From Burnout to Breakthrough
This workshop draws directly on the Leadership RESET Framework developed in From Burnout to Breakthrough (Gaynor, 2025). It is built around the four phases at the heart of that framework – Recognition, Reflection, Realignment, and Reinvention – and uses the arc of a personal leadership reset as both the content and the narrative. Rather than presenting burnout as a personal failing, the session reframes it as the predictable consequence of a system that asks more than it gives back, and positions the four phases as a practical, evidence-grounded pathway through it.
The session is designed for primary school principals at any stage of their burnout journey – those who are currently struggling, those in recovery, and those who want to lead sustainably before they reach a breaking point. It balances lived experience with practical tools, ensuring participants leave with both a clearer understanding of where they are and a concrete step forward.
The session also weaves in the biological dimension of burnout – the neuroscience of the stress response and why the nervous system is central to both the experience of burnout and the recovery from it. This grounds the personal narrative in something universal, giving participants a language for what they are experiencing that goes beyond exhaustion.
Each phase is grounded in a dedicated chapter of From Burnout to Breakthrough and draws on the author’s own leadership experience alongside relevant research and practical tools.