EP 253 - Why High Performers Burn Out | Biohacking, Leadership & Sustainable Success
In this episode of The Tyler Dickerhoof Show, Tyler sits down with Nicole Ward, Senior Vice President of Sales at Aon, executive coach, biohacker, and author of Biohacking for the Sales Athlete, to break down why high performers burn out, how stress impacts leadership, and why optimizing your health directly affects your results.
After years of high-pressure sales, nonstop travel, weight gain, brain fog, and burnout, Nicole reached a breaking point after rolling her Land Rover while rushing between meetings. That moment forced her to rethink success, recovery, performance, and leadership.
This conversation dives into burnout, biohacking, leadership performance, emotional regulation, recovery, stress management, sleep optimization, executive health, high-performance habits, and sustainable success.
If you are an entrepreneur, executive, sales professional, manager, or high performer trying to lead better without destroying your health, this episode is for you.
Meet Nicole Ward
Nicole Ward is a senior executive, biohacker, author, and founder of the Executive Athlete platform, working at the intersection of leadership, human performance, and conscious power. She currently serves as Senior Vice President of Sales at Aon, where she advises organizations and executives on navigating risk, growth, and resilience in complex environments.
Nicole is the host of Aon at the Top and the Executive Athlete Podcast, where she interviews C-suite leaders, board members, and high performers about the decisions, disciplines, and personal practices that sustain success under pressure.
Her book, Biohacking for the Sales Athlete: Optimize Your Health to Transform Your Results, draws from her own journey and decades in high-performance sales to show how nervous system regulation, recovery, and biological optimization drive better leadership, decision-making, and long-term performance.
Through her work, Nicole helps high-impact leaders bring coherence to their biology and consciousness so their power, influence, and success become sustainable—for themselves and for the organizations and communities they serve.
Nicole is also a board-certified health and wellness coach and is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences at Tufts University, further integrating evidence-based nutrition and performance science into her work with leaders and organizations.
Resources, books, and links mentioned in this episode:
Biohacking for the Sales Athlete
The Tyler Dickerhoof Show
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About the Tyler Dickerhoof Show Podcast
The Impact Driven Leader Podcast, hosted by Tyler Dickerhoof, is for Xillennial leaders who have felt alone and ill-equipped to lead in today's world. Through inspiring interviews with authors from around the world, Tyler uncovers how unique leadership strengths can empower others to achieve so much more, with real impact.
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