How to Lead Without Burning Out | Andrea Wedell Coaching
How to Lead Without Burning Out
You are getting the work done. Your team still looks to you. And inside, you are running on empty.
Most leaders I meet in this place do not need someone to tell them to rest. They need someone to ask a harder question. How are you contributing to this?
That question is about seeing your own part clearly, because your part is the part you can change.
What pushes you past your limits
Something in you pushes past the point where you should stop. For some leaders it is the part that needs to be needed. For others it is the part that says yes before it has even thought about the question. Or the part that believes rest has to be earned, and you have not earned it yet.
Ask yourself which part that is for you. Give it a name. When you can see it, you can catch it in the moment, before it makes the next decision for you.
Where fear is driving
A lot of burnout runs on fear. Fear of being found out. Fear of losing the role. Fear of disappointing the people who trusted you with it.
Fear is a fast driver. It keeps the pace up long after your body has started saying stop. It makes every email feel urgent and every meeting feel like a test.
Look for one place where fear is doing the talking. One decision, one meeting, one relationship. Seeing it is the first step. Nothing changes until you see it.
The part of you that cannot hear your limits
Your body sends warnings long before your mind admits there is a problem.
Sleep that does not restore you.
A short fuse with people you care about.
Dreading the day before it starts.
Small decisions feeling huge.
A fog over your thinking.
The wins not landing anymore.
These are warning signs. They are your limits talking. The question is whether some part of you has learned to turn the volume down.
Try this. Once a day, stop for sixty seconds and check in with your body. Shoulders. Jaw. Breath. Chest. Ask what it is telling you. You do not have to fix anything in that minute. Just listen. Most leaders have not really listened to their own bodies in years.
When you feel you have no control
Some of you are in a job where the pace feels fixed. Work at this pace or be fired. That is a real position, and no morning routine is going to fix it.
But even there, there is usually one small piece you can take control of. One part of the day, one habit, one decision that is actually yours.
It might be observing the toll, honestly, instead of pushing it away. It might be one micro change. One real lunch away from your desk. Ten minutes of walking between meetings. Ending the day at a set time twice a week. One meeting you shorten, or stop attending. One boundary you keep, just for yourself.
These are small. That is the point. Small changes you actually keep will do more than a big plan you abandon by Wednesday.
Micro changes are how you squeeze a little wellbeing back into your mind and body. And a mind and body with a little room in them can think clearly. That is what your team needs from you. Clear thinking. Good decisions. For the team, for the org, and for yourself.
You are not a machine
A machine runs until it breaks. You are not a machine. You are a person leading other people, and the way you treat yourself sets the tone for everyone around you.
Start with one question this week. How am I contributing to this? Then take one small piece of control. One micro change. See what shifts.
If you want help with that, I offer a free discovery call. We will talk for 30 minutes about where you are and what would help next. There is no pressure to continue. If you are feeling very low, please talk with your doctor or a therapist too. Coaching works best alongside that kind of support.
I am Andrea Wedell, an executive coach based in Boulder, Colorado. I coach leaders online, wherever they are in the world, in English and French. I work with leaders in the
United States and Canada. I am a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation, and I have coached leaders for more than twenty years.
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