Part of every airplane safety demonstration is how to use the oxygen mask located above one’s seat: The flight attendant holds up and then drops an oxygen mask, bouncing it at the end of its plastic tubing. We’re shown how to put on the mask in case of an emergency. Adults are advised to put on their own masks before putting masks on children.
Putting on one’s own mask first may seem obvious — until you have your own children. While one’s parental instincts might activate in a crisis, prompting them to take care of their child first, that seemingly selfless act could have dangerous consequences.
When we enter the field of professional coaching, we are often driven by a sincere desire to help others. Helping people overcome personal challenges to achieve their potential can be a rewarding calling. However, too many first-year coaches fall victim to their own overpowering empathy and compassion, overextending themselves by pushing aside their own needs and then quickly burning out.
Recognizing the Causes and Symptoms of Coaching Burnout
When we’re new to coaching, the adrenaline rush of helping others can sometimes lead us to ignore potential pitfalls or early warning signs of personal burnout. We might consider burnout as something that happens only to the clients we serve — not to us. Yet the most energetic and motivated coach may be in danger of minimizing self-care and over-extending their emotional energy to others.
Master Certified Coach Jayne Morris of the International Coaching Federation says that burnout affects coaches as often as it does clients:
The risk of burnout is high for coaches because the nature of our work involves holding space for others’ emotional needs, which can drain our energy if we don’t maintain proper boundaries.
Morris notes that coaches may be vulnerable to burnout because they carry a heavy emotional load as they develop deeply empathic relationships with clients. They may put high expectations on themselves to help their clients achieve their goals, which can result in feelings of failure if clients struggle in the process. A lack of boundaries can cause work to spill over into a coach’s personal life, taking up the bulk of their time and mental energy. On top of this, many coaches work independently, which can lead them to feel isolated over time if they lack peer support and mentoring.
Morris points out that both coaches and clients experience similar symptoms of burnout:
- Consistent feelings of mental and physical fatigue
- Sensitivity to minor annoyances
- Emotional disconnect from clients and work
- Breakdowns in work performance that affect daily functioning
- Physiological side effects, such as headaches and poor sleep
If you notice these symptoms emerging in your life and practice, it’s time to step back and put on your oxygen mask.
Putting On Your Oxygen Mask First
The good news is that a coach’s path to addressing burnout symptoms follows the same pattern we often advise our clients to follow. Eléa Faucheron, an alumnus of the Co-Active Training Institute and a business growth coach, shared her own experiences with burnout in a September 2023 interview with Co-Active. Faucheron described how a push to grow her practice and the obstacles that arose in the process led to symptoms of burnout.
Faucheron’s technique for addressing burnout (both in her own life and in the lives of her clients) is to “move, think, and smile” (and is also the title of her book on this topic). This involves the following:
- Move: Addressing the mind-body connection and the physiological effect of stress and burnout can help us shift out of that mindset. Simple movements can help boost our brain chemistry in a positive direction and begin lowering our stress response.
- Think: Reframing the situation or considering a new perspective helps us to reconsider our circumstances. This is not an immediate jump to overly positive framing but a gradual recognition of our current state and a reexamination of our options for moving forward.
- Smile: Embracing simple joys and laughter (even something as minor as a funny animal video) can boost our brain’s serotonin levels and calm our stress responses.
It’s important for coaches to remember that the training and fundamentals we recommend for our clients are just as effective for our own health and well-being.
Designing Your Practice to Avoid Running on Empty
We can also address the problem of new-coach burnout by organizing our practices and processes to avoid it.
Sue Belton, another CTI alumnus, noted in an August 2023 interview that coaches who are just starting out should spend as much as 80% of their time and effort on building and structuring their business. Things like setting short- and long-term goals and reverse engineering your process should be an important piece of the puzzle as you begin your coaching career.
Belton recommends several steps to discover your coaching niche or specialization area, and to establish your practice’s boundaries.
- Outline how much money you need to earn.
- Determine how many hours a week you can give to the business.
- Specify what types of coaching you’ll offer and the clientele you’ll be serving.
- Identify the most effective type of marketing for that client base.
Belton also warns that we all have internal “saboteurs” — beliefs and practices that will trip us up or limit our effectiveness. Working with coaching mentors and peers to identify and address those issues can help new coaches avoid pitfalls that can lead to burnout.
Prepared for Takeoff
Burnout is a reality for all professionals, including coaches. Putting systems, boundaries, and key relationships in place can help us establish personal accountability and avoid burnout. When we pay attention to our long-term professional health, we will be able to weather the turbulence of a new coaching career and find clear skies ahead of us.
Whether you are new to coaching and want to build your business into a lifelong career of care or a seasoned coach looking to get your coaching practice back on track, help is available through CTI. We encourage you to register for our introductory webinar on exploring the path to coaching success today!