21. SUZI McALPINE - Beyond Burnout

Leadership coach Suzi McAlpine chats with Jimi about burnout. A word we are all too familiar with, but do we really know what it means, where it comes from or how to deal with it?

What exactly are the six causes of burnout? How do we spot them? And how do we empower ourselves to ask for the help we need to ensure we don’t come crashing down in a flaming heap in our professional life?

With alarmingly high rates that are still on the rise, burnout can impact anybody so Jimi and Suzi unpack the root causes, identify the three red flags and illuminate some tips and tools to help us help ourselves.

On top of that, they discuss the responsibility of organisations to help their people never reach the tipping point. They discuss organisational health and offer great advice on how to broach the subject within your organisation no matter what level you are or job title you hold.

As Suzi says “We’re putting way too much onus on the individual to spot it, treat it, to prevent it when it’s an organisational and systemic problem. It’s a bit like treating a sick fish when it’s the water that’s contaminated.”

Acknowledging that there is still a long way to go in addressing burnout among the vast majority of workplaces, Suzi muses that the lip service approach is destined to fail and we must be prioritising actual, effective tools and training to combat the high volume of burnout cases around New Zealand and across the world.

“Burnout is not going to be fixed by a fruit bowl in the lunchroom.”

She believes that the impact that a person in leadership can have in an organisation is exponential.

“If we start to see leaders having the courage to be vulnerable, someone who has positional power, who has hierarchical power starting to open up about their own challenges at work whether it’s burnout or depression or any mental distress that makes it safer (for others to do the same).”

Underneath it all, Suzi believes that part of the solution to avoiding or mitigating the impact of burnout is simple...and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a three word phrase Jimi has been preaching for years…

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MENTIONED:

Tasha Eurich - https://www.tashaeurich.com/

Essentialism - Greg McCowan https://gregmckeown.com

Beyond Burnout - Suzi McAlpine https://suzimcalpine.com