The Secret to Career Growth Is Your Nervous System (Not More Hustle)

Vicky Cleary
Apr 28
3 min read

You’ve got the ambition, the experience, and the work ethic. So why does your career still feel stalled — or like it’s costing more than it should?

If you’ve been grinding harder, trying to push through the overwhelm or prove yourself in high-pressure spaces, you’re not alone. But here’s the hard truth: hustle isn’t what moves the needle anymore.

Regulation is.

career growth and nervous system

The Real Cost of Reactivity

Most professionals think that if they want to grow, they need to do more, say yes more, or handle more. But what often goes unnoticed is how they’re doing it: from a constant state of reactivity.

When your nervous system is stuck in survival mode — fight, flight, freeze, or fawn — it’s almost impossible to access the skills that leadership actually demands:

Clear decision-making
Executive presence
Calm under pressure
Strategic thinking

Instead, you're operating from urgency and depletion. And that comes at a cost: your visibility, your reputation, and ultimately, your upward momentum.

You Don't Have a Capability Problem — You Have a Capacity Problem

Most career advice skips over the physiological piece. But the truth is, your nervous system directly impacts your capacity to lead.

From dysregulation to leadership presence

When you’re dysregulated:

You over-explain instead of lead with clarity.
You avoid feedback or conflict because your system is on edge.
You miss opportunities because you’re too drained to pursue them.

When you're regulated:

You access your full intellect — and communicate it with ease.
You show up with calm confidence that earns trust.
You make bold moves because your energy is sustainable.

That’s not just self-care. That’s self-leadership and strategy.

How Stress Response Patterns Shape Your Leadership

You might be thinking, “But I don’t feel that stressed — I’m just exhausted or spinning my wheels.” That’s often the nervous system at work behind the scenes.

Here’s how the four main stress responses often show up at work — and why they may be shaping your leadership without you realizing it:

😠 Fight looks like:

Overexplaining or needing to "win" conversations
Getting defensive during feedback
Feeling tense or hyper-alert in meetings

You're not aggressive or difficult — you're in a state of threat and trying to stay safe.

🏃‍♀️ Flight looks like:

Constant multitasking to avoid hard conversations
Putting off decisions
Feeling like you can never catch up

You're not flaky — your system believes it has to outrun the pressure.

🧊 Freeze looks like:

Procrastination, even on tasks you care about
Shutting down in high-stakes moments
Struggling to speak up or take action

You're not lazy — you're overwhelmed.

🙏 Fawn looks like:

Over-apologizing
Saying “yes” to things you don’t have capacity for
Dimming your voice to avoid conflict

You're not weak — you've learned survival through compliance.

🌀 We all have a default response when stress hits. But when we lead from that place, it chips away at our confidence, clarity, and credibility.

Nervous System Health: The New Career Advantage

Regulation isn’t about bubble baths or meditation apps (though those can help). It’s about training your system to shift out of overdrive and into a sustainable baseline — consistently.

Think of it like your internal operating system: the calmer and clearer it is, the faster you process, the smarter you respond, and the more grounded your presence becomes.

In today’s workplace, where burnout is normalized and reactivity is rampant, being the person who can stay focused, steady, and clear-headed under pressure?

That’s your edge.

Ready to Learn How?

I’m hosting a free masterclass on May 27 called Accelerate Your Career in 90 Days, and this is exactly what we’ll unpack.

You’ll learn:

What’s really keeping you stuck (hint: it’s not lack of motivation)
How nervous system regulation boosts your visibility, confidence, and performance
The key shifts high performers must make to move from management to leadership — without burning out