"Slow Burn" Burnout and Recovery - Lessons in Leadership with Henk Campher, CMO Deep Origin

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Listener note: This episode was originally recorded as The Podgress Report, now The New Ambition. We haven't edited the fantastic original content, so please enjoy and share. Stay tuned for more from The New Ambition. 

In this edition of The New Ambition, host Jen Phillips is joined by Henk Campher, CMO, Deep Origin. This is for those of you who wish it were easier to disconnect from work, to work better together…and to do it all in a way that respects the rest of your life. Managers and aspiring managers, you’ll walk away with tactics and frameworks you can bring into your team to improve the culture and the outputs. 

Henk Campher lives by the Ubuntu philosophy: I am because we are. And it is that philosophy that informs his leadership style…in Henk’s eyes, if the team has a clear plan, and accountability to that plan, less meetings are needed, leaving more time for deep work (and the rest of your life to unfold, stress free). 

Henk experienced burnout firsthand. He reports it was a “slow burn”...something that grew over years, eroding his passion for life over time, and almost without him realizing it. Henk’s recovery leaned heavily into reestablishing boundaries for himself, and his team. This reduced not only Henk’s stress, but increased his team’s engagement and wellbeing. 

And wait until you hear the benefits this shift brought to the company. Gallup estimates low employee engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion U.S. dollars, or 9% of global GDP. Henk’s team at Hootsuite saw a 30 percentage point improvement in their employee engagement when they incorporated boundaries and deep work into their culture. 

Episode Resources

• Ask Jen Anything! I’m looking for your workplace wellness and burnout recovery questions to be featured on an upcoming episode. 
• Henk Campher is 1000% fascinating on LinkedIn. Follow Henk today. 
• Recommended read | Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle [Emily Nagoski PhD (Author, Narrator), Amelia Nagoski DMA (Author, Narrator)]

Please note: resources may include affiliate links. 

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