Burnout is more than “a busy week,” and in this episode Kayla Sweet and I unpack what it really is, what it looks like, and how to recover in a sustainable way.
Kayla is a transformational leadership coach and founder of Internally Guided Leadership, where she specializes in burnout prevention, self-care, and helping heart-centered professionals lead from the inside out. We talk about how burnout shows up physically (like headaches, sleep issues, frequent illness), emotionally (cynicism, detachment, low motivation), and behaviorally (withdrawal, missed deadlines, short fuse), long before many people realize what’s happening. Kayla breaks down different types of burnout—overload, under-challenged, and neglect—and the stages from the “honeymoon” phase of a new role all the way to crisis and habitual burnout.
We also explore why a week of vacation usually isn’t enough by itself, and why real recovery requires changing the patterns, systems, and boundaries that led to burnout in the first place. Kayla shares practical strategies for both individuals and leaders: how managers can spot early warning signs, open up non-stigmatizing conversations about stress, and model healthy boundaries, and how employees can bring up burnout without blame, seek support, and advocate for what they need. Finally, we reframe self-care as consistent, often unglamorous habits that restore physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational energy—not just bubble baths, Netflix, or a glass of wine after a hard shift.
If you work in forensics, first response, or any high-stress field, this conversation offers a grounded, compassionate roadmap for recognizing burnout early and building true resilience over time. You can learn more about Kayla’s work at Internally Guided Leadership here:
