EP. 45 Beyond Burnout: What Mission-Driven Leaders Need to Thrive

In this episode of Thinking CAAP, Beck Moore and Heather Holloway welcome Rachel Barnard, founder and CEO of Creative Civility, for a conversation about burnout, resilience, and what it takes to build organizations where people can truly thrive.

Rachel challenges the idea that burnout is a personal failing, especially for people in human services and mission-driven work. Instead, she frames burnout as a signal that the work, the environment, and the systems may need closer attention. Together, Beck, Heather, and Rachel explore the emotional weight of service, the gap between what should be and what is, and the way fatigue can affect integrity, creativity, decision-making, and organizational culture.

The conversation also looks at capacity, asking for help, vicarious trauma, survivor syndrome, joy, self-care, and the importance of giving from a place of wholeness rather than depletion. Rachel shares how Creative Civility helps teams map their experience of burnout, reconnect with their humanity, and create joyful disruptions that make room for wellness, creativity, and possibility.

This episode is a reminder that healthy organizations begin with healthy people, and that thriving isn't something we earn after the work is done. Thriving is the baseline we have to build into the way we lead, serve, and show up for the long haul.

Substack: https://rachelgbarnard.substack.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-g-barnard-49335751/

Website: https://www.rachel-g-barnard.com/

Discover more about the Thinking CAAP podcast: https://www.thecaap.org/the-thinkingcaap-podcast-blog