“Mark, I know we’re supposed to coach on my leadership philosophy today, but I was hoping we could talk about how unmotivated I’ve been lately.”
“Mark, I’m feeling really hypocritical trying to inspire my team when I’m feeling completely burnt out. How can I talk the talk if I’m not walking the walk?”
The comments above are real, shared by my leadership coaching clients and reflective of the way more of my coaching sessions have begun over the past year. As leaders open up and share what’s really going on, many confide that they’re simply burnt out or overwhelmed. When “unmotivated,” “stressed out,” or other descriptors of overwhelm emerge during coaching, I often turn to the topic of self-care to explore how well my client is focusing on their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. More often than not, we uncover a void in one or more areas that is serving as a primary source of discontent.