When Success Feels Heavy — Leading After the Win
- Sarah Beth Herman
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
By Sarah Beth Herman, CEO of Dentistry Support®
Monday, a new episode of No Silver Spoons® drops — and this one is personal. It’s about what happens after you win. When the applause fades, when the numbers hit, when the goal becomes reality — but somehow, it feels heavier, not lighter.
Before that episode airs, I want to talk about something that’s quietly reshaping leadership in dentistry right now: what it means to lead after success. Because in dentistry, just like in business, success comes with a price. And sometimes that price is isolation, overwork, or guilt.
The Hidden Pressure of Achievement in Dentistry
If you’ve ever hit a major goal — whether it’s your first million in production, your best hygiene month, or finally reaching 98% collections — you know that strange silence that follows.
The emails keep coming. The phone still rings. The schedule stays full. But internally, it’s like the world stops for a moment. You should feel joy, but instead, there’s an ache. A question that echoes: Can I keep this up?
A 2024 study by the American Dental Association found that 64% of dentists report high emotional exhaustion within 6 months of a major business win, such as hitting production goals or expanding operations. The same study showed that while growth brings financial security, it often triggers emotional instability — because success doesn’t remove the pressure; it multiplies it. If you’ve ever experienced that — you’re not alone.
The “Aftermath” of Achievement
Here’s what happens in many dental offices when success hits:
The team starts to relax — thinking they’ve “made it.” But the systems that got them there require consistency, not complacency.
Leadership expectations skyrocket. You feel pressure to sustain results, even when you’re exhausted.
Your personal relationships change. People around you don’t always know how to respond to your success. The same team that once rooted for you may now see you differently.
And then there’s the internal narrative — the part of you that whispers: "Do I really deserve this? "Will people think I’ve changed? ”What if I can’t keep this up?”
The truth? You’re still human. And leadership under success is often lonelier than leadership under struggle.
The Emotional Cost of Winning
A recent survey published in The Journal of Dental Practice Management (2025) found that 70% of dental professionals felt less fulfilled after achieving a major goal than before it. Why?
Because when you’re fighting for something, you have a clear target. But when you arrive, you face a new challenge: maintaining it.
This is where leadership maturity begins. It’s no longer about proving yourself — it’s about protecting what you’ve built.
Here’s what that looks like in real life:
Setting new boundaries when the world expects you to “do it all.”
Choosing gratitude over guilt when success arrives.
Learning to celebrate wins without apology.
These aren’t just leadership lessons. They’re survival skills for modern dentistry.
Three Leadership Shifts Every Dentist Needs After a Win
If you’re reading this and realizing, “That’s me” — here’s where to start.
Rebuild Your Definition of “Enough”
When you finally reach your long-term goal, your brain immediately sets a new one. That’s dopamine. It’s how humans are wired. But the danger is when that constant pursuit replaces peace.
In leadership, “enough” isn’t a stopping point — it’s a standard of gratitude. Try this exercise: Write down your three biggest wins in the last six months. Next to each, write how you felt immediately after. If your answer is anything other than peace, that’s your cue to pause.
Harvard Business Review (2024) reported that leaders who intentionally pause to celebrate milestones are 45% more likely to sustain high performance six months later. Celebration isn’t indulgent — it’s intelligent.
Protect Your Mental Real Estate
Success can make your calendar overflow. Suddenly, everyone wants your attention — patients, vendors, employees, friends. The result? Decision fatigue.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, 2023) found that dental leaders who implemented weekly reflection breaks (15–30 minutes of no communication) reported a 35% increase in focus and a 20% drop in perceived stress.
Block off that time — in your calendar, not just your head. Use it to reflect, pray, journal, or just breathe.
Remember: silence isn’t empty — it’s a sanctuary.
Lead From Stewardship, Not Stress
In week seven’s episode, I share this truth: humility isn’t silence — it’s stewardship. That same principle applies here.
When your practice succeeds, your instinct might be to hide it. You worry that others will think you’re bragging. But stewardship is different — it’s giving thanks for what’s been entrusted to you.
Speak gratitude out loud in your team meetings. Thank your hygienists for staying late, your billing coordinator for fighting that denied claim, your assistant for staying positive when things went sideways. Gratitude resets your leadership posture.
Because what’s been given to you isn’t meant to be hidden — it’s meant to be multiplied.
Why Some People Can’t Celebrate Your Wins
It’s a hard truth, but one that every leader eventually learns: not everyone will clap when you win.
In fact, some of your biggest critics will be the ones who were closest to you when you started. That's not a reflection of your worth — it’s a mirror of theirs.
Most people don’t resent your success. They resent what it reveals about their own unhealed potential.
If you’ve ever had someone say, “It must be nice,” you know the sting of that phrase. But here’s the reframe: Yes, it is nice. It’s nice to work hard, stay honest, build ethically, and finally see the reward of your consistency.
And it’s okay to say that out loud.
The Science of Gratitude and Growth
Research from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center (2024) found that professionals who journal three things they’re grateful for weekly experience a 25% increase in long-term happiness and a 30% reduction in anxiety.
That means gratitude isn’t just spiritual — it’s biological.
The same study noted that repetitive affirmations of gratitude can physically reshape neural pathways through neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to adapt through thought repetition.
So if you’ve ever repeated affirmations like, "I am capable, ”I am grateful, ”I can do this,” —you’re not being cliché. You’re building the mental muscle to sustain your leadership.
The Leadership Takeaway
Winning doesn’t test your talent. It tests your integrity, your humility, and your ability to handle visibility without losing your peace.
If you’re in a season of growth right now — or finally feeling the weight of success — here’s what I want you to remember:
Heavy blessings are still blessings.
The pressure you feel isn’t punishment. It’s preparation.
You don’t have to shrink to be accepted.
You don’t have to apologize for the fruit of your faith and focus.
You are allowed to win. You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to keep going.
Free Training Resource: The Success Check-In
To go along with this week’s podcast episode, you can download the free training worksheet: The Success Check-In.
It’s designed to help you reflect, celebrate, and recalibrate after success hits.
Inside, you’ll find:
✔️ A short gratitude journaling exercise to process your latest win.
✔️ A self-assessment tool to rate your peace vs pressure levels this week.
✔️ Simple affirmations to remind you that success doesn’t have to feel heavy.
✔️ A reflection question to identify who or what truly supported your journey.
Keep it on your desk or in your phone’s Notes app as a grounding reminder that you’re doing better than you think.
Access it at: DentistrySupport.com/FreeTraining
References
American Dental Association. (2024). Dentists and Emotional Health: Trends and Triggers. ADA News.
Harvard Business Review. (2024). Sustaining High Performance Through Celebration and Reflection.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2023). Workplace Stress and Leadership in Healthcare.
University of California, Berkeley — Greater Good Science Center. (2024). The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Motivation.
Journal of Dental Practice Management. (2025). Leadership Burnout and Emotional Recovery in Dental Practices.
Disclaimer:
To learn more about Sarah Beth Herman, the author of all free training content you can read her bio here. These materials are intended to provide helpful information to dentists and dental team members. They are in no way a substitute for actual professional advice based on your unique facts and circumstances. This content is not intended or offered, nor should it be taken, as legal or other professional advice. You should always consult with your own professional advisors (e.g. attorney, accountant, or insurance carrier). To the extent, Dentistry Support ®has included links to any third-party website (s), Dentistry Support ® intends no endorsement of their content and implies no affiliation with the organizations that provide their content. Further, Dentistry Support ® makes no representations or warranties about the information provided on those sites. You can view our privacy policy and terms and conditions by clicking those pages in the footer of our website