Escaping the Doer Trap with Katy McFee

24 snips

Feb 16, 2026

Katy McFee, executive coach and founder of Insights to Action who helps women reach VP roles after a late ADHD diagnosis. She explains how a doer identity can cause burnout. They discuss shifting from doing to leading, delegation and outsourcing, building systems that fit ADHD, and using AI and micro-steps to make work sustainable.

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ADVICE

Stop Outworking Your Weaknesses

Stop trying to fix weaknesses by grinding; outsource or automate tasks you hate when possible.
Use resources or teammates to remove low-value work so you can focus on strengths.

ANECDOTE

Expense Reports Revealed Hidden Strengths

Katy handed off expense reports and felt guilty until her admin revealed she loved doing them.
That reframed low-value tasks as someone else's strengths rather than a personal failing.

ADVICE

Delegate Even If It’s Imperfect

Delegate and accept imperfect results; allow others to do work your brain struggles with.
Give yourself permission to let go and avoid burnout from holding everything yourself.

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Hey Team!

Most of us with ADHD have fallen into the trap of thinking that if we just work a little harder or do a few more things, we'll finally feel like we have our lives under control. But it turns out that "doing" and "leading" are two very different skill sets, and being a world-class "doer" can actually keep you stuck in place. Today, I'm talking with Katy McFee, an executive coach and the founder of Insights to Action. Katy reached the highest levels of corporate leadership before realizing that her success was built on a "doer" mentality that was no longer serving her, especially after her later in life ADHD diagnosis.

In our conversation today, we're looking at why that "doer identity" can be such a common pitfall for ADHD brains and how it can lead to burnout instead of progress. We talk about Katy's journey with a late-in-life diagnosis and how that shift in perspective allowed her to stop masking and start building systems that actually worked for her Combined-Type ADHD. Whether you're running a household, a small business, or a massive department, the way Katy frames the transition from tactical "doing" to strategic "being" is something we can all use.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/273

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. Recognize when you are trying to "outwork" your ADHD by doing more tasks. We don't always have to be the person doing everything; instead, we can focus on thinking strategically about what needs to be done and focus on doing those most important things.
2. Give yourself explicit permission to stop pretending you work like a neurotypical person. You can reduce your cognitive load from "faking it" and free up energy for actually doing things the way they work for your brain.
3. Instead of just using a calendar, use systems that visualize the passage of time and the weight of your commitments. Often time blindness can hit us not only in the moment, but also while were in the planning phase, when we don't realize how much we're really taking on.