Don’t wait until December to ask how people are doing. There’s something about October. Summer vacations are behind us. The days are getting shorter. Year-end targets are getting closer. And that fresh September “back to business” energy can start wearing thin. This is often when teams quietly shift from busy to depleted. The work is still getting done. Meetings are still happening. Deadlines are still being met. But energy changes. As leaders, we tend to notice burnout when

You can’t lead well if you’re running on empty. Tomorrow is International Self-Care Day, which may not sound like the first thing on a leader’s priority list. But in leadership, especially in industries like mining, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and energy, staying steady under pressure matters. And that includes the leader. When you’re responsible for people, projects, deadlines, safety, performance, and constant decision-making, it’s easy to believe that pushing

The best leaders recognize the difference between burnout and disengagement. This is the time of year people start checking out. You can feel it with kids first. Our daughter has officially entered the “How many days left until summer?” phase of the school year. Every morning feels slightly more dramatic than the last. And honestly, adults aren’t always that different this time of year. At work, I’ve noticed the same thing happening with teams lately. Energy dips. Attention d