Working Wounded: Why Good People Break in the Public Sector

There is a question many people whisper in the hallways of government but almost never ask publicly:

Why do good leaders break inside the system?

We often talk about weak capacity, corruption, skills gaps, and poor performance. But we seldom talk about the emotional violence of public sector leadership. The kind that doesn’t make headlines but silently eats away at the people tasked with serving the country.

Most public servants do not break because they lack competence.

They break because the system demands strength without support, accountability without protection, and resilience without rest.

The pressures come from every direction.

Ministers want results.

Boards want assurance.

Committees want answers.

Unions want justice.

Communities want delivery.

The media wants a story.

And the machinery wants compliance.

The system becomes a maze of expectations where even the most committed leader eventually feels cornered. Not because they are incapable, but because they are human.

The tragedy Is that we rewrite people’s collapse as incompetence, when often it is exhaustion, fear, moral injury, or accumulated wounding.

If we want a healthier public service, we need to stop treating leadership fatigue as failure and start treating it as a predictable outcome of an unhealthy system.

The future of good governance begins with acknowledging the pain behind the performance.

This is why I wrote “Working Wounded.”

Not to criticize, but to name the truth quietly carried by thousands of leaders who still show up every day, despite the cost.

Because healing begins with honesty.

Purchase the book here: https://www.clariconstore.co.za/product/working-wounded-leadership-pain-and-survival-in-the-machinery-of-the-public-sector/