Was tun Sie, wenn Sie als Executive Coach unter Stress und Burnout leiden?

Put your own oxygen mask on before helping anyone else! You cannot support or coach other people if you're not taking care of yourself. It's so easy in a supportive role to feel like you need to twist yourself into knots and burn yourself into the ground to be there for the people who are relying on you, but I promise you that's just the cortisol talking. Read the signs and take a break. If you're worried about leaving a coaching client without support, find a trusted fellow coach to recommend them to and remind yourself that you're awesome and you'll bounce back once you've given yourself the space and grace to be able to.

Any executive coach is a human too and can experience signs of or even full-blown burnout. Here's my anti-burnout 3S system: 1. Sleep Poor sleep quality leads to poor decision-making. If you don’t get enough sleep: → Your judgement is clouded. → You choose to prioritize the demands of others over your own. 2. Self-awareness Self-aware person will never drive themselves into a burnout. If you don’t know what’s important, everything is. Which brings me to my last S: 3. Setting boundaries → Set boundaries. → Communicate them. → Don’t break them. Formula: "If you do [behaviour you don’t want] then I will [consequence]” No one can break your boundaries but you - if you don't follow thought on the consequence.

Recognizing stress and burnout signs is crucial for executive coaches, who often prioritize their clients' well-being over their own. Early detection enables proactive measures, preventing the escalation of symptoms. Coaches need to model self-awareness and self-care strategies to their clients, reinforcing the importance of personal well-being in maintaining professional effectiveness and credibility.

If you are a coach and you don't have a coach, there may be an opportunity for improvement. Coaches are human beings, and they are just as likely to have issues that require help from others. Think about it: "It's similar to a doctor who refuses to consult with a specialist for a medical condition outside of their expertise. Coaches should also adopt a growth mindset and be willing to seek assistance from others instead of trying to handle everything on their own."

As an executive coach, I emphasize the importance of recognizing warning signs of stress and burnout as crucial markers for personal growth. Acknowledging physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms enables individuals to take proactive steps toward well-being. By empowering clients to confront these signs head-on and implement self-care strategies, we pave the way for resilience, enhanced productivity, and a fulfilling life both personally and professionally.

In my experience, I advocate for establishing clear and healthy boundaries to prevent stress and burnout. It's essential to prioritize self-care by setting limits on client workload, session frequency, and communication methods. By honoring these boundaries, coaches safeguard their well-being, ensuring they can deliver their best support to clients effectively.

Be honest and open with yourself and seek strong agreement with your partner and clients about your boundaries. You know who you are and never promise something you are not sure about.

Coaches need to have 1) a quota of number of clients and 2) a quota of number of coaching hours per day. If any is absent, this might compromise the wellbeing of the coach who can be over worked and hence under perform. Coaches might find it particularly hard to refuse a client request to schedule a session the soonest and feel guilty otherwise. The coach needs probably to be coached on how to overcome this feeling and start saying No.

Having your own plan and strategy to grow your business is essential. If we can't 'coach' ourself to do what is needed, how could our clients believe we could. Being a product of our own process should eliminate, or at minimum, identify the problem areas to address.

Keep track of your needs so you can set the proper boundaries. Have sufficient flexibility to take personal time off as needed.

Executive coaches must embody their teaching principles; self-care is a prime example. By prioritizing their well-being, coaches sustain their capacity to serve clients effectively and demonstrate the importance of self-care in leadership. This alignment of personal practice with professional advice enhances credibility and can profoundly influence clients to adopt similar habits, fostering a culture of well-being in their organizations.

A coach more than any other person need to constantly work on their physical and mental health. A coach with a compromised wellbeing can't be present for their clients. Sometimes the burnout isn't cause by too many clients or too many sessions bu rather by a lack of replenishment and recharging.

Coaches have coaches, too. If you are noticing signs of burnout or finding it challenging to integrate self-care practices into your routines, consider working with a well-being habits coach.

As an executive coach facing stress and burnout, prioritize presence and self-awareness. Recognize when stress arises and observe your reactions without judgment. Engage in practices that anchor you in the now, like mindfulness or deep breathing, to maintain clarity and balance. Self-care is vital; it's about nurturing your body, mind, and spirit through healthy habits and activities that bring joy and relaxation. By embodying these practices, you not only replenish your own energy but also set a powerful example for your clients, demonstrating the importance of self-care and presence in sustaining well-being and effectiveness.

Practice what we preach and figure out what your stressors are. Then choose the proper self-care. Basic resilience practices can help temporarily. Resilience is reactive and treats symptoms. What’s the stressor? - Are you not recharging sufficiently each night? 8 hours of sleep should be non-negotiable along with cardio and better nutrition. Increase your capacity. - Too much going on at once? How overloaded is your brain from multitasking, pop-up messages, and excessive to-do lists? mono-task. - Ruminating? try meditation and mindfulness practices. Rewire your brain’s neural pathways for shutting off so you are better at turning thoughts off. - Have enough rewarding personal relationships? Seriously hobby? Protect your “me” time?

Seeking help from other helping professionals is a proof to your professionalism, and it is a pledge in ICF Code of Ethical conduct for coaches. So seeking support from other coaches, therapists, or Coaching Supervisors is a must depending on the level of stress or burn out your are in. Supervision is mostly effective as a preventive strategy to all of that. - Better to have one session each 2-3 months. Coaching should be an ongoing practice, (I do not know a good coach who does not have a coach or invest in coaching) and whenever stressful conditions are happening, you should be discussing with your coach. Therapy is a also a space where you should connect with deeper spaces and getting in touch with your inner self.

I strongly support coaches hiring a coach. If we aren't willing to improve areas of our lives, why should a client invest in us?

Are you feeling overwhelmed by stress and burnout as an executive coach? Discover how seeking support can help you overcome these challenges and regain balance. - Consider seeking support from a therapist, counselor, or coach who can help you navigate your stress and burnout. They can provide strategies to manage stress, improve self-care, and restore balance in your life. - Reach out to fellow executive coaches or members of professional coaching organizations for support and advice. Sharing experiences and strategies with peers can provide valuable insights and encouragement. Stress and burnout are common challenges for executive coaches.

Continuous learning is essential for executive coaches, as it fosters resilience against stress and burnout. By embracing a growth mindset, coaches can remain adaptable and innovative, ensuring they provide the most effective guidance to their clients. Additionally, learning from a diverse range of sources enriches coaching practices with fresh perspectives and techniques, which can enhance the coach-client relationship and drive successful outcomes.

I have always a disclaimer: As a coach I equally learn from my clients. When this happens and when it isn't just about the coach serving, replenishment partially happen from the learnings. It stops then fully feeling like and job and consequently burnout is dissipated.

As an Executive Coach, the antidote to burnout can sometimes be found by simply taking the time to ask deeper questions: 1. Why am I here? What purpose was I born for? 2. Why do I do what I do? Why did I choose this path? 3. Why does my work matter? Beyond the benefits of success, what difference does my work create? 4. Why am I passionate about certain things? What insights do my preferences reveal? 5. Why do I want to make a difference? What is the real impact I want to leave? These answers will take some time to unearth, but it will definitely be worth it. And these same questions can also help your coaching clients find the answers they need.

In my experience, burnout doesn’t come from what we are doing, but rather more what we are thinking about what we are doing. So take time to reflect on what is going on in our mind and bodies that is causing the burnout and question everything - is it true? (I highly recommend Byron Katie’s work). As coaches we know strategies we use with our clients and we can apply those strategies to ourselves. But often we get caught up in our own thinking and hiring a coach is really the best approach to challenge us to see and question our thoughts and behaviors from a different perspective to find more clarity and peace.

To prevent this we @InfluenceSolutions have regular Group and / or individual supervision sessions. A good cadence is having them after every 18-20 coaching sessions. Or if you have been dealing with exceptionally fraught clients and can feel the stress accumulating. This also enhances our ability and effectiveness as coaches

You slow down! You drink your own medicine! One can mentor/coach themselves, once by any practice of their choice, they are able to regain equanimity and then address the situation with clarity!