Uh-oh. Is this a frying-pan-into-fire scenario?

February 28, 2025

Hi Karyn.

As you know, I’m about to start a new role that I’m really excited about. It’s aligned with my values and will give me both the stretch and the recognition of my expertise I didn’t have in my old job as well as an opportunity to make a huge difference to a cause I’m passionate about.

However I’ve just met my new team and I’m really concerned about one of my team members. She’s giving every indication of being burnt out and from what I’m hearing, the organisation’s expectations of the (small) team are unrealistic and the program of work seems lacking direction at best and chaotic at worst.

From excited, I’ve moved to anxious. I’ve just left one environment that was underresourced, undervalued and overworked. I don’t think I have the energy to take on this kind of challenge again. It’s too late for me to pull out and anyway I’m still passionate about the organisation and its mission.

Advice please????????

SA

SA, congratulations! I’m genuinely thrilled for you. And I understand what you’re feeling, and I’m telling you: you have all the skills and experience to make this opportunity one of the most satisfying highlights of your career. I’m not blowing smoke. This is perfect for you.

What I’m hearing is your own fear of burning out (again) being triggered by observing another colleague heading that way. That’s a rational fear, and one you are well equipped to deal with, because you’ve been there before and you worked your way through. You KNOW you take the weather with you. You KNOW you need to start as you mean to go on. And that means a few things:

• This is a brilliant new opportunity to decide how you want to integrate work with the rest of your life. The burnout environment you’ve just left was created partly by the workplace and its unrealistic expectations, partly by the lack of alignment of that organisation’s practical vision with your own values, and partly by the HUGE expectations and obligations you set for yourself.
• You have an opportunity in this new work environment to address some of those burnout triggers. You have the opportunity to decide, frame and present your boundaries so you, your boss and your team are clear about the direction you’re taking your role and your colleagues. You can be clear from the get-go about what’s a reasonable workload for your team, and you can establish open communication channels with your boss and people from day one.
• This only works, though, if you’re clear with yourself that you don’t need to work yourself into the ground to prove you deserve this brilliant new job. You’ve already won the job. You have it. Now your job is to do it, and to do it beautifully, and while you’re doing it, to model how a leader determines and communicates priorities in both work and in life so she can sustain the passion and energy that fulfils her vision. I’m so excited for you.
• You mention the program of work lacks direction. You’ll be able to fix that; strategy is one of your superpowers, and you have a high degree of subject matter expertise in the relevant areas. But let that be the second priority; let it continue as it is for now without feeling the need to initiate big changes. Let your boss know you’re going take six months to assess the landscape and decide what’s actually most beneficial for the organisation before instituting major change. That’s a perfectly reasonable timeframe.
• Your priority for your first quarter is getting to know and trust your new team, and having them come to know and trust you. If one team member is burning out, chances are there are some challenging levels of stress, uncertainty and lack of confidence in the wider team. Spend your first quarter getting to know them and their needs and competencies; how their skill sets and experience match the outcomes you need to deliver; how the structure supports (or doesn’t) the team’s purpose.
• Keep your boss across your progress in this work, and flag as soon as you know you’re going to want to make any significant staff changes. If the team is genuinely underresourced, in a way that can’t be resolved through an input of your strategic clarity, you’ll need to seek additional or different resources OR reduce the organisation’s expectations of your team’s outcomes. Busting your gut and destroying your team trying to meet crazy demands is not an option you’re going to tolerate in this new role. Bring your Queen to these discussions.
• You know enough about burnout to be able to assess where there might be issues, and if you need a refresher, I’ve put the link to my masterclass* at the bottom of this letter. If you’re right in your assessment of a team member burning out, you know already this needs urgent attention. She is incredibly lucky to have a leader who will understand and know how to support her in this.
• Finally, I want to address your statement about your own energy levels. It takes a long time to recover from burnout, even when you’ve addressed the contributing factors. This change in environment will make a big difference, as will the closer alignment of this role with your personal values. But it won’t be enough on its own, and that’s why I’ve stressed so much above the importance of setting new work boundaries and patterns for yourself. We’ve previously worked on energy replenishment habits and these will continue to be essential for you as you fully recover from your burnout — and will be the source of sustainable, joyful energy for the rest of your life. So revisit these and incorporate them into your new daily work routine.

SA, I understand the anxiety that perhaps you’re about to find yourself in the same untenable work situation you’ve been in previously. My bottom line message to you is: this is your choice, as well as your opportunity. It doesn’t have to be that way.

While workplace factors undoubtedly play a significant role in burnout, you have the knowledge, skills and authority to shape this role and this team to prevent it in yourself and your colleagues, and here at the beginning of your tenure with this organisaiton, you’re in the strongest position you’ve ever been in to set the standards and boundaries you need for life/work balance.

Run with it! And enjoy!

Much love to you,

Karyn x

* You can access our Women Leading Women Australia burnout masterclass at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPvDHPqFu6E