Bringing transformation is hard even when it is change you believe in and purpose led.

I find that we don't talk enough about what it really takes to bring that change... the resilience, the confidence, the having to constantly engage people who don't really get it. And having to ensure that the immune system of the organisation doesn't out right eject you.

I was recently speaking with one of my clients about the 'seven seconds' syndrome. When you are that innovator, that pioneer, that change maker and you say something... It is usually followed by seven seconds of silence (at least).

And then you see a part of the room pick up their phones so they can just ignore what you said, another part look blank as if they didn't hear anything and others start to tell you automatically why you are wrong without having really understood what you said. If you are lucky you might have that one person who is curious enough to actually ask you a few questions.

The thing to accept is that that...

We are at a pivotal moment in terms of human history, where we are being called to evolve the operating system on the planet. This for many is triggering a career pivotal moment of their own. When you are asking deeper questions about your life, your work and what you want to do with it all.

If that resonates... know that it is ultimately a call for you to take your place in this new world that is emerging. To be part of this massive transition we are going through. That it asks you to get clear on how you will contribute. Rather than being a well meaning by-stander.

Business as usual is dying. There is no point hanging on to a sinking raft. It is time to change ship. To create businesses that work for people and planet - and catalyse a new level of prosperity for all.

That will take each of us evolving the way we work. Stepping into self leadership and taking the initiative. The shift needs not just the few, but the many. We are all a piece of this particular jigsaw.

Up until now...

10 years of working with changemakers - be it in the corporate or the positive impact world - have taught me they all have one thing in common. Their dance with burn out.  This applied across the board - even when they believed in the change they were bringing in. Sometimes their passion actually made things worse.

The usual antidote is learning resilience tools to manage stress. And yes that helps. Let’s be honest changemaking is not a walk in the park and is stressful. But that will only get you so far.

Beyond tactics, breaking this burn out pattern takes a mindset shift. The crux of it is that there are three blind spots. They in turn set up three burn out traps changemakers easily fall into.

Here are three shifts you can focus on to avoid them.

1. The Sacrifice Trap: From Duty To Inspiration

In this trap we are driven more by the ‘shoulds’ than by the ‘would really love tos’.

We deeply care about the change we are bringing in. But we...

Often we frame purpose as doing good in the world. But what if there was more to it - what if purpose was not just about doing good?

When I started working with humanitarian sector leaders on creating fulfilling work, I found something unexpected.

Up until then, I had mainly worked with corporate leaders. I found that they often lacked meaning and purpose in what they did. But when it came to for impact leaders, I believed they would be experts in meaning. They were doing good. Their work was having a clear positive impact. So I thought they would feel on purpose and be completely fulfilled in what they did. 

But that wasn’t the case. In fact they complained about the same things as my corporate leaders did - which surprised me. Specifically they felt successful on the outside but that something was missing on the inside. 

At first I didn’t understand why. After all their work was externally meaningful. So why...