antidote
Stop Starting — one framework at a time, learned together, with 90 days of use before the next.
07
Drift
The Graveyard of Good Starts
The Antidote
Define Done First — name the finish line before the launch, and require completion before the next one.

The room leaves with:

— Shared, honest language for what your people have already been feeling — without blame or accusation
— Seven structural antidotes every leader can start using this week
— Research grounding that positions your leadership as the solution, not the problem
— A companion monograph for every seat, with reflection prompts for each force
— An executive brief documenting the key findings and feedback shared in the room
75 Min
All staff · on-site or virtual
Full Team
Every level, same room

"TQ gave us the language to transform from a system with tremendous individual contributors into a unified force multiplier. It helped us build trust internally first, which then radiated to our 50,000+ members nationwide."

— Chad Couette, Sourcewell

Ready When You Are

Prefer to think it through first? Grab twenty minutes with Dr. Joe Hill directly — no pitch, no agenda.

Talk It Through →

joe@higherperformancegroup.com · higherperformancegroup.com