The Work Twisties: When Leaders Lose Their Footing
The first episode of Exit Interview explores what happens when persistence stops working
We love the stories where persistence pays off. The underdog who grinds it out. The founder who never gives up. But what happens when that story doesn't match your reality?
In the first full episode of Exit Interview, I sat down with Kanya Balakrishna—co-founder of The Future Project and Future Coach—to explore the moment persistence stopped working for her. She built a $15M nonprofit, managed 120+ staff, then watched it all fall apart. What followed wasn't failure. It was the messy, unclear middle where most leadership actually lives.
When You Can't See the Path Forward
Kanya introduced me to a concept that stopped me cold: "the work twisties." Drawing from Simone Biles' experience at the Olympics, she describes those moments when leaders lose their sense of position and can't stick their landing.
"I couldn't see the path forward," Kanya reflects on the 2019 crisis that forced her organization from 115 people down to 10. "I was trying to give the team all the information I could, but I felt like a deer in the headlights. I like to have a plan. I like to be able to tell people that plan, and I just couldn't see it."
It's something so many leaders face quietly: when their internal compass goes haywire, and their title or success no longer feels like solid ground. We don't have language for these experiences in the work context, which contributes to the isolation leaders feel when they're struggling.
The Hidden Costs of Scaling Fast
The Future Project's growth was impressive by any measure—from $4M to $15M annually between 2014 and 2018. But rapid growth without sustainable foundations created vulnerabilities Kanya wishes she'd understood earlier.
"We often hired people because we were like, this person's amazing and they feel so aligned, and yes, we'll figure out what they'll do eventually," she explains. "That's okay in the beginning because at first we're all just doing anything to bring the idea to life. But eventually, you have to get more buttoned up."
The organization became dependent on a handful of large donors, with one funder providing critical support. When that relationship ended over strategic differences, the financial reality hit fast. Monthly burn exceeded $1M, with payroll alone at $500,000 every two weeks.
The Sacrifice Trap
Perhaps most revealing was Kanya's reflection on what she calls the "sacrifice trap"—the belief that putting yourself last serves the mission best.
"I came to internalize that I just had to choose the work, the team, the mission over myself. And it's a false dichotomy, to be clear. But I sometimes had this belief that the best thing I can do for the team, for the work, is to deprioritize myself on multiple levels."
This showed up practically: skipping sleep, working weekends, having no social life outside work. Nobody asked her to make these sacrifices, but she'd decided they were necessary. The cost wasn't just personal—it affected her ability to lead during crisis.
"I sometimes conflated impact with serving our team members," she admits. This made difficult decisions—like letting people go or closing unprofitable programs—nearly impossible to make clearly.
What "Persistence" Actually Costs
One of the most powerful moments in our conversation was Kanya's realization that persistence isn't always a strategy.
"Willful persistence is not really a strategy. It's a tactic to employ in fulfilling a strategy. But it's not a strategy. It's hope. It's not a tangible path forward."
The pressure to keep pushing, especially when people depend on you, can prevent leaders from making necessary changes. Kanya describes multiple moments where the organization should have "landed the plane"—paused growth to fix foundational issues.
"There were a couple of moments where we should have just landed the plane, gotten off for a second and said, okay, what needs to be done here? Let's slow down a little and get control."
Building Something Better
The pandemic, ironically, created the space Kanya needed to rebuild. With a team of just 10 people, they started offering virtual coaching to young people—work that felt both familiar and completely new.
This led to Future Coach, a human-AI hybrid coaching system that addresses the same core mission but with a more sustainable model. The approach reflects everything Kanya learned about sustainable growth, clear business models, and taking care of herself in the process.
"I feel like a fuller, more alive version of me," she says now. "To feel like that more, and to know that part of it is because of mistakes I made and failure I experienced and the very intentional work I tried to do after that to learn and grow from it—it feels good."
Why These Stories Matter
Kanya's story matters because it's honest about something most founders experience but rarely discuss publicly. The isolation of crisis leadership. The shame that comes with major setbacks. The difficulty of making hard decisions when you care deeply about your team.
But perhaps most importantly, it offers a different definition of success—one that includes sustainability, personal well-being, and the wisdom that comes from navigating failure.
"Sometimes the bravest thing you can do isn't persist. It's knowing when to let go."
Listen to the Full Episode
🎧 "Exit Interview: The Work Twisties with Kanya Balakrishna"
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Music
About Exit Interview
Exit Interview is a limited series exploring the entrepreneurial stories that don't make headlines—the complex realities of building, scaling, and ultimately stepping away from the companies you create. These are honest conversations about what it takes to lead when the stakes are highest, for founders, executives, and anyone facing decisions that will define their path forward.
About Kanya Balakrishna
Kanya Balakrishna is Co-Founder and CEO of The Future Project and Future Coach. She's dedicated over a decade to creating opportunities for young people to discover what moves them and translate that into purpose and impact. Before founding The Future Project, she worked as a speechwriter at the FDA and was a managing editor at her college newspaper. You can find her at kanya@futurecoach.org or follow updates at futurecoach.org.
What resonated most with you from Kanya's story? Share your thoughts with us at community@offor.co or connect with Ify on LinkedIn.