Leading on Empty: When Burnout or Broken Trust Holds Your Team Back

Leadership is often described as a balancing act—vision and execution, strategy and people, confidence and humility. But what happens when the leaders themselves are running on fumes?

Picture this: One leadership team sits in a boardroom, eyes glazed, coffee cups perpetually half-full (or half-empty, depending on their energy levels). They’re not just tired—they’re burned out, dragging themselves from meeting to meeting with the enthusiasm of a Monday morning alarm clock.

Meanwhile, across town, another leadership team gathers—but no one really talks. Every decision feels like a silent standoff, every project a battlefield of unspoken doubts. Trust is in short supply, and collaboration won’t make it into the room.

Two different challenges, but both with the same result: a team that can’t lead at its best. The good news? Conversations—authentic, intentional, and future-focused—can change everything. Let’s explore how the Conversations Worth Having framework can help reignite purpose, rebuild trust, and turn these teams from struggling to thriving.

Challenge #1

• Name it: The Leadership Team is burned out due to internal and external pressure.
• Flip it: The Leadership Team is not burned out regardless of pressures.

Positive Framing

• Frame it: An energized, motivated team that’s excited to work together with renewed relationships and energy.

Other Positive Frames Offered by The Group:

• The Leadership Team is inspired and positively engaged.
• A cohesive team, thinking strategically and soaring
• Balance reigns supreme!
• The Leadership Team is collaborative and cohesive.
• The Leadership Team is a shining example of effective leadership
• The Leadership Team is relaxed
• A resilient team
• Our team is energized, excited, and committed to moving our organization in a positive, profitable and powerful way! 

Generative Questions

• What one (1) thing can we commit to in this meeting to demonstrate our care for teammates?
• What does energized look like?
• How do we make time for our own self-care?
• Despite burnout, are there aspects of the current work that energizes you?
• What are some best practices to reduce burnout?
• What do you care about most when you are with others in the team?
• What might we focus on to renew our team and feel energized again?
• How might we look at these pressures differently?
• When is a time when we worked together with enthusiasm and support?
• When we felt energized before, what was happening for us?
• What makes you feel supported?
• Three (3) months from now, what story do we want to tell about our resiliency?

Challenge 2

• Name it: The Leadership Team doesn’t trust each other.
• Flip it: The Leadership Team trusts each other.

Positive Framing

• Frame it: Our Leadership Team is brave enough to have challenging conversations for the betterment of the group and the organization as a whole.

Other Positive Frames Offered by The Group:

• All employees feel cared about and supported in the same way, regardless of who they report to.
• The Leadership Team respects and challenges each other with a mutual focus on excellence.
• The Leadership Team knows deeply that each has the best interest for all empoyees
• Our Leadership Team is open and supportive even when we need to face challenges.
• An uplifted team in a healthy supportive culture
• Each person on the Leadership Team feels respected and comfortable voicing their opinions.

Generative Questions

• When we were brave enough to have conversations before, what were we doing? What conditions made that possible?
• When we are at our finest as a Leadership Team, how are we showing our best?
• How do you/we stay grounded and open during tough conversations?
• What do you need to build trust in colleagues?
• How can we encourage vulnerability?
• How will we know we’re succeeding in being brave and working toward the benefit of everyone?

Cool Tip

Energy flows where the conversation goes.

In leadership (and life), everything is energy—and that includes the conversations we have. Words can drain a team or ignite fresh momentum. When we intentionally choose the energy we bring, we can direct attention toward strengths, solutions, and forward motion toward the outcomes we most desire.

We can be intentional about choosing the energy we bring when we simply ask: What energy do I want to bring to my team today? ⚡

About Monday Kickstarters

This topic came from our March 2025 Monday Kickstarters series, working sessions to figure out how to have a conversation worth having when faced with a tough situation, challenge, or problem with leadership or performance. If you have a tough situation you’d like to reframe or want to join us to continue your CWH practice, register for our next session. 

Shared by: Kelly Stewart, a certified Conversations Worth Having Facilitator, Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator, and founder of The Positive Business. One of Kelly’s favorite generative questions that inspires possibilities is: “What if you could . . .?” This type of inquiry is a helpful way to intervene in a conversation that’s dwelling on obstacles. It invites imagination which creates the space where ideas are born, stretched, and reshaped, rather than remaining stagnant. For more ways to learn and apply the Conversations Worth Having practices, visit our shop for learning opportunities, resources, and products.