Podcast ¦ RO-AR.com : RO-AR.com: Burnout to Balance Insights and Strategies for Modern Leaders

Summary

In this podcast, executive coach Deb Bulcock discusses the challenges of transitioning from corporate life to being a self-employed executive coach. She shares insights on managing time and finding a balance between marketing, sales, and delivery activities. Deb also addresses the common struggle of feeling the need to do everything oneself and not recognizing the need for support. She emphasizes the importance of delegation and discusses how coaching can help leaders overcome barriers to delegating tasks. Additionally, Deb explores the impact of remote work and virtual meetings on stress levels and burnout, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Points:

• Transitioning from corporate life to being a self-employed executive coach brings significant differences in terms of support and responsibilities.
• Business development, sales, and marketing are important aspects of running a coaching business, but they may not align with a coach’s initial motivations.
• Finding the right balance between marketing, sales, and delivery activities can be challenging for entrepreneurs, including executive coaches.
• Delegating tasks and seeking support is crucial for both self-employed individuals and leaders in large organizations.
• People often struggle with delegating due to factors such as fear, control, comfort zones, or a lack of trust in their team.
• Coaching can help uncover the root causes of resistance to delegating and support leaders in testing new ways of doing things.
• High stress levels and burnout continue to be prevalent among senior leaders in large organizations, with demanding workloads and long hours.
• Remote work and virtual meetings, such as those on Zoom or Teams, can be more intense and draining than in-person meetings, leading to increased stress levels.
• Stress and burnout have diverse symptoms and can affect various bodily systems, including cardiovascular, gut health, mental health, and hormone health.
• Recognizing and understanding one’s individual stress triggers and responses is crucial for managing stress effectively.
• Warning signs of stress and burnout can include muscle tension, impatience, digestive issues, fatigue, and emotional changes.
• Addressing stress and burnout requires self-awareness, self-care, and seeking support from coaches or other resources.

Key Statistics:

• Reported stress-related absence remains at a higher level than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Takeaways:

• The transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship, such as executive coaching, involves different responsibilities and a need to balance business development, sales, and delivery activities.
• Delegating tasks and seeking support is essential for self-employed individuals and leaders in large organizations, but it may require challenging fears, comfort zones, and control issues.
• Stress and burnout are prevalent among senior leaders and have diverse symptoms affecting physical and mental health.
• Recognizing individual stress triggers and responses is crucial for effective stress management.
• Remote work and virtual meetings can be more intense, leading to increased stress levels, as there may be less downtime between meetings.
• Leaders and entrepreneurs should prioritize self-care and seek support from coaches or other resources to address stress and burnout.