She’s responsible for keeping projects on track, managing competing priorities, and making sure her team doesn’t burn out.

But every week feels like a battle against chaos.

Leadership wants results. Stakeholders want updates. Her engineers are frustrated and distracted. Everyone is busy, but no one feels in control.

The workload is constant, but never quite right. Some people are stretched thin while others are waiting on work that isn’t ready. When the task finally moves forward, the person it depends on is already tied up elsewhere. Capacity is out of sync, and no one can see the full picture.

Max tries to shield her team from the noise, but her calendar is packed, her people are stretched, and the goals keep shifting. Even the best performers start to feel like task machines instead of problem solvers.

The tension wears her down. She wants her team to thrive, not just get by. She wants to deliver results without draining purpose.