Why Leaders Need Bad Weeks Too (Especially the Weeks That Make No Sense)
This week was the kind of week that makes you stare into the void and ask, “Is Mercury in retrograde or am I the problem?”
Spoiler: It was a little bit me.
Between my child’s random meltdowns, a master bathroom shower that still refuses to function, and the personal crisis of not being able to find a razor, I was already on thin ice. Add in a subject-matter expert who seemed dedicated to being unhelpful as an art form, and yep — my leadership patience reached its expiration date.
But here’s what I realized somewhere between the toddler tears, my own attitude issues, and the SME-induced eye twitch:
Leaders need bad weeks too.
Not because suffering builds character (though maybe?) but because bad weeks force us to drop the image of “perfect leader” and embrace “functional human doing their best.”
Bad Weeks Are Like Pop Quizzes You Didn’t Study For
Most of us can lead beautifully when conditions are ideal.
This week… was not ideal.
Kid: meltdown mode
SME: committed to chaos
Customer: shockingly fine and patient (bless them)
House: actively declining
Me: wandering around looking for a razor like I’m on a quest to reclaim my identity
Bad weeks pull back the curtain. You get to see where you’re stretched too thin, where your boundaries are soft, and whether you’re prioritizing things that matter — like a working shower — over obligations that sounded good six months ago.
A “Bad Attitude” Is Really Just Your Brain Saying “Absolutely Not”
I had attitude this week.
Like, full attitude.
The kind where even I got sick of me.
But instead of labeling it a personal failure, I treated it like a notification bubble:
Your patience is at 1%. Please charge immediately.
Behind my irritation was exhaustion, frustration, and several days of tolerating nonsense I should’ve shut down on Monday.
Once you see your attitude as a message rather than a flaw, you stop spiraling and start adjusting.
Let’s Talk About the SME… Because Wow
My customer?
Lovely.
Supportive.
Doing their best.
My SME?
Imagine someone holding a door open for you, but it’s the wrong door, and the building is on fire, and they keep insisting the fire is “in scope.”
Dealing with them this week felt like trying to solve a puzzle where half the pieces belong to a different box.
But leadership isn’t about making difficult people easy.
It’s about:
documenting everything
communicating with crystal clarity
refusing to absorb someone else’s chaos
and taking a deep breath before you type something you’ll regret later
Progress was made… eventually… mostly out of stubbornness.
Home Leadership Counts Too
Skipping a work trip to prioritize my house felt unprofessional for about six seconds. Then I remembered:
You can’t lead a team if you can’t even take a hot shower.
Fixing your home is not “slacking off.”
It’s maintaining the infrastructure that keeps you sane, clean, and capable of doing anything else whatsoever.
Also: the toddler was in top emotional-athlete form this week.
Someone had to stay and referee.
The Real Win? I Survived With My Sense of Humor Mostly Intact
Did I thrive?
No.
Did I do everything gracefully?
Also no.
Did I show up, handle what needed handling, keep the customer relationship strong, protect my home, and avoid sending any rage emails to the SME?
Yes. And honestly, that’s leadership.
Bad weeks don’t make you less of a leader.
They make you a relatable one.
A human one.
One who can laugh at the absurdity and keep going anyway.
And honestly?
The world needs more of that.