When Your Business Consumes You: Burnout, Resilience and Leadership | Kevin Lawrence

Send us Fan MailThe drive that helps an entrepreneur build a successful company can eventually become the same force that damages their health, relationships and enjoyment of life.In this episode, Peter Boolkah speaks with CEO advisor and Your Oxygen Mask First author Kevin Lawrence about what happens when work consumes the founder.Kevin explains why highly committed leaders frequently give everything to their businesses and leave themselves whatever energy remains. From the outside, they may appear extraordinarily successful. Behind the scenes, however, they can be exhausted, isolated, depressed or relying on destructive coping mechanisms.Peter and Kevin explore a different approach to conventional work-life balance—one that deliberately allocates energy between work, self and life.You’ll discover:Why determination can be both a founder’s strength and vulnerabilityHow a growing business can gradually consume its ownerWhy physical fitness alone does not guarantee mental resilienceHow unhealthy coping mechanisms can remain hiddenWhy generic work-life-balance advice may not help driven entrepreneursHow the work-self-life model protects the founder’s energyWhat Kevin calls “resilience rituals”Why the public image of successful leaders can conceal private strugglesHow a leader’s depleted energy affects the entire organisationWhy managing emotional reactions becomes more important as a company scalesWhen coaching may not be enoughWhy seeking qualified mental-health support is a sign of responsibilityThree practical priorities for protecting long-term performanceThe central lesson is simple: if you want your company to continue growing, you must create the capacity to continue growing yourself.Content note: This conversation includes discussion of burnout, addiction, depression and suicide. It is not medical or mental-health advice. If you are struggling or feel at risk, contact an appropriate healthcare professional, emergency service or crisis-support organisation. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted free at any time on 116 123.Learn more about Kevin Lawrence: https://lawrenceandco.comLearn more about Peter Boolkah: https://www.boolkah.comOriginally published 1 November 2017.CONNECT WITH PETER BOOLKAHWebsite: https://www.boolkah.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boolkahInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/pboolkah/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoolkahX: https://twitter.com/boolkahABOUT PETER BOOLKAHPeter Boolkah is a business coach, author and speaker who has spent more than 20 years helping business owners build stronger, more valuable businesses that do not depend on them for everything.He is the creator of The Hamster Wheel Trap® and author of Your Business Sucks: Build a Business That Works Without Destroying Your Life.Peter works with founders and leadership teams on the issues that ultimately determine whether a business creates freedom or becomes another job: leadership, founder dependency, people, profit, execution, scaling, exit readiness and enterprise value.His approach is direct, practical and built around one simple question:Do you own the business, or does the business own you?Learn more at https://www.boolkah.com