Thoughtload - by Liane Davey (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Thoughtload--not workload--is the culprit causing chaos for your team. Be the leader that creates clarity, calm, and greater capacity.

In Thoughtload, New York Times bestselling author and team effectiveness advisor Liane Davey tackles today's most pressing management challenges: over-burdened systems, burned-out teams, and declining results. However, contrary to conventional wisdom, Davey argues that the problem is not with out-sized workloads. The root cause of the madness sapping productivity in today's offices is with our excessive thoughtload.

Thoughtload is the cumulative and often overwhelming burden of increasing cognitive and emotional demands, worsened by decreasing physical and mental energy. In this brilliant, highly prescriptive guide, Davey lays out the steps for reducing thoughtload, so that you and your team feel more focused--and get more done.

The process starts with you. By learning to better manage your attention, you create periods of deep concentration that lead to the outcomes you strive for, and a sense of accomplishment. By processing emotions triggered in the workplace and at home, you gain greater control of your mood and productivity. And by making informed choices about where your energy comes from (and where it goes), you connect with reliable and renewable resources that fuel you to do the things that matter most. Davey then gives you powerful tools you can use as a leader to coach your team members to manage thoughtload for themselves. Doing so, you and your team will feel more focused, less burnt out, and finally free to do more great work.

Backed by science and written with the time- and energy-strapped manager in mind, Thoughtload is Liane Davey's potent handbook for a better way to lead. Apply the strategies in this book to create calm within the chaos--so you and your team can perform, produce, and prosper.

Review Quotes

"We felt seen reading Thoughtload--and then felt so much better. Liane Davey names the real source of modern overwhelm and gives leaders a smart, practical, humane playbook for a saner way to work." --Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, bestselling authors of Move Fast & Fix Things and hosts of the hit podcast Fixable

"Overwhelmed? It may not be your workload. It may be your thoughtload. This is a brilliant book, and the perfect rejoinder to all that productivity BS." --Michael Bungay Stanier, bestselling author of The Coaching Habit

"Liane Davey has once again done what she does best: cracked open the messy truth of how we think, work, and relate, handing us a clear, compassionate path forward. Thoughtload is a mirror for every high-achiever who's ever believed that more effort, more ideas, more involvement was the answer... only to find themselves exhausted and resentful. Her insights into the mental clutter we carry, especially in the name of ambition, care, and responsibility, are both validating and galvanizing. This book is sharp, timely and, like Davey herself, deeply wise." --Laura Gassner Otting, Wall Street Journal-bestselling author of Wonderhell

"I've known Liane Davey for years, and I've always admired her ability to name what sits beneath the noise. At a time when leaders are quick to blame burnout on speed, scale, or AI, Thoughtload points to a more enduring source of strain: the accumulation of unprocessed thoughts, emotions, and decisions that quietly tax judgment and attention. As technology accelerates and organizations grow more complex, the cost of that invisible load shows up where it matters most... in clarity, decision-making, and leadership presence. Davey doesn't offer shortcuts or optimization hacks. She offers something rarer and more valuable for CEOs: a way to think more clearly under pressure, to lead with steadiness in complexity, and to create the conditions where great work can happen. Thoughtload is one of the most important reads for leaders who need to understand that the future of work will be shaped less by better tools, and more by better thinking." --Mitch Joel, cofounder of ThinkersOne and author of Six Pixels of Separation and Ctrl Alt Delete

"Work just isn't working for most of us right now, and Liane Davey perfectly articulates why. Most importantly, she lays out a path forward using practical, science-backed strategies to help us focus, lead better, and finally get off the hamster wheel. If you're overwhelmed -- and who isn't these days?! -- then Thoughtload should be your next read." --Amy Gallo, author of Getting Along and contributing editor at Harvard Business Review.

About the Author

Dr. Liane Davey is a New York Times Bestselling author, a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, and the host of the ChangeYourTeam blog. As the co-founder of 3COze Inc., she advises on business strategy and executive team effectiveness and has worked with executives at companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Aviva, TD Bank, and SONY PlayStation. Liane has a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology and has served as an evaluator for the American Psychological Association's Healthy Workplace Awards. Liane is married to her business partner, Craig, and they have two teenaged daughters.