Leadership Horizons

Beating Overwhelm

• Lois Burton • Episode 15

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The relentless pace of modern leadership has made overwhelm not just common but expected. Yet some leaders navigate these same pressures with remarkable clarity and calm. What's their secret? Overwhelm isn't actually about having too much to do—it's about losing sight of what truly matters. When everything feels equally important, when we can't distinguish between urgent and important, we become submerged by demands. 

This clarity deficit creates the perfect storm that leaves even the most capable leaders feeling constantly behind. The journey beyond overwhelm begins with creating your leadership compass—identifying the 3-5 outcomes that would genuinely transform your organization. Not activities, not efforts, but measurable results that connect to a larger purpose. Leaders who implement this practice report not necessarily working less initially, but working differently. They make decisions faster, delegate more effectively, and evaluate commitments against clear priorities rather than defaulting to "yes."

Your environment either amplifies or reduces overwhelm. From calendar management to information consumption, from energy patterns to team dynamics—the systems you build shape your leadership experience far more than willpower alone. 

One CFO established "focus blocks"—protected time where her team knew not to interrupt—and transformed work that took 10 scattered hours into 6 focused hours of higher quality output.

Perhaps most surprising is how our invisible beliefs maintain overwhelm. The "Superman complex," the need to be constantly available, the equation of value with volume—these unconscious narratives create barriers to the very solutions that would reduce pressure. 

By surfacing these beliefs, leaders gain the freedom to choose different approaches.

Ready to move from overwhelm to purposeful engagement? Listen now to discover the five-step framework that transforms how you lead under pressure. Your leadership isn't measured by how much you can carry, but how clearly you can focus on what truly matters.

Leadership Horizons - Helping You Lead Beyond Boundaries

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Leadership Horizons. I'm your host, lois Burton, an executive coach and leadership specialist with over two decades of experience, and I'm passionate about helping leaders become the best they can be. In today's episode, we're tackling a challenge that nearly every leader faces in our rapidly changing world overwhelm. We'll explore practical strategies to not only manage but transcend the constant pressure that threatens both our effectiveness and well-being. Let's begin with a simple truth Overwhelm is the new normal for most leaders. The pace of change, the complexity of challenges, the constant connectivity these forces create a perfect storm that can leave even the most capable leaders feeling submerged. But here's what's fascinating when I work with certain leaders, I notice something surprising they experience the same external pressures as everyone else, yet they maintain a sense of clarity, focus and even calm. What's their secret? That's what we're exploring today.

Speaker 1:

First, let's reframe how we think about overwhelm. We often see it as a volume problem Too many emails, too many meetings, too many decisions, too many stakeholders. But at its core, overwhelm is actually a clarity problem. When we lose sight of what truly matters, everything feels equally important. When we can't distinguish between urgent and important, everything becomes urgent. When we lack clear criteria for decisions, every choice becomes exhausting. So this brings us to our first principle for beating overwhelm Clarity creates capacity. The clearer you are about what matters most, the greater your capacity to handle complexity.

Speaker 1:

I worked with a senior leader in healthcare who was drowning in operational demands. She was working 70-hour weeks, constantly firefighting and still falling behind. She was exhausted and she came to me and said something has to change. So the turning point came when we developed what she called her North Star Three key priorities that would truly transform her organization. Once these priorities were crystal clear, something remarkable happened. She didn't immediately work less, but she worked differently. Decisions became easier, delegation became more natural, meeting requests were evaluated against her priorities rather than automatically accepted. Within three months her hours decreased by 30%, while her strategic impact increased dramatically.

Speaker 1:

I was speaking to somebody just last week about the fact that he said he found it difficult to focus because he was constantly interrupted, and the question I asked him was what boundaries have you put around that? He hadn't. He simply just assumed that he needed to react to everyone else's demand and when I asked the question he said yes, of course there are boundaries he could put around that. Sometimes we just don't see it and it takes a moment to realize that actually, it is possible to put boundaries around which meetings you accept and how often you allow people to interrupt you. And this brings us to a powerful practice. Create your leadership. Compass us to a powerful practice. Create your leadership compass.

Speaker 1:

Take a step back and ask yourself what are the three to five outcomes that would truly make a difference in my organization over the next year. Not activities, not efforts outcomes. Write them down, make them specific and measurable. Then go deeper. Why do these outcomes matter? What larger purpose do they serve? This connects your priorities to meaning, which fuels resilience when challenges arise. Finally, establish clear criteria. What will I say yes to? What will I say no to? What will I say not now to? Having these criteria explicit rather than implicit reduces the cognitive load of constant decision making.

Speaker 1:

Our second principle for beating overwhelm is this your systems shape your experience. Many leaders try to overcome overwhelm through sheer willpower pushing harder, working longer, trying to focus more intensely, but willpower is a finite resource. Systems, on the other hand, can create sustainable change. I shared the example about the coachee who was constantly interrupted throughout his day, and another CFO I coached had the same problem and, rather than simply trying to concentrate harder. She redesigned her system. She established focus blocks to our periods, three mornings a week where her team knew not to interrupt her, except for true emergencies. She physically relocated to a different office during these times and turned off all notifications. The results were transformative Work that previously took her 10 scattered hours now took six focused hours. The quality improved and, perhaps most importantly, she no longer carried the cognitive burden of constantly switching contexts. This highlights a critical insight the environment you create either amplifies or reduces overwhelm. Consider auditing your current systems across these dimensions.

Speaker 1:

First, time allocation Do your calendar and schedule reflect your actual priorities or have you become too reactive to others' demands? Many leaders I work with now schedule time for their priorities first, before their calendars fill with others' needs. Secondly, information flow how do you consume information? Do you consume it in constant fragments throughout the day or in intentional blocks? Leaders who batch their email and message checking often report dramatic reductions in mental noise. Thirdly, energy management Do you structure your day according to your natural energy patterns? Matching your most demanding work to your peak energy periods can double your effectiveness while reducing exhaustion. I know it's not always possible, but as much as you can try to structure your day around your natural energy patterns. Fourthly, team dynamics. Have you created clear agreements with your team about communication, decision rights and escalation thresholds? Ambiguity in these areas creates constant low-level stress that accumulates over time. Let's move to our third principle.

Speaker 1:

Overwhelm is often maintained by invisible beliefs. The external systems matter enormously, but equally important are the internal narratives driving our behavior. In my coaching practice, I've noticed that leaders who struggle most with overwhelm often hold powerful unconscious beliefs that keep them trapped. Beliefs like if I don't handle this personally, it won't be done right. Being constantly available proves my commitment. Saying no would damage relationships I need. My value comes from how much I can get through in a day. These beliefs create invisible barriers to the very solutions that would reduce overwhelm.

Speaker 1:

Let's take the case of a brilliant research director I worked with. Despite implementing better systems, he remained overwhelmed. When we explored more deeply, we discovered a core belief that his value to the organization came primarily from solving problems others couldn't. He described it as his Superman complex. This belief created a pattern he would unconsciously gravitate towards the most difficult challenges, even when they weren't aligned with his true priorities. He would hesitate to develop all those problem-solving abilities because being the go-to person had become part of his identity. Once this belief became visible, he could make a conscious choice about whether it served him. He didn't completely abandon his problem-solving strength, but he redirected it towards strategic challenges rather than operational firefighting, and he began actively developing others finding satisfaction in their growth.

Speaker 1:

This highlights another powerful practice for beating overwhelm surface and examine your leadership beliefs. Take time to reflect on questions like what do I believe makes me valuable as a leader? What am I afraid would happen if I delegated more? Where do I feel indispensable and why? What would be challenging about having more space in my schedule? Simply bringing these beliefs into awareness creates a choice where before they seem to be known.

Speaker 1:

Our fourth principle might surprise you Recovery is as important as effort. In a culture that often glorifies constant productivity, we've lost sight of the fundamental truth productivity. We've lost sight of a fundamental truth Human performance depends on oscillation between exertion and recovery. The research is clear. Studies of elite performers across domains, from athletes to musicians to knowledge workers, show that sustainable high performance requires strategic recovery. Yet many leaders operate as if they're exempt from this biological reality. I worked with an executive team whose members prided themselves on their work ethic, regularly putting in 12-hour days and working through weekends, regularly putting in 12-hour days and working through weekends. When we implemented recovery protocols, including proper breaks throughout the day, technology boundaries in the evening and genuine weekends, they were sceptical, but their performance didn't decrease. It improved Decision quality, increased innovation, flourished and, crucially, their capacity to handle complexity without overwhelm expanded dramatically.

Speaker 1:

So let's have a look at how you can do this in a practical way. Firstly, design your recovery at multiple timescales. This means micro breaks throughout your day. Even five minutes of stepping away from the screen can reset your mental state. Proper evenings and weekends and strategic vacations that allow complete disconnection. Secondly, establish technology boundaries. The constant accessibility created by smartphones has eroded the natural boundaries that once protected recovery time. Many leaders I work with now have specific technology protocols perhaps no email after 8pm or no phones in the bedroom, or social media only at designated times. Thirdly, prioritise sleep. The science is unambiguous Sleep is not a luxury. It's a biological necessity for cognitive function. Leaders who protect their sleep make better decisions, regulate emotions more effectively and demonstrate greater creativity. So let's integrate all of these principles into a practical framework for beating overwhelm.

Speaker 1:

This consists of five steps. Step one create clarity. Define your North Star, the three to five outcomes that truly matter. Establish clear criteria for what deserves your attention and what doesn't. Communicate these priorities explicitly to your team and stakeholders. Step two design supportive systems. Audit and redesign your environment to support focus rather than fragmentation. This includes calendar management, information consumption habits, physical workspace and team communication protocols.

Speaker 1:

Step three surface limiting beliefs. Identify the internal narrative that maintain overwhelm. Challenge assumptions about what makes you valuable and what others expect. Replace limiting beliefs with empowering alternatives. Step four establish recovery rhythms. Design strategic recovery at multiple timescales, from minutes to months. Create technology boundaries that protect your cognitive space. Prioritize sleep as a non-negotiable foundation for performance.

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And step five practice presence. Develop the capacity to be fully engaged with whatever is before you. Multitasking creates cognitive residue that amplifies overwhelm. Single tasking giving complete attention to one thing at a time paradoxically increases both speed and quality. As we implement these steps, something remarkable happens. We move from overwhelm to what I call purposeful engagement, a state where we're fully immersed in meaningful work, clear about our direction and energized rather than depleted by challenges. In this state, we experience what psychologists call flow, that optimal state where we're fully absorbed, time seems to transform and our capabilities are fully expressed. We're not avoiding difficulty, we're engaged with it in a fundamentally different way.

Speaker 1:

Before we close, I want to emphasize one final truth Beating overwhelm isn't a one-time achievement. It's an ongoing practice. The forces driving overwhelm are persistent, which means our strategies must be equally persistent. The good news is that each step you take creates positive momentum. Clarity makes systems easier to design. Better systems provide space to examine beliefs, healthier beliefs make recovery more natural, and recovery recreates the energy for greater clarity. In our next episode, I'll be focusing on how leaders gain and maintain trust episode. I'll be focusing on how leaders gain and maintain trust, and I'll also be thinking about and ready to announce my guests for June and July. So watch this space Until then. This is Lois Burton from Leadership Horizons, reminding you that leadership isn't measured by how much you can carry, but how clearly you can focus on what truly matters.