Systems Check: The Human Operating System for Ambition & Burnout

Naina Rana
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Mental Health

Systems Check is a podcast for tech professionals and other high performers who look successful on paper but feel the strain behind the scenes. Hosted by Naina, a licensed clinical social worker and former tech startup insider, the show explores the human operating system behind leadership, ambition, relationships, and burnout. Through solo insights and candid conversations with clinicians, founders, and operators, Systems Check examines how nervous systems, decision-making patterns, and relational dynamics quietly shape performance—at work and at home. This isn’t therapy. It’s a strategic audit of the high-demand systems people operate in—and what sustainable productivity actually requires.

Episodes

  1. Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins on Burned Out in the Middle

    6d ago

    Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins on Burned Out in the Middle

    If you've ever looked up at the end of a workday and wondered what you actually accomplished — this episode is for you. Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins, human skills facilitator at Learnit and former professional bass fisherman turned leadership expert, joins Systems Check to talk about why the middle layer of most organizations is quietly breaking — and what actually fixes it. Mickey hosts the Learnit Lounge Podcast, where she covers the shifts facing learning and development professionals — from data-driven training to the power and pitfalls of AI. Learn more about her: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeyfitchcollins/

    1h 3m
  2. Charity O'Reilly on The Burnout You Build Yourself

    6d ago

    Charity O'Reilly on The Burnout You Build Yourself

    Charity O'Reilly is a trauma therapist, practice owner, and author who specializes in complex PTSD. But what makes her the right guest for this show isn't just her clinical credentials — it's that she burned out badly, rebuilt on her own terms, and now helps other high performers stop recreating the same cycles they thought they'd escaped. We're talking about the version of burnout nobody talks about: the one you build yourself, with the best intentions. Learn more about her work at https://charityoreilly.com and her blog https://charityoreilly.com/blog/

    1h 11m
  3. Nischal Rana on Burnout: Stop Optimizing for Your Best Days

    Apr 28

    Nischal Rana on Burnout: Stop Optimizing for Your Best Days

    What does it really cost to build and maintain the systems that keep public health infrastructure running—and what does that reveal about sustainable performance? In this episode, Nischal Rana, an integrations engineer for the State of Connecticut, breaks down burnout in DevOps culture. We explore the go-go grind mentality that gets normalized from day one, why optimizing for your best days is a fast track to burning out by 35, the communication skills no computer science program teaches you, and why building strong relationships will outlast even the most specialized technical skills. Raw, honest, and from someone who’s lived it on the inside.

    1h 19m
  4. Elizabeth Morrison, LPC on Why High Performers Burn Out Silently

    Apr 28

    Elizabeth Morrison, LPC on Why High Performers Burn Out Silently

    Elizabeth Morrison — licensed counselor and neuro inclusive systems designer — breaks down why high-performing tech professionals burn out silently. We get into the structural conditions tech environments accidentally engineer against their own people, what functional depletion looks like before anyone quits, and the one thing any leader can do this week to start building a system that actually holds. This isn't a wellness conversation. It's an operations one. https://www.creativesolutionscoaching.com/

    52 min
  5. The Human Side of SaaS Sales — Mark Steinbach on Performing Without Burning Out

    Apr 28

    The Human Side of SaaS Sales — Mark Steinbach on Performing Without Burning Out

    Selling high-stakes SaaS isn’t just about numbers—it’s about people, habits, and mindset. Mark Steinbach shares lessons from early sales missteps, key signals in complex deals, and mental routines that keep top performers sustainable. Discover how to navigate the pressures of high-stakes software sales without burning out and maintain peak performance in every deal.

    42 min
  6. Kishan Kunver on Breaking the Urgency Cycle

    Mar 31

    Kishan Kunver on Breaking the Urgency Cycle

    High-pressure tech environments push high performers into constant urgency—and burnout. In this episode, Kishan Kunver shares how to break the burnout cycle, apply systems thinking to your personal performance, and implement practical strategies for sustainable productivity. Learn how to shift from reactive work to intentional, focused results and take control of your energy and time. Kishan Kunver, an Endpoint Tech Analyst at Pratt & Whitney. Kishan specializes in enterprise IT, digital workplace services, and operational efficiency, with a focus on systems thinking to optimize performance without sacrificing well-being.

    51 min
  7. Sarah LaFontaine, LMHC — When High Achievement Becomes a Trauma Response

    Mar 31

    Sarah LaFontaine, LMHC — When High Achievement Becomes a Trauma Response

    In this episode, Naina sits down with Sarah LaFontaine, LMHC, to explore the deeper psychological roots of high achievement—especially when success is driven by unresolved trauma rather than true alignment. Sarah LaFontaine, LMHC, is a speaker, therapist, and CEO working at the intersection of mental health, performance, and modern relationships. She is a speaker with MindfulHQ, a therapist at Rising Hope Counseling Services, and the founder of Mindful Matches, a mental health directory designed to connect individuals with the right support. Learn more about her work at mindfulhq.com and rising-hope.co.

    1h 5m
  8. Burnout Isn’t a Personal Failure — It’s a Systems Problem

    Mar 13

    Burnout Isn’t a Personal Failure — It’s a Systems Problem

    In this opening episode of Systems Check, we explore why burnout isn’t a mindset problem—and what’s actually happening in your nervous system when chronic stress takes over. We’ll break down the realities high performers in tech and other demanding careers face, including emotional resilience, communication challenges, boundaries, anxiety, depression, and the pressure to keep functioning no matter the cost. Most importantly, we begin the conversation about how to move from self-blame to real repair.

    27 min
  • 8 Episodes

About

Systems Check is a podcast for tech professionals and other high performers who look successful on paper but feel the strain behind the scenes. Hosted by Naina, a licensed clinical social worker and former tech startup insider, the show explores the human operating system behind leadership, ambition, relationships, and burnout. Through solo insights and candid conversations with clinicians, founders, and operators, Systems Check examines how nervous systems, decision-making patterns, and relational dynamics quietly shape performance—at work and at home. This isn’t therapy. It’s a strategic audit of the high-demand systems people operate in—and what sustainable productivity actually requires.

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