More and more of us are experiencing burnout and, importantly, recognizing it for what it is. But what causes burnout? Is it simply being overworked? Or does it also stem from feeling undervalued in your role? We spoke with Kelley O’Keeffe, the Founder and CEO of Empowered Engagement, about the link between feeling undervalued and being burnt out… and how to overcome both.
Watch our podcast with Kelley O’Keeffe about why feeling undervalued can lead to burnout:
Kelley O’Keeffe, MBA, is an Entrepreneur focused on helping women empower themselves economically. She is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Engagement, the research and consultative agency whose mission is to support and empower those identifying as women in business by providing them with the information, tools and strategies for success. Kelley is passionate about helping women thrive economically because, beyond being personal for her, she understands that as women rise as leaders in business, the economics for mothers, children, and caretakers greatly improves. Our GDP also rises, social responsibility increases and communities thrive.
Kelley’s background includes working for technology firms such as IBM and Gartner, and a publicly traded Customer Experience firm where she spearheaded nearly 15% of her company’s total annual revenue as leader of a 300 person global sales team. Along that journey Kelley worked to improve her income by 10x in 12 years, earned a Master’s in Business Administration, was ranked the #1 performing woman in her company as a revenue generator twice in her career, and worked with leaders ranging from Fortune 500 CEOs to Managers of small companies. Kelley resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband.
Value, Motivation, and Burnout
Our conversation begins with some of Kelley’s background. She describes how she worked in technology and sales, how she became an entrepreneur, and why she focuses on supporting and empowering women in business. One way Kelley helps business women is in the areas of burnout.
What is the process for overcoming burnout? First, you must identify the root cause. For many, feeling undervalued is a huge contributing factor. If you don’t feel valued—whether through a lack of praise or from insufficient raises or promotions—it lowers motivation. It can also lead to impostor syndrome, which certainly impacts self-esteem and motivation! Those components, in turn, can make you feel more emotionally exhausted by work and less fulfilled in what you’re doing.
So how can we feel valued? What can we do to lift ourselves up? How can we influence others to value our work? Kelley outlines the steps to take as well as how to overcome obstacles along the way.
We end our podcast with Kelley’s top actionable tips to take today to beat burnout.
Listen to our podcast with Kelley for more on feeling valued is so important:
To learn more, check out Kelley O’Keeffe’s official website here. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn.
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