Project Failure Files: Disengaged and Burnt Out

In Episode 68 of the Project Failure Files weekly webcast, our focus was “Brushing Off Burnout,” in which Sharon and I tackle burnout as a systemic, not personal, failure—one that creeps in when “temporary” crunch time becomes the operating model. We outline early signals leaders often miss: disengagement, fewer ideas, reluctance to volunteer, and a general “just get through the meeting” vibe. We also stress that noticing burnout is only half the job; leaders must also create space for recovery and make it safe to talk about capacity without fear of looking weak.

The conversation reframes productivity away from eight-hour rigidity and toward sustainable outcomes. Expectation creep—especially for high performers—turns peak output into a permanent standard, eroding motivation and trust. Treating people like machines yields careless errors, data-quality dips, and a culture that trains employees to hide problems and innovation.

Practical solutions include regular 1:1 wellness check-ins, realistic workload planning, post-launch decompression, and leadership modeling (vacations, no-meeting blocks, and not emailing at midnight). Build governance for recovery the way you do for delivery: plan it, protect it, and celebrate it. Measure team energy and constraints, not just output, and you’ll retain top talent while raising the floor on quality.

Enjoy the episode!

Be sure to tune in next Monday, December 8th at 9am Pacific for a program update on our weekly series. Hope you can join us on our NEW YouTube channel (please subscribe!), or find us on LinkedIn.