03 Are You Ready for Sustainable Leadership?

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Are you doing all the “right” things—but still feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or unfulfilled in your leadership role? In this episode of Joyfully Unstoppable, we’re unpacking the truth about sustainable leadership—and why the version of leadership many of us were taught is quietly burning us out.

You’ll learn:
 🌿 Why high-functioning burnout is so common among women leaders
 🌿 What sustainable leadership actually looks and feels like
 🌿 The powerful mindset shifts that move you from hustle to alignment
 🌿 Why it’s not your fault if leadership feels too heavy—and how to lead differently
 🌿 How the Frantic to Flourishing program helps you lead with confidence, clarity, and joy

If you’re craving a new way to lead—one that honors your values, energy, and voice—this episode is for you.

Joyfully Unstoppable—helping women reconnect with what matters most.

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✨ Let’s stay connected
Want more support as you lead with clarity, confidence, and joy? Here’s how we can keep growing together:

📝 Download the Burnout Recovery Checklist!
👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏾 Join the Women Lead Well Community on Facebook!
📋 Join the Waitlist for Frantic to Flourishing!
🌿 Meet Becky – Get to know the heart behind the mic
💼 Coaching for Women Leaders – Ready for personalized support? Explore 1:1 coaching
📚 Free Leadership Resources – Practical tools to help you lead (and live) well
🏡 Explore Women Lead Well – Learn more about Women Lead Well and everything we offer

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Welcome to Joyfully Unstoppable,the podcast for women who are
ready to lead boldly, livelightly, and reclaim their joy.
Whether you're leading a team, aclassroom, a boardroom, or your
own big, beautiful life, I'm soglad you found us.
I am your host, Becky Hamleadership coach, speaker and

(00:27):
founder of Women Lead Well.
After years of high levelleadership, I discovered that
success doesn't have to come atthe cost of your peace, your
values, or your wellbeing.
Each week, we'll explore what itmeans to lead with clarity,
confidence, and authenticity.
Even in a world that tells youto hustle harder and prove your

(00:49):
worth, you carry a lot.
Let's help it feel lighter.
Now, if leadership has ever feltlike it's costing you more than
it's giving back, you foundyourself exhausted, stretched
too thin, or wondering how youcan keep it all up, you're in
the right place.
Because today we are challengingthe idea that burnout is just a

(01:12):
part of the job.
'cause my friend, it is not.
There's another way to lead away that honors your energy.
Your values and your wellbeing.
I know it feels impossible, butit's true.
Let's talk about what it meansto lead in a way that actually
sustains you.
Now, let's be honest, so manywomen in leadership are

(01:34):
struggling silently.
On paper.
Things might look great.
You're getting results, you'rehitting your deadlines, you're
leading meetings and teams, evenbig teams, and you're getting
results, but you are constantlyon edge, exhausted, overwhelmed.
Maybe even resentful.
I get it.
I've lived it.
I remember nights where I wouldlay in bed, replaying every

(01:55):
conversation from the day,wondering if I said the right
thing.
If I had done enough, if I cameacross in the way that I should,
I kept raising the bar on myselfthinking that was what good
leaders did that you never dropa ball, you never disappoint.
You always be on, you always beavailable to everyone and be
responsive so you can takeadvantage of opportunities.

(02:15):
But that version of leadership.
Is not sustainable.
It's performative.
It's leadership based on provingyour worth rather than owning
your value and it leaves youdepleted.
The truth is that many of uswere taught to lead like
machines.
Productive, predictable, alwayson, but we're not machines,
we're human.

(02:36):
We have seasons, rhythms,limits.
We have needs leadership thatdenies that.
Truth isn't strong, it'sbrittle.
Now if leadership feels heavy,it's not because you're doing it
wrong, it's because you've beencarrying it in a way that was
never meant to be sustainable.
And that's what we're here tochange.

(02:58):
So what is sustainableleadership?
At its core, it's leadershipthat honors your nervous system,
your values, your energy, yourlong-term vision.
It's about creating a life andan approach to leadership.
That you don't have to recoverfrom.
Sustainable leadership isn'tabout scaling back your

(03:18):
ambition.
It's about shifting yourapproach.
It's moving from hustle.
To rhythm from proving topresence, from control, to trust
you, trust your people, youtrust your process.
It's grounded in capacity, notconstant output.
It's about doing less for thesake of value.

(03:40):
It's about doing what mattersmost in a way that aligns with
who you are.
Let me give you a picture.
Think of yourself not as afactory, but as a garden.
Now factories run 24 7 and theyonly use external energy.
They wear out.
They break down.
They need constant maintenancegardens.
They thrive in cycles.

(04:01):
They flourish with the rightbalance of work and rest, sun
and shade, pruning and blooming.
My friend.
You are not a factory, you are agarden.
And now sustainable leadershipmeans tending to yourself with
that same kind of care.
It means aligning yourdecisions.
Your energy and your boundarieswith your values.

(04:24):
It means creating systems thatsupport you, not systems that
depend on you being at fullcapacity a hundred percent of
the time.
Efficiency is important, but itis not everything.
When you lead in this way, notonly do you thrive, you team and
your work, you magnify yourimpact.
Now, unsustainable leadershipdoesn't just lead to burnout.

(04:48):
It leads to disconnection.
You lose sight of what you loveabout your work.
You lose your voice.
You start to wonder ifleadership is even worth it.
It, it sure ain't fun.
And on top of that, there's theemotional toll, the guilt when
you try to rest, the anxietythat won't shut off at night.
The sense that you're alwaysbehind.

(05:09):
That's not leadership, that'ssurvival.
We've been conditioned tobelieve that exhaustion is a
badge of honor, right?
I mean, that's the Americanthing, that being overwhelmed is
just part of being in charge.
It is a lie, and it's one wedon't have to keep believing.
Let me say this clearly.
If you are tired, it doesn'tmean you're failing.

(05:32):
It means you're listening.
Your body, your mind, yourspirit.
They're telling you something,and the sooner you pay
attention, the more power youhave to create change.
Sustainable leadership ispossible and it's not something
you have to figure out on yourown.

(05:53):
If any of this is resonating,you are probably already on the
edge of transformation.
Now.
Here are some signs.
You're ready for a moresustainable approach.
You crave clarity, butconstantly feel pulled in too
many directions.
You might have a to-do list, buturgent popups crowd out the
meaningful progress, right?

(06:15):
You're getting things done, butyou feel disconnected from your
deeper purpose.
You come to the end of your dayworn out, but you don't
necessarily feel like you'veactually accomplished anything.
You wanna set boundaries, butyou feel guilty or you're not
sure how to do it.
There's this little voice in theback of your head telling you
that you should be able to do itall and be available to everyone

(06:36):
24 7.
You're tired of being highfunctioning, but low
fulfillment.
You just want it to feel goodagain.
You've accomplished a ton, butyou wanna feel like yourself
doing it now.
If you're nodding along rightnow, please know you are not
broken.
I.
Like you're seeing what work,what's working, and you're

(06:57):
starting to imagine what'spossible, and that is powerful.
That's the first step, andthat's exactly why I started
Joyfully Unstoppable.
It's a podcast to help women inleadership reconnect with their
values, their voice, and theirvision, and lead in a way that
actually feels good.
It's not just about mindset,it's about embodiment.

(07:20):
It's about nervous systemregulation.
Yeah.
And it's also about building newrhythms.
Setting those healthy boundariesand creating systems that
support you inside the podcastwill help you move from
over-functioning to aligneddelegation.
'cause you don't really have todo it all.
Go from reactive to rhythmic.

(07:40):
Rebuild your confidence from theinside out.
Stop needing external validationto feel like a leader.
We will help you lead from aplace of strength and softness,
my friend.
You don't need anotherproductivity hack.
You need a new relationship withyour leadership and with
yourself.
And Joyfully Unstoppable is hereto help you create exactly that

(08:04):
you deserve to lead well andlive well.
Now if this episode has sparkedsomething inside of you, I'd
love to invite you to downloadmy free guide to creating a
weekly reset routine.
It's a powerful first steptoward leading in a way that
sustains you.
You'll find the link below inthe show notes because
sustainable leadership isn't afantasy.

(08:27):
It is a practice, and you canbegin today.
My friends.
I hope that you are doing well.
I hope that this podcast hasenergized you, encouraged you a
little bit.
Please like, subscribe, share itwith your friends.
as always, stay amazing.
I'll see you next time.