Why Work-Life Balance Boosts Team Performance More than Hustle

Every now and then, I sit down with someone and walk away thinking about the conversation for days. My recent chat with Laura Prael, founder of LEP Digital, was definitely one of those moments. Laura has spent the past ten years building a digital agency that not only performs at a high level but does so without buying into the “grind harder” mentality so many leaders get trapped in.

Ten years in business doesn’t happen by accident. It requires leadership, adaptability, and a commitment to building something that lasts. As we talked, what kept coming up again and again was the idea that work-life balance consistently outperforms hustle. Laura’s journey shows what can happen when a leader prioritizes people, clarity, and sustainable rhythms over nonstop urgency.

How a Four-Day Workweek Became a Strategic Advantage

One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was how LEP Digital shifted to a four-day workweek, and how well it has worked for them.

Many people in digital marketing, especially women, are juggling more than just their careers. They’re balancing caregiving responsibilities, parenting, ageing parents, community commitments, and the everyday demands of life. The four-day structure gives her team the room to meet those responsibilities without sacrificing their professional growth.

But this isn’t just a perk. It has a real impact on performance.

Laura has seen that creativity improves when people have space to rest, enjoy life outside of work, and mentally recharge. Her team comes back more focused, more engaged, and more capable of producing quality work.

It doesn’t eliminate challenges, but it shows that a balanced approach can strengthen both the team’s well-being and the company’s results. For Laura, that confirmed something she’d instinctively believed for a long time: balance is a competitive advantage.

People Are the Real Milestone in a Leader’s Journey

When Laura looks back on her ten years in business, what stands out most is the people. She talks about running a business as a form of personal development.

As she grew LEP Digital, she had to learn how to lead people. Like many founders, she started as a subject-matter expert, not a manager, so her early years involved a lot of experimenting, learning, and figuring things out as she went.

What I found especially insightful was how she approached building a team. Instead of relying solely on résumés or hard skills, she paid attention to alignment, energy, and fit. She noticed how a candidate made her feel, whether the interaction felt easy or strained, whether they brought energy that fit the team, and whether she could imagine them contributing positively to the culture.

She also took into account where someone was in their career. Some people were early in the journey and eager to learn. Others were mid-career professionals looking for stability and balance. Some were deeply experienced but craving meaningful work rather than constant pressure.

That mindset helped her build a team that worked well together. That alignment created trust, consistency, and a culture where people could thrive. And that, more than any hustle-heavy strategy, became the backbone of her agency’s success.

Laura’s Leadership Evolution

Laura describes herself as naturally collaborative, a listener who asks questions and prefers understanding to directing. But as her team expanded, she realised that not everyone responds to the same leadership style.

Some team members needed clearer direction, firmer boundaries, and more explicit guidance. Others needed space and autonomy. This realisation pushed her to stretch her leadership approach, not by abandoning who she was, but by widening her range.

She learned how to step into a more direct role when the situation called for it, how to have more open conversations about expectations, performance, and alignment, and how to create the structure her team needed without losing the empathy that defines her leadership.

Over time, this shift made her feel more grounded and confident. She understood her own values, the kind of business she wanted to build, and the type of leader she needed to be to support that vision.

Business Myths Around The Hustle Culture

Laura highlighted two common business myths she no longer believes.

Myth 1: The need for a long-term, detailed business plan.

Having a vision and knowing where you want the business to go is key. But life changes quickly, markets shift, and people’s priorities evolve. External forces like economic, political, social can disrupt things overnight.

Instead of rigid plans, Laura works in six-month cycles. This gives her enough structure to stay focused but enough flexibility to pivot when it makes sense. As she put it, adaptability often beats strategy.

Myth 2: Success requires constant hustle.

Hustle culture can be draining, and Laura has seen it firsthand in the industry. She’s also proven that sustainable results come from rested, clear-thinking people. When you’re exhausted, you start running the business from urgency rather than intention.

For her, rejecting hustle wasn’t about slowing down, but building a rhythm that her team could maintain long-term.

One thing that stands out about Laura’s leadership is how personal and intentional it is. She takes the time to understand what motivates each person, their interests, values, and family life. She gives feedback privately, encourages accountability, and creates an atmosphere where people can speak openly about challenges without fear of embarrassment. That sense of safety becomes the foundation for performance, innovation, and loyalty.

Work-Life Balance Really Does Beat Hustle

You don’t build a resilient, high-performing business by pushing yourself to the edge. You build it by knowing who you are, understanding your people, and creating an environment where everyone, including you, can thrive.

Here are my key takeaways from this:

1. High-impact leaders focus on people before process. The leaders who grow strong businesses don’t just look for skills on paper. They look for alignment, shared values, and the right energy. Trust and consistency come from the people you choose and how you support them.

2. High-impact leaders reject hustle culture. Working nonstop doesn’t build a healthy or productive team. Leaders who prioritise balance create environments where creativity and resilience can thrive. That leads to better outcomes for clients, for the business, and for the people inside it.

3. High-impact leaders turn setbacks into growth. Challenges will always come, whether it’s losing team members, facing external pressure, or navigating market changes. What matters is how you respond. The leaders who succeed are the ones who rebuild, refine, and use setbacks as a chance to evolve.

For more insights and advice on challenging hustle culture, make sure you tune in to the full podcast episode with Laura Prael here: Why Work-Life Balance Boosts Team Performance

We also chat about AI, how it’s changing the way people think, and so much more.

If you have your own takeaways, you can share them on YouTube in the comments below.