How to Avoid Burnout for Women in Leadership with Teresa Vozza
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I’ve always been fascinated by the balance of / tension between / concept behind masculine and feminine. I know for some people this already sounds very “woo” and I know for others they are going to be activated immediately by the societal trappings and burden that come with both of those labels. For others, they are going to simply disagree that this is a thing that exists in the world. I completely respect and understand all of the responses and reactions people have to this topic.
And yet, for me personally, I think it’s important to acknowledge that regardless of sex or gender, the way we have defined masculine and feminine energies has impacted everything we do, from our home lives to our work lives, to how we teach children.
The patriarchy is the culmination of the masculine energy at work – where we value the attributes that are traditionally defined as masculine and devalue those that are traditionally defined as feminine.
Which leads directly to why so many women suffer in the workplace and eventually end up burnt out.
The feminine ideals that they have been taught and have internalized (being nice, taking care of people, being liked, etc), are in opposition to how businesses operate and women, as a result, end up taking too much on.
As Teresa Vozza, who is passionate about eradicating burnout for women says, “over-responsibility or over-care can lead to burnout because you’re dealing with too much stress and over-identifying with too many things.”
In this episode, Teresa shares her personal story as an example…
“I confused my high sense of urgency, hustle, and responsiveness as almost my superpowers,” she says.
“I thought those things were going to get me ahead and I had proof they did – because I continued to receive promotions. That was the way I was going to lead and continue to enjoy success… But, it actually led to me experiencing major anxiety and ending up on a stretcher, headed to the ER. At the time, I had no idea what I was going through. I didn’t know what to look for. I just knew how to push and how to work.”
Recognizing what we are and aren’t responsible for, and being very clear on who we are and what matters to us, is the starting point to being able to make changes and avoid burnout. It has to be internally led.
We need to know when to say no and how to prioritize. And, we need to become unequivocal about our limitations in the workplace (i.e. how far we will go to please others).
This is probably a little bit true for all of us.
Teresa’s final piece of advice: “Don’t underestimate the power of knowing and trusting yourself – and being able to set self-honoring boundaries, as a result.”
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Teresa Vozza is a leadership expert, certified executive coach, and former Human Resources Executive with over 20 years of corporate experience, most recently at Allianz Partners as CHRO. She is highly skilled in leading change, building executive teams, communication strategy, and increasing employee engagement and wellbeing through facilitating heart-centred leadership conversations.
She is a passionate advocate for eradicating burnout in the executive ranks. As a consultant and coach, she has worked both one-on-one and in group format with senior teams and professionals from Manager to CEO. She is a seasoned facilitator, strategist, and speaker.
In addition to her work with established leaders, Teresa trains seasoned professionals in the advanced skills of negotiation, crucial conversations, and becoming promotion-ready. In her corporate career, she has led hundreds of participants through leadership courses and workshops.
She is a regular contributor on Breakfast Television and several podcasts, such as Power Presence Position, Wickedly Smart Women, and Entrepreneurs On Fire.
Teresa is described as bold yet heart centred. Pragmatic yet visionary. Direct yet approachable. Challenging yet responsive. Reflective yet results oriented.
Teresa is a graduate of McMaster University, the Canada Coach Academy, and accredited with the International Coaching Federation as well as The Accredited Board of Neurolinguistic Programming (ABNLP).
She is a wife to Greg, and mother to two fabulous kids, Connor, and Isabel.
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-vozza-chrl-cca/
Website: https://teresavozza.ca/
Email: teresa@teresavozza.ca