Most CEOs think pressure is the problem.
It is not. The problem is the lack of infrastructure to handle it.
In this episode, I sit down with Max Learmonth, founder and CEO of Forge Talent which is currently the fastest growing finance and accountancy recruiter in the UK, as well as a current client of mine.
Max is a former elite athlete, a CEO on a mission to change an industry and on a charge to take him and his team to another level.
The reality of pushing your limits means that you're always going to be living on the knife edge of pushing yourself to expand your capacity.
But when we first connected, that was not the full picture.
Max was up at
3:45 in the morning. Running ten kilometres before the sun came up. Burning off the previous night's client dinners. Getting home and being physically present but mentally absent. Running on adrenaline, black coffee, and the same mindset that had served him on the rugby pitch but was quietly slowing down his capacity to lead.
He did not have a business problem. He had a self management problem.
And he had no idea that he was constantly living on the edge of burnout.
This conversation is one of the most honest I have recorded. We go into what it actually looks like when a high performer is running on empty, why the same traits that build elite businesses can quietly erode the person running them, and what changes when you start treating yourself like the most important asset in the company.
We cover:
- Why being fully committed and being well managed are not the same thing, and why confusing them is costing you more than you realise.
- How reactive leadership is a product of a depleted system, not a character flaw, and what Max did to shift from reacting to responding.
- The role of data, routine, and recovery in giving a full-send personality the capacity to actually sustain the pace.
- What presence at home actually has to do with performance at work, and why most leaders get this completely backwards.
- Why asking for guidance is not a weakness when you are operating at this level. It is the highest leverage decision you can make.
This is not a conversation about balance. Neither of us believes in it. This is a conversation about building the physical and psychological infrastructure that allows you to stay on the knife edge, sustainably, and lead with clarity when it matters most.
If you are growing something, if you are fully attacking and starting to feel it, and if part of you knows that the way you are operating right now is not going to hold, this one is for you.
Listen. Take one thing. Act on it.
Built For Pressure works with founders, CEOs and senior leaders who are serious about performing at the highest level, for the long term. If that is you, DM me the word PRESSURE and let us have a conversation.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction and who is Max Learmonth
03:20 From elite sport to building the fastest growing recruiter in the UK
08:45 What it actually felt like to be fully attacking with no off switch
14:10 Max routine, including how he used to manage his growth and performance.
19:30 The moment Max knew something had to change
24:00 From reactive to responsive: how real leadership behaviour shifts
31:15 What tracking data actually taught a man who hated the idea of wearing a whoop
38:40 Nutrition, sleep and the basics that nobody talks about seriously enough
44:20 Why presence at home is a performance variable, not a soft one
50:05 What Max would tell himself at the start of the journey
55:30 The one thing that would accelerate any CEO watching this
🔗 Connect with me:
Linkedin: @willfoden
Instagram: @willfoden
Website www.builtforpressure.net
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