Melissa LaPointe [00:00:03 - 00:01:15]
Welcome to the OTs Gone Rogue podcast. I'm your host, Melissa Lapointe. Over the years, I've worked closely with thought leaders, changemakers, and OTs who are ready for something more. And now I'm inviting you behind the curtain where you'll hear stories about overcoming adversity, challenging the status quo, and finding the courage to do things differently. Let's dive in. All right, welcome back everyone to the 4th episode of this mini-series, a creative project I'm producing as part of a final assignment for my master's program. This mini-series takes you behind the scenes of the frameworks, transitions, and lived experiences that have shaped my work not only as a therapist, but as a program designer, adult educator, and entrepreneur. And today's episode sits right at the intersection of 2 things I have been fully immersed in this past year: my graduate studies in adult education, and my lived experience navigating business, leadership, ambition, and more recently, perimenopause.
Melissa LaPointe [00:01:17 - 00:03:24]
And just to be clear, Even though we're talking about performance in today's episode, this isn't a conversation about productivity. It's not a conversation about efficiency or scaling or doing more with less. We are going much deeper than that. This is a conversation about performance as a lived experience, as the interplay between our internal world, Our external supports, and the real human conditions that make meaningful work possible, especially if you are carrying complex roles, navigating nonlinear career paths, and holding really big ideas. So over the past few years, I have been trying to make sense of all of this as it relates specifically to performance. So I've been looking at this in terms of my client work and my performance coaching, but also, you know, looking in the mirror and really trying to make sense of how I self-regulate, how I use my capacity, and how I'm moving through these different rhythms and seasons in life. And it's been the last 6 months or so that these pieces have really started to come together in a more integrated, So this ongoing exploration of my internal patterns, the way I lead, and the structures that support my work, it's evolved into something that now guides not only how I run my business, but also how I'm supporting other therapists, other service-based entrepreneurs. So this framework, this operating system that I've been building out, at the center of it is the idea of sustainable capacity.
Melissa LaPointe [00:03:25 - 00:04:32]
But before we get into the details, I want to back up to where this really started for me. So since I was little, I have had seasons in my life where my brain takes off like a rocket. More recently, like in the last 10 years or so since I've been an entrepreneur, I definitely recognize those sprints. So my brain takes off and I am spinning out ideas, concepts, strategies, sometimes creating whole programs in my head faster than my body or my team can reasonably keep pace with. In the past, I have learned to ride those waves pretty hard. I've really leaned into it. So I've gone through periods of long days and late nights where I am just in this state of flow. So I have my head down and I am pumping out work, but often at the sacrifice of my body, where I am just tuned out.
Melissa LaPointe [00:04:32 - 00:05:06]
I'm tuned out. To my need for movement, my need for nourishment. I'm not feeling hunger signals. I'm just going, going, going. So if your brain works anything like mine, so fast, nonlinear, prone to hyperfocus, you might recognize this pattern. So it's not that procrastination loop, because I have that too. So that procrastination loop where you're in something, It's like, oh, I'm just going to do one more thing. And you just keep going for a bit.
Melissa LaPointe [00:05:06 - 00:06:36]
Now, when I go through these work sprints, it's more like this exuberant wave of inspiration where I am so motivated to do all the things all at once with 21 tabs open, 3 ideas unfolding simultaneously, and this level of immersion. That collapses time. So when I am in it, hours can pass. Sometimes that's just the way that I work for days. Like I can go 5, 6, 7 days where pedal to the metal, and that is how I am in it. And then suddenly I give my head a shake, I look up, or my body is screaming at me, and I realize I've been living inside this vortex of ideas and execution without pausing long enough to check, can my body support the pace that I'm moving? Can my relationships support this pace? And more recently, can my team support this pace? And the thing is, that rhythm, those sprints, boy, did they serve me well for a long time. There have been stages in my life that those sprints really helped me to build something, really helped me to lean into content creation or bringing these big ideas to life. But it's never been truly sustainable.
Melissa LaPointe [00:06:37 - 00:07:47]
I know that, especially not while wearing so many hats, and certainly not as the business grew more complex. So eventually, I've had to learn how to moderate that flow of energy rather than operate from in it. One of the healthiest changes in my business over the last couple of years is that I can't move like I used to. Because I have a team now, not in the sense that they slow me down or hold me back, but because they help me stay grounded. My team acts as a sounding board when I need to hear myself think, when I need to talk something out. They are reality checks when I'm sprinting ahead. They are built-in constraints to protect me from my own momentum. And honestly, there are times I definitely still need that because when I go through these work sprints or when the momentum, you know, there's a lot of really good momentum going and I get really excited and I get really energized.
Melissa LaPointe [00:07:48 - 00:08:42]
And sometimes I announce things before they're fully fleshed out. So these ideas, these programs, these plans, I just I'm so inspired, I scream it from the rooftops, and it's almost like saying it out loud will help to make it more of a reality. But once I've told people I'm doing something, this very familiar pressure kicks in. It doesn't come from the audience, doesn't come from my team, doesn't come from anyone else's expectations. It comes from my internal narrative. So this is where Internal Family Systems, or IFS, has become such a powerful lens for me. Now, I know a lot of you listening are very familiar with IFS. That's how I was actually introduced to IFS.
Melissa LaPointe [00:08:42 - 00:09:23]
So it was through a therapist in the ROE community. I was interviewing her maybe 4 years ago, not for the podcast, but it was actually a discovery call related to a group program that she was creating. And she had advanced training in IFS, and she was telling me all about it. And I really resonated with what she was saying. So I started to look more into it. So for those of you who don't know, IFS is a therapeutic approach that views the mind as being made up of multiple parts. So we are this culmination of parts, and each part has its own perspective. and emotions.
Melissa LaPointe [00:09:24 - 00:10:40]
And the ultimate goal isn't to get rid of some of our parts or fix some of our parts that aren't serving us. The goal is to bring harmony and balance to these different parts under the leadership of the core self. So I was introduced to this, I really was leaning into this, and then I decided I wanted to go further. So I started looking for A professional that was trained in IFS that I could work with personally. And I found her. Took me a little bit, but I found her. So for the last 27 months or so, I have been doing some pretty deep work with a therapist using an IFS lens, and it has completely reshaped how I understand myself as an individual, And as a CEO, and it's reshaped the way that I operate. So that overachieving, over-functioning part of me, that part of me that loves to move the goalposts, always moving the goalposts, and create these high-pressure situations with self-imposed deadlines, that part of me isn't trying to sabotage me.
Melissa LaPointe [00:10:41 - 00:12:10]
She's not trying to mess me up or fast-track me to burnout. That part of me truly believes that in some way she is keeping me safe, she's keeping me relevant, she's keeping me valuable. And that part of me does have a role in my life. She deserves a seat at the table. And what I'm learning through IFS Is to not get frustrated with her, but to get curious about her, to understand what motivates her to show up in my life, what's driving her, and what is she afraid of if I take my foot off the gas. So she does deserve a seat at the table, but I'm learning that she should not be running the entire show. And over time, even though I definitely don't have this all figured out, I am learning to ask myself some really uncomfortable questions about these different parts of me and how they relate to my understanding of performance, my understanding of sustainable capacity. And I'm learning how to recognize that when that particular part is taking over, When I'm pushing too hard, when I am imposing unrealistic deadlines, or when I'm chasing achievement as a way of managing discomfort or self-doubt.
Melissa LaPointe [00:12:11 - 00:13:47]
Alongside that IFS work, I've been learning a lot about my physiology. So again, this is the chapter in life where, you know, I've spent so much time doing performance coaching and really leaning into that work. And in the last 18 months or so, I have flipped the script where I'm not focusing as much on— I'm still using that lens with my clients. But when I say flip the script, I've been really looking in the mirror and understanding how performance and all this knowledge I've accumulated women's health can be applied to me in my own life. So I am someone who really values health data, especially when it helps me understand my rhythms in a way that's more objective. It helps me to come from a place of more compassion because I can often be really hard on myself. And tools like my Oura Ring, And my Garmin watch give me these windows into my sleep quality, into my cardiac health and my heart rate variability, into my menstrual cycle, my stress levels, even my recovery patterns. And when you zoom out over months, you really start to see these cycles, these predictable shifts in energy, focus, and capacity.
Melissa LaPointe [00:13:47 - 00:15:28]
depending on the season that I'm in. I've also been working with a naturopath this year to really understand my physiology. So, I've been collecting data, and then I took it just one layer deeper. So, working with my naturopath, we've done a lot of lab work, we've done my hormone testing, and now I'm able to understand, so, how my adrenal and thyroid function, how my cortisol levels, my hormones, how all of this is interacting with stress, performance, and recovery in this stage of life. And again, what's been most eye-opening isn't any single result, but the patterns. So the patterns of how my system mobilizes energy, the patterns of my day, and when I'm having these different cortisol spikes, The pattern of how hormones are influencing my focus and capacity, and how much more sustainable things become when I work with those rhythms instead of overriding them. So on the outside, you know, a lot of these rhythms that I'm in, it can look like passion and drive. And it is, but it's also the physiology of my ADHD brain and being in midlife.
Melissa LaPointe [00:15:28 - 00:16:36]
It's the unique way that my brain at this stage of life is generating momentum, sometimes in ways that support me, absolutely, but sometimes in ways that still need more scaffolding. So all of this, the data, the therapy, the reflections, this has all shown me something essential. Sustainability isn't just a business concept. It is a personal practice. It is about honoring my rhythms, my body, my nervous system, and the season of life that I'm in. It's about learning to interpret my own signals, not just the ones that are pushing me forward, but the quieter ones, that are asking for pacing, rest, and recovery. All of this has fundamentally changed how I relate to my work. It's also reshaped how I think about leadership, because sustainability isn't only about how I move through the world, it's also about how the business moves with me.
Melissa LaPointe [00:16:38 - 00:17:22]
And more specifically, how the business can move without me. So here's what I know. I know I move in seasons. I know I have these sprints where I have bursts of intense creativity and productivity. I know that I generate ideas quickly. I build quickly and I execute quickly. And I know that I then shift into these seasons, sometimes shorter seasons, but still these predictable seasons of rest and integration. And I don't want to lose those parts of myself, those rhythms.
Melissa LaPointe [00:17:24 - 00:18:22]
They are some of my greatest strengths. But what has changed— So it's not that I'm trying to change those rhythms. What's changed is my relationship to those rhythms and the way that I'm building a business that doesn't require everyone else to move at my pace. Sustainability is no longer just about me. It's about the entire ecosystem that I'm responsible for— my team, my clients, Our programs, our infrastructure, and the long-term health of the company. I don't want a business that only works when I'm sprinting. I don't want a business that slows down when I'm taking time off. I don't want systems that depend on my intensity.
Melissa LaPointe [00:18:22 - 00:19:37]
And I definitely don't want a team culture that needs me to be on all the time. I'm really working on building something that can hold me in this season and something that can hold the next CEO someday when it isn't me in this role anymore. My strategic plan reflects that, and my team reflects that. Our workflows, our boundaries, Our capacity conversations, all of it is shifting to support this way of operating. So sustainability doesn't mean shutting down the part of me that sprints. It means giving that part of me a defined space to do what she does best while making sure that she's not the one running the whole company. And that brings me back to the operating system that I've been building out that's emerging from all of this. So this operating system is a blend of capacity, systems, and support, the 3 components that form the backbone of sustainable leadership.
Melissa LaPointe [00:19:38 - 00:20:17]
This operating system lives at the intersection of our physiology, Our systems, our support networks, our ways of learning, and how we navigate different seasons of life. So I'm going to paint a picture, I'm going to help you visualize this. It's pretty simple. I want you to think of a Venn diagram. So there are 3 overlapping circles. The first circle represents capacity. So this is your internal world. Your rhythms, your skills, your resources, and the capacity of your team or your support network.
Melissa LaPointe [00:20:18 - 00:21:34]
The second circle in that Venn diagram represents systems. So this is the external scaffolding, the planning rhythms, workflows, communication structures, decision-making containers, and operational supports that all work together To reduce the cognitive load and to keep the business steady. Systems are what allow your work to continue when you're tired, when you're in a sprint, when you're in a season of learning, or when life is throwing you curveballs and you need to take a step back. Systems aren't about rigidity. They are about reducing friction so your capacity isn't constantly being drained. The third circle in that Venn diagram represents support. So this is the relational world, your people, your resources, your network, and your mentors, your colleagues, also your health team, your family. So this ecosystem that helps you stay grounded and regulated so that you don't have to carry the emotional load, the energetic load, or the cognitive load on your own.
Melissa LaPointe [00:21:36 - 00:22:35]
And where these 3 circles overlap, so that center point, that is the heart of the operating system. That is sustainable capacity. It's also where CEO development happens. So not the corporate ladder kind, but the grounded values-led kind. That grows out of lived experience and intentional leadership. When your internal world, your external structures, and your support ecosystem are aligned, you lead from a place that is steady and resourced, not reactive or exhaustive. That center point where those circles overlap, that's where your ideas line up with your action plan. That's where your leadership becomes more spacious, where your business stops depending on urgency, and your work becomes something that can grow without burning you out.
Melissa LaPointe [00:22:38 - 00:23:54]
This sustainable capacity operating system isn't something I've mapped out in theory or on paper. It's something I've been living inside for years. Long before I had the words to explain it. And now that I can see it more clearly, it's reshaping how I work, how I lead, and how I build a company that doesn't rely on adrenaline or perfectionism or me being at the center of everything. And my hope is that as you're listening, you start to recognize the threads of this operating system in you, in your rhythms, in your patterns, your internal landscape, your structures, your support network, because we all have these various components. We just don't always have them integrated or clearly defined. So as this sustainable capacity operating system becomes more fleshed out, So I've been teaching it in my programs. I've been building it into some of the training resources for my team.
Melissa LaPointe [00:23:56 - 00:25:15]
So as it's becoming more defined, slowly, intentionally, and in real time, it's also reshaping how I think about my own learning and development. And that is exactly where we are headed next. So in the next episode, I'm going to walk you through my continuing professional education plan and how these insights are shaping my learning priorities for the next few years. And then we are going to wrap up this miniseries by diving into how I actually designed that plan. So we're going to look at my learning plan and talk about the sequencing, The pacing, the supports, and the real human qualities of learning while running a company and raising a family. So as we wrap up today's episode, I'm going to leave you with this: your capacity matters, your rhythms matter, your body matters, and you deserve an operating system that honors All of it. All right, that is it for today. Thank you for being here, for tuning in, and for learning alongside me.
Melissa LaPointe [00:25:16 - 00:25:18]
Take care, everyone. I'll see you over in the next episode.
