For Dennis Sy, Senior Pastor of Victory Makati, leadership hasn’t always been about balance and clarity. In fact, one of his most important breakthroughs came after a season of burnout.
Early in his ministry career, Sy was given a massive responsibility: planting and leading Victory Greenhills at just 27 years old. The pressure was immense—and he rose to the challenge. The church grew rapidly from 200 to 1,000 attendees in just one year.
But beneath the surface, Sy was running on empty.
“I felt I had something to prove,” he told Financial Adviser PH. “While it looked like a miracle on paper, I was personally burned out, unfulfilled, and unhealthy. My leadership was driven by performance, not purpose.”
That experience became a turning point. Sy realized that sustainable leadership requires more than outward results—it requires internal alignment. Over time, he began redefining what leadership meant to him.
“Leadership starts with identity,” he explained. “If your identity is tied to money, then all your decisions—even in leadership—will be shaped by that.”
For Sy, the transformation involved shifting from a mindset of “proving” to one of “serving.” He began leading not from pressure, but from purpose—centering his work around the people he served rather than the numbers he could produce.
“Leadership isn’t about you,” he added. “It’s about those you serve. It’s about casting vision and walking alongside people, not lording over them.”
Today, after more than two decades in ministry, Sy teaches the next generation of leaders the same lesson that reshaped his own journey: results matter, but they should never come at the expense of health and purpose.
The key to his breakthrough? Self-awareness, values-driven leadership, and the courage to change—even when success says you shouldn’t.
“If you lead from the wrong place, you’ll eventually crash,” he said. “But when you lead from identity and purpose, the fruit will follow.”
For anyone chasing success without peace, Dennis Sy’s story is a powerful reminder: burnout doesn’t have to be the end—it can be the beginning of something better.
