Beating Burnout: Beth Benatti Kennedy On The 5 Things You Should Do If You Are Experiencing Work Burnout
An Interview With Jake Frankel
Connection is your support system; strong relationships are the strongest predictor of life and career satisfaction. It’s not about gathering as many business cards and social media connections as possible, but about creating and nourishing trusting relationships in your professional and personal life.
Millions of Americans are returning back to work after being home during the pandemic. While this has been exciting for many, some are feeling burned out by their work. What do you do if you are feeling burned out by your work? How do you reverse it? How can you “get your mojo back”? What can employers do to help their staff reverse burnout?
In this interview series called “Beating Burnout: 5 Things You Should Do If You Are Experiencing Work Burnout,” we are talking to successful business leaders, HR leaders, and mental health leaders who can share insights from their experience about how we can “Beat Burnout.”.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Beth Benatti Kennedy.
Beth Benatti Kennedy, MS, LMFT, brings more than twenty-five years of experience to her role as a leadership and executive coach, resiliency-training expert, and speaker. Her Benatti Resiliency Model® has helped thousands of people develop the resilience to adapt to changing career circumstances, take responsibility for their career and personal growth, and remain productive, engaged, and committed to their organization’s success. Beth is also the author of ReThink Resilience: 99 Ways to ReCharge Your Career and Life (written with Karthik Venkatakrishnan, PhD, FCP, and Songmao (Ben) Zheng, PhD) and Career ReCharge: Five Strategies to Boost Resilience and Beat Burnout.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
My life as an entrepreneur started when I was five years old. I had a little business selling handmade pictures to my neighbors.
My dad, who was a natural leader and true entrepreneur, ran the family moving business, Steinway Moving & Storage. When I was eight years old, I’d accompany him on moving jobs. My job was to deliver buttered rolls to all the moving men. Years later, in high school, when I participated in a project about careers, I knew I would follow in my dad’s footsteps. I told my teacher, “I’m going to be an entrepreneur.”
As a senior at Bethany College, with my major in psychology and my minor in business, I decided to check out the possibilities offered at the career center office. Northeastern University in Boston had a Master’s Degree program in Career/Human Resource Counseling. This would equip me to work with corporations and their employees. I’d found the perfect way to integrate my leadership skills and my love for making a positive difference in people’s lives! I remember calling my parents to tell them, “I’ve figured it out. I now know what I want to do!”
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
My dad definitely inspired me to pursue my career. He was an amazing leader but his mental and physical health took a hit from his nonstop dedication and hardworking personality. I will never know if he would still be alive today if his workaholism had been addressed and he had had a toolbox for handling the constant stress he was under as a business owner.
This made me realize that I wanted to work with professionals who were passionate about their careers but in danger of burning out from stress and a lack of healthy boundaries.
My Bethany college professor, Gale Thompson, inspired me to pursue my career. Dr. Thompson taught me mindfulness and gratitude practices before they became part of the mainstream discussion. He even hosted yoga classes at his home every Sunday. He sponsored my senior project, “Stress Management a Must for Today’s Society”. We had conversations about how I could use my psychology major and business minor and make that crucial impact that I wanted somehow in my career. When I found the Human Resources Master’s program at Northeastern University, he thought this program would use my strengths and supported me through the application process. It was a good fit — this program prepared me to be a career counselor and provided me with many insights about myself and others that are still relevant today. In addition, I made connections that continue to be an important part of my success.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
I met Ann Marie Joyce, the Training Manager at The Gillette Company, when I was still in graduate school at Northeastern University. By that time, I was beginning to feel the effects of burnout from my job as a career counselor in the Boston Public Schools. Ann Marie had me write a proposal to develop an English as a Second Language (ESL) program for employees on the factory floor. When my proposal was accepted, I managed an ESL program on the factory floor, bringing in teachers for all three shifts. Then I added career counseling sessions for these employees. I witnessed some amazing success stories, with individuals going back to school for GEDs if they did not complete high school or attending community college. Ann Marie helped me expand my career counseling services throughout the company and I began designing and teaching career development classes at all levels of the company and in all of the Gillette facilities.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or takeaway did you learn from that?
This wasn’t a mistake so much as a funny lesson learned. When I spoke at The Globe and Mail Executive Performance Summit 2019 in Toronto, Canada, my 83-year-old mother came along. I had to miss one of the networking sessions but my mom attended. There she was, connecting and chatting with all these business professionals. Many people told me later how fun and lovely it was to meet her. I was upstaged by my own mom!
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?
One of my favorite quotes is, “Isolation is the dream killer.” from Barbara Sher, the well-known career counselor and best-selling author. I was fortunate to have Barbara as a mentor and she inspired me to write my first book, Career ReCharge: Five Strategies to Boost Resilience and Beat Burnout. I learned from Barbara that whatever your mission, purpose, or dream is, ask for help and connect with others and it can come true.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
My most recent project has been writing and publishing ReThink Resilience: 99 Ways to ReCharge Your Career and Life. I wrote this book with a past mentee of mine, Dr. Karthik Venkatakrishnan, and Dr. Songmao (Ben) Zheng. We had joined forces on a scientific journal publication (Clinical and Translational Science), integrating more than a year’s research surveying the practice of resilience among professionals in 2021. This was an opportunity to spotlight resilience as a key leadership competency.
That led to us writing ReThink Resilience for the reader who can’t dedicate the time and commitment required to read an in-depth book on resilience. The book includes 99 resilience boosters that are practical and bite-sized, categorized by one or more strategies of my Benatti Resiliency Model. We also had the idea to include insights from sixteen “Resilience Champions,” people personally known to us who model resilience.
I am also developing a ReThink Resilience two-day retreat with a close friend and colleague and will be delivering a keynote address on resilience at a leadership conference next year.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
My top three character strengths are connection, curiosity, and a love of learning.
Connection. I take connection very seriously and make it a priority to cultivate relationships. After I finish working with a client, whether it be a six-month or 12-month engagement, my clients receive a monthly newsletter so they can continue to boost their resilience and spark success. The connection with one particular client, Karthik Venkatakrishnan, led to us collaborating on ReThink Resilience: 99 Ways To ReCharge Your Career and Life.
Curiosity. A gift that I bring to my leadership coaching is a curiosity to really understand my clients, their purpose, and how they can be fulfilled in both their personal lives and careers. When I began coaching at The Gillette Company, I spent hours on understanding what took place on the factory floor before developing training for those employees. I do the same to this day. Whether for a leadership coaching client or an organization for whom I am delivering training, I take the time to understand them, their job, and their strengths and opportunities.
Love of learning. I have had my coaching business for over 25 years and I believe one of the keys to my business success is I never stop learning. I include a learning goal every year when I set my goals. For example, in 2023, I became certified as a Leadership Coach and in 2024, I am participating in a mindfulness program that uses the character strengths assessment called Values in Action (VIA). I also attend a professional development conference every year.
For the benefit of our readers, can you briefly let us know why you are an authority on the topic of burnout?
It started when I experienced burnout myself when working as a career counselor in a public-school system. Then I moved into career coaching, where I encountered many other people with burnout.
A milestone was when several years ago, I coached employees in a company that had been acquired. I observed differences between those with resilience and those who were thrown off by the transition. The resilience individuals navigated much more effectively through the process. They drove their careers, made the choice to not let the acquisition ‘ruin’ their lives, and found opportunities even in a challenging situation. I identified five common strategies that these resilient people possessed as part of their career toolbox. As I passed on these strategies to clients over the years, I saw how developing resilience enables individuals to have the careers and lives they want and avoid burnout. I turned these strategies into my Benatti Resiliency Model and it is now one of the cornerstones of my leadership coaching practice and the training classes I offer.
Writing my first book, Career ReCharge: Five Strategies to Boost Resilience and Beat Burnout, and developing resources for my Career ReCharge training, prompted more research on resilience and burnout. That first book led to me writing articles for various publications on the topic and being quoted in articles written when the World Health Organization recognized burnout as a phenomenon.
Ok, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview about beating burnout. Let’s begin with a basic definition of terms so that all of us are on the same page. How do you define “Burnout”? Can you explain?
This is tricky as burnout isn’t always obvious nor does it usually happen all at once. The symptoms are different for everyone, but there are clear warning signs: Do you feel exhausted many days? Do you lack motivation? Is your internal drive not as strong as it used to be? Do you feel constantly frustrated? Are you having difficulty focusing on your work?
Burnout can be caused by a number of factors, including a high-pressure work environment, unclear job expectations, too many responsibilities, lifestyle choices; and certain personality traits. Being connected 24/7 is also a factor in burnout, and a connection has been found between not receiving recognition for good work and burnout.
How would you define or describe the opposite of burnout?
The opposite of burnout is resilience. Being resilient means you have the skills to handle change and to recover and recharge yourself so you have the energy needed for a productive, engaging career and life.
This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to expressly articulate this. Some skeptics may argue that burnout is a minor annoyance and we should just “soldier on’’ and “grin and bear it.” Can you please share a few reasons why burnout can have long-term impacts on our individual health, as well as the health and productivity of our society?
Burnout can have long-term impacts because there is a correlation between burnout and a lack of engagement, issues with colleagues. That in turn can affect our society. We see this in the healthcare fields and in schools, to name just two areas. People in these careers most often see their career as a calling, yet they are burning out and leaving their fields. It affects our society because we entrust our health and our future to them.
From your experience, perspective, or research, what are the main causes of burnout?
Three causes are 1) demand — individuals are tasked with more than they can manage; 2) control — individuals have no control over their time or any flexibility; and 3) support — individuals don’t have the support they need to do their jobs
Other contributing factors are a lack of boundaries, addiction to urgency, unrealistic work demands, and a constant state of overwhelm.
Fantastic. Here is the main question of our discussion. What can an individual do if they are feeling burned out by work? How does one reverse it? How can you “get your mojo back?” Can you please share your “5 Things You Should Do If You Are Experiencing Work Burnout?”. (Please share a story or an example for each.)
My clients who are experiencing burnout work through the five strategies of my Benatti Resiliency Model: well-being, self-awareness, brand, connection, and innovation.
Well-being encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual health. This is not just about exercising, eating healthily, and getting enough sleep. It includes knowing how to recharge your batteries, being deeply connected to something outside yourself such as art, music, literature, nature, or religion, and knowing your stressors and having strategies to deal with them.
My clients have success with this strategy when they start small, for example, setting clearer boundaries between work and personal life. Clients also find it helpful to take a “pause breath” before saying yes to a request. Sometimes saying no is one of the best things you can do for your well-being.
Self-awareness addresses purpose, mindset, and type. Do you have a clear purpose? Is your career aligned with your values? What is your mindset — do you regularly set an intention for how you want your life and career to be, or are you on autopilot? Mindset is also about how you react to change. Do you see yourself as adaptable or do you cringe at the thought of the next transition in your organization? Do you know your personality type and are you able to use that knowledge to be flexible in your interactions with people whose styles are different from yours?
I ask clients who are struggling to define their purpose to complete the purpose mind map exercise. This exercise asks you to focus on three areas: guiding principles, contribution, and recharge. Guiding principles are the values that are most important to you when you think about your personal life and career. Contribution asks you to look at what job has used your strengths and fulfilled you. For recharge, you list activities that engage you, for example, hobbies.
Going through this exercise helped one of my clients when he made a career move that meant he would have to live in a different city from his family. Although the position tapped into his strengths, he was burning out because he was not being true to his values; he did not have enough time to spend with his family or to participate in activities. He realized he had to focus on the alignment of his career with his values.
Brand focuses on attributes, impact, and reputation. Many people are surprised that I consider brand a resilience strategy, but defining your brand makes you articulate what makes you unique in the workplace and the positive impact you’ve made in your positions. It’s also an opportunity to consider whether your reputation is consistent with how you want to be known.
One of my clients described her career as boring, unfulfilling, and frustrating. When we explored her brand, we realized why she was burning out. Her three brand strengths were project management, presenting, and collaboration, but she spent her days isolated in the lab doing experiments. Her manager gave her an opportunity to move into a project-management role for the department. She worked longer hours but had new energy and excitement about her career. She enjoyed putting together reports to document lab studies and presenting them at meetings throughout the organization.
Connection is your support system; strong relationships are the strongest predictor of life and career satisfaction. It’s not about gathering as many business cards and social media connections as possible, but about creating and nourishing trusting relationships in your professional and personal life.
You cannot create trusting relationships overnight; you need to be proactive in maintaining them. To build your relationships, I suggest creating a connection plan. A connection plan doesn’t have to be complicated — you can simply list individuals you’d like to connect with in the next year, how many times you’d like to connect, and how you’d like to connect, for example, meeting for lunch, an email, or a phone call. Check your connection plan once a month and take action!
Innovation keeps you growing, developing, and thinking creatively by introducing new challenges, interests, or competencies into your life, it. Focusing on innovation can energize you to take the steps needed to be more engaged in your present career or to begin the job search.
Innovation does not have to be confined to professional activities. A key strategy for people in a situation where leaving their job is not feasible is to set an innovation goal that inspires and recharges them on a personal level. One client of mine was dealing with significant work stressors, and the resulting tension was spilling over into his family life. While he needed a physical activity, he wanted one that wouldn’t cut into his normal family time. He decided to pick up fencing, something he had done in college, if he could persuade his son to be his partner. They found a teen/adult class in a nearby town and the class not only contributed to his personal well-being, but gave him a new way to connect with his son.
What can concerned friends, colleagues, and life partners do to help someone they care about reverse burnout?
The most important thing is to listen and not dismiss burnout as one of those things that someone will “get over”. The science shows us that burnout is real. Individuals can reverse burnout but might need help and resources.
What can employers do to help their staff reverse burnout?
Employers can ask questions about workload, delve into what employees need more of or less of, explore with them their strengths and development interests, and create psychological safety in a team or department by really listening and responding authentically to employee concerns.
These ideas are wonderful, but sadly they are not yet commonplace. What strategies would you suggest to raise awareness about the importance of supporting the mental wellness of employees?
The most important strategy is to start from the top. Leaders need to talk about and model resilience. Just offering employees a meditation app or a discount to a gym is not going to reverse burnout. Prevention of burnout can be part of career conversations. Just knowing a manager recognizes burnout, doesn’t push it aside, and cares can make a big difference.
What are a few of the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they try to reverse burnout in themselves or others? What can they do to avoid those mistakes?
Some of the most common mistakes individuals make when trying to reverse burnout are not taking time to pause and assess their values and strengths — this can lead to trying to shoehorn themselves into a career that doesn’t fit them; not nourishing themselves, for instance, with a fulfilling hobby, if they can’t leave their job; not recognizing the impact of small changes; thinking that an expensive vacation will reverse burnout on its own; and not recognizing that reversing burnout is a process.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would like employees at all levels of an organization to have access to resilience training or the option to have coaching. The Gillette Company offered six coaching sessions to employees at all levels. This reduced burnout and enhanced career engagement.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)
I would love to have breakfast or lunch with Oprah Winfrey. I have followed her since my college days and believe she lives and models resilience in her business. I have great admiration for the amazing difference she is making for students in Africa. I would love to share my Benatti Resiliency Model with her!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
My website is bethkennedy.com. Readers might find it interesting to take the Resilience Benchmark which can be found on my site — https://bethkennedy.com/benchmark-your-resilience/
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
