motivation | The Burnout Queens

Crack open the books

June 26, 2019

What better time than summer to crack open the books you’ve longed to read all year long. The days are long, the pace is summer-slow, and the time is yours to catch up on yourself.

The Burnout Queens believe in the power of knowledge. With our psychology degrees, our coaching expertise, and a specialty in womens’ issues, we wanted to share just a few books that will help you jump any life hurdles and open you up to even more personal growth.

Here are a few of our ‘must reads’ to get you started.

Excuses Begone! (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer)
Be Happy. (Robert Holden, Ph.D.)
Quiet. (Susan Cain)

Happy Reading darling.

Dr Toby Silverton & Dr Bev McLagan aka…The Burnout Queens xx

It’s International Happiness Day!

March 20, 2019

The Burnout Queens hope you are feeling happy today of all days. Why not…March 20th is not only the first day of Spring, but International Happiness Day! We actually didn’t know it existed, but we are happy that it does because it gives us all time to reflect on the goodness in our life (I’m sure you can find something darling).

Happiness Day got us thinking about some fabulous resources that you might like to indulge in, but first why not try this little quiz.

READ THIS STUCK-TOGETHER SENTENCE OUT LOUD:

happinessisnowhere

What did your voice tell you? a) happiness is nowhere OR b) happiness is now here

Well, the differences are stark aren’t they. Does this sentence give you a glimpse into your attitude and approach to life and your feelings? Well…

If you read (B) then you will be feeling quite happy about how things are going. If you read (A) then you might take this Day of Happiness to seek some inspiration on how to, well, ‘feel happy’

The Burnout Queens recommend these resources.

Happiness Now! Timeless wisdom for feeling good fast. (by Robert Holden, PhD)

2. be happy. release the power of happiness in YOU (by Robert Holden, PhD)

And for those who love research:

3. Stumbling on Happiness (by Daniel Gilbert)

Here’s to a day of happiness!

Love, The Burnout Queens xx

The dreaded company retreat

August 23, 2018

Just have to share this with you. We hear about this dreaded event all the time from our VIP clients.

BBC business news has a great, bold and controversial article out today: Why corporate team-building events can be terrible. (love the title already)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45260246

There is nothing worse than opening up your email to an invitation to attend one of these company weekends. It leaves many of our clients with that ‘pit-in-the-stomach’ feeling.

You know you can’t get out of it. You know it will be a waste of time. And this is the important bit…you believe it will be a hornet’s nest of problems.

Have a read why. We are sure many of you will relate 100%.

These events require a solid and deep understanding of group dynamics, communication skills, trust-building, and a high level of crowd control. These skills are reserved for the professionals who know the psychology behind all of these seemingly innocent and fun weekends.

The article makes a great point at the end…good managers year-round should be able to avoid the necessity of having one of these retreats in the first place.

Our best advise to clients: Beware the facilitator, and if you have to attend one of these, put your game face on, keep your guard up, follow the instructions and get out of there at your earliest convenience. You are not weak, you aren’t the problem, and you should never be the scapegoat for the wrong facilitator.

And our next executive coaching session will be devoted to ‘the debrief’ with someone you already trust.

A 9 year anniversary for The Burnout Queens

July 3, 2018

Well it is hard to believe. A lifetime ago now, really. This was Dr T at the airport in Vancouver (Dr B taking the photo) awaiting our flight to London, England.

Our adventure that we both dreamt about in 1972 was about to come true, albeit late. But then we have both always been off-time (off-beat even).

Big change was happening, and more was about to happen. Change that we didn’t know but were fully ready to embrace. We left Canada knowing we would not return. When that last call to board was made (Ladies and gentlemen we are now boarding Air Canada flight to London) Dr T & Dr B smiled widely and joyfully marched into that plane to our new homeland.

Nine years ago, on July 4th we landed at Heathrow and the first words out of the immigration staff when she looked at our passports stamped VISA, she said “welcome home ladies”. London was our independence and our freedom. Little did we know how much!

Yes, we are home. We had lost a lot leading up to that day, but we have gained so much more in taking that final leap. Would we redo it again? No. We have created a culture and lifestyle for ourselves here in the south-east of England.

This was just meant to be, the way we had always planned and more. We are so fortunate to have met and lived close to wonderful people who have been so open to helping us out and sharing our good moments (and stressful ones). Don’t think we even think like we used to.

And then of course there is the joy of art, pastries, walks, our dogs, and last but never least, tea and cake.

They say you can’t go home again. Well Darlings, we are home at last.

How this executive gets a higher company profile

March 17, 2018

Metaphors are powerful motivators that can lead to implementing executive skills that succeed. Here’s an example my Executive client and I focused on recently.

The goal: He needs a ‘higher profile’ in the company.

Our strategy: Blow your own horn. Alright he says, what exactly do you have in mind. We discussed how his position is an important and integral part of the workings of the company data and production, but it’s a boring piece of the wheel. You know, he says, it’s not ‘sexy’ and doesn’t stand out against products and sales.

So how does the ‘less than sexy department head’ get his group noticed and appreciated more often. One way…Blow your own horn by…

Speaking up about what your team is progressing with, succeeding at, and why it is always integral to the smooth running of the company.
Preemptive strikes. Consistently be subtle about announcing his worth (and that of the team), rather than waiting to be asked and having to explain.

Offence, defence, or pre-emptive. Whatever you call it, it really comes down to making the details of what you do and how you do it much more visible. It’s a competitive world in business now, so if you aren’t willing to speak up and speak out you may just get passed by.

Right, this guy is on board. The best part of the call happened as we were about to sign off. He rolled up his sweater sleeve only to reveal a tattoo of a tuba! Blow Your Own Horn indeed.

This guy knows how to do this already. He just needed a little supportive nudge.

(from executive calls at Live the Solution)