The Burnt Turkey Leader
The end of the year does funny things to leaders. Some start sprinting, some start spiraling, and almost everyone turns into a human pressure cooker, convinced that if they just push a little harder, they can finish the year strong.
If you are already running on fumes, adding more heat does not make you more effective. It just makes you burn. And when leaders burn, they do not just burn themselves; they bring heat to the people around them.
Which brings us to the turkey.
The Turkey Test
There are countless ways to cook a turkey, but two classics always show up at Thanksgiving:
Version 1: The “low and slow” turkey. Cooked at 300 degrees for three hours. Even. Juicy. Safe for human consumption. People come back for seconds and ask for the recipe.
Version 2: The “turn it up and hope for the best” turkey. Thrown into the oven at 900 degrees for an hour. Charred on the outside, raw chaos on the inside, and guaranteed to send at least one relative home in pain.
Now for the leadership question: which one are you becoming?
Burnt-turkey leaders look productive from the outside. They are fast, intense, always “on it.” But slice into their calendar and everything is half baked. And just like undercooked poultry, burnt leaders do not just implode, they make everyone around them sick.
In leadership, sickness does not look like stomach cramps. It looks like reactive decisions, short tempers, disappearing creativity, teams walking on eggshells, and people quietly updating their resumes while pretending everything is “all good.” Overheated leadership does not just drain you. It poisons the room.
The Real Lesson
Heat does not create excellence. It only accelerates what is already there.
If you are energized, heat creates momentum.
If you are depleted, heat creates smoke.
Slow-cooked leadership is not soft. It is sustainable. It is steady without being passive, thoughtful without being slow, and it feeds people instead of burning them.
And if there is ever a week to remember this, it is Thanksgiving, the one holiday literally built around pacing, patience, and not poisoning your guests. Rest is not a reward. It is an ingredient.
