People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast - PPP 448 | Drifting Toward Burnout? How to Thrive When Demands Pile Up, with Marie-Helene Pelletier

PPP 448 | Drifting Toward Burnout? How to Thrive When Demands Pile Up, with Marie-Helene Pelletier

02/22/25 • 37 min

People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

Summary

In this conversation, Andy and Marie-Helene Pelletier explore the concept of resilience, particularly in the context of workplace challenges and personal well-being. They discuss the importance of understanding resilience as a state that can fluctuate rather than a fixed personality trait. Marie shares insights from her book, The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health. She emphasizes the need for strategic planning to enhance resilience and manage burnout. The discussion also covers cognitive patterns that can hinder resilience, the balance of life's demands and supplies, and practical steps to create a personalized resilience plan. Additionally, they touch on the role of parents in fostering resilience in children.

This episode prepares you to handle the demands that come with leading teams and projects. Enjoy!

Sound Bites

“The class went great. I was a wreck.”
"We know from research that resilience is not a personality trait. It’s a state, which means it will fluctuate over time, which also means we can influence it."
"Resilience is our ability to go through adversity and come out even stronger."
"People will tend to minimize the demands they have, and then on the supply side, people will tend to overestimate the sources of energy they have."
"I think we too easily sacrifice our self-care. We wait for things to fall apart and then we’re like, ‘Oh, I hit burnout.’ What if we were able to put together a resilience plan?”

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
02:02 Start of Interview
02:14 What Got You Into Psychology?
04:00 Understanding Resilience Misconceptions
05:45 Is Resilience Just Genetics And Personality?
08:01 The Role Of Context In Resilience
10:43 BEAR Thinking
14:25 Supply And Demands Inventory
18:13 The Role Of Values
26:02 Applying Resilience Strategies To Parenting
28:42 End Of Interview
29:07 Andy Comments After The Interview
32:17 Outtakes

Learn More

You can learn more about Marie-Helene and her work at DrMarie-Helene.com/.

For more learning on this topic, check out:

Episode 398 with Dr. Neha Sangwan about her book on burnout.
Episode 132 with StrengthsFinder author Tom Rath about energizing the burned out project manager.
Episode 106, also with Tom Rath, about his book Eat, Move, Sleep.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Topics: Resilience, Burnout, Mental Health, Self-Care, Leadership, Personal Development, Emotional Intelligence, Workplace Wellness, Project Management

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: ImageFilm34 by Sascha Ende License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Chillhouse by Frank Schroeter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Summary

This episode prepares you to handle the demands that come with leading teams and projects. Enjoy!

Sound Bites

“The class went great. I was a wreck.”
"We know from research that resilience is not a personality trait. It’s a state, which means it will fluctuate over time, which also means we can influence it."
"Resilience is our ability to go through adversity and come out even stronger."
"People will tend to minimize the demands they have, and then on the supply side, people will tend to overestimate the sources of energy they have."
"I think we too easily sacrifice our self-care. We wait for things to fall apart and then we’re like, ‘Oh, I hit burnout.’ What if we were able to put together a resilience plan?”

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
02:02 Start of Interview
02:14 What Got You Into Psychology?
04:00 Understanding Resilience Misconceptions
05:45 Is Resilience Just Genetics And Personality?
08:01 The Role Of Context In Resilience
10:43 BEAR Thinking
14:25 Supply And Demands Inventory
18:13 The Role Of Values
26:02 Applying Resilience Strategies To Parenting
28:42 End Of Interview
29:07 Andy Comments After The Interview
32:17 Outtakes

Learn More

You can learn more about Marie-Helene and her work at DrMarie-Helene.com/.

For more learning on this topic, check out:

Episode 398 with Dr. Neha Sangwan about her book on burnout.
Episode 132 with StrengthsFinder author Tom Rath about energizing the burned out project manager.
Episode 106, also with Tom Rath, about his book Eat, Move, Sleep.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Topics: Resilience, Burnout, Mental Health, Self-Care, Leadership, Personal Development, Emotional Intelligence, Workplace Wellness, Project Management

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: ImageFilm34 by Sascha Ende License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Chillhouse by Frank Schroeter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Previous Episode

PPP 447 | How to Speak So People Actually Listen, with Michael Chad Hoeppner

Summary

In this conversation, Andy talks with Michael Chad Hoeppner to discuss his new book Don't Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life. The book is packed with practical drills and insights to improve communication skills. Andy and Michael explore common misconceptions about public speaking, the importance of delivery over content, and practical exercises to enhance communication skills to help you become more confident and effective communicators at work and home.

Michael emphasizes that everyone is a public speaker in their daily lives and that good communication is fundamentally about being other-focused.

Want to speak in a way that people actually listen? This episode is for you!

Sound Bites

“You do make a living by speaking.”
"There’s no such thing as public speaking—there’s just speaking."
"If you ever get advice that features the words ‘don’t’ and ‘just’ in a single sentence, you should probably run away from it."
"Filler words aren’t the problem. They’re a symptom."
"AI is about to give us perfect content. The real skill? Delivering it well."
"If every time you speak, you’re trying to sound smart, you’re going to sound dumb."
"Every time you say 'um,' your brain is asking for time. Give it the time—without the 'um'."
"If you can tolerate silence, you’ll always sound smarter."
"The first rule of better posture? Stop thinking about posture."
"If you’re not getting better at speaking, you’re limiting your career without even realizing it."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
02:16 Start Of Interview
03:52 Why Are We All Professional Speakers?
07:34 What Is Some of the Worst Speaking Advice?
11:09 What is Good Communication?
14:29 Why is Delivery More Important Than Content?
20:40 The GK Lego Drill
26:52 About Filler Words Like Um
31:32 What You Need to Know About Posture
39:19 Advice for Parents
44:08 End Of Interview
44:39 Andy Comments After The Interview
47:50 Outtakes

Learn More

You can learn more about Michael and his work at GKTraining.com/Michael-Chad-Hoeppner.

For more learning on this topic, check out:

Episode 378 with Bill McGowan about his book Pitch Perfect.
Episode 98 with communications expert Nancy Duarte.
Episode 349 with Tina Kuhn about her book on communication scenarios.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Topics: Public Speaking, Communication Skills, Speaking Tips, Leadership, Filler Words, Posture, Parenting, Storytelling, Project Management

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: The Fantastical Ferret by Tim Kulig License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Synthiemania by Frank Schroeter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Next Episode

PPP 449 | Beyond Scope, Time, and Cost: Rethinking Project Success, with Dave Garrett

Summary

In this conversation, Andy interviews Dave Garrett, a senior advisor to the CEO at Project Management Institute (PMI). They discuss the evolving definitions of project success, emphasizing the need to go beyond traditional metrics of scope, time, and cost to include value and customer-centric outcomes. Dave shares insights from his extensive experience and PMI's research, introducing the Net Project Success Score (NPSS) and strategies to enhance project success. Topics include the importance of managing perceptions, owning project success beyond metrics, relentlessly reassessing project parameters, and expanding perspectives. The conversation also explores the impact of AI on project management, practical applications of generative AI, and how project managers can leverage these tools to improve effectiveness.

Wondering what the future of project management looks like? Join us for this discussion!

Sound Bites

"Value is a tricky thing to pin down."
“The Sydney Opera House is a classic example of a project that was considered a failure for a very long time because of cost overruns. It overran from a time perspective, even to a point where the public was very upset about it... over time became known as one of the more successful projects ever."
"Project success is not binary."
Our research found that your project success score will double if you do three things: if you set goals up front, if you put in place a system of measurement that aligns and guides decision making, and if you track progress along the way."
"Success can't be, 'I guess we didn't suck!'"

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:18 Start of Interview
01:30 Dave's Backstory
03:22 What Dave Does at PMI
03:59 Defining Project Success Beyond Traditional Metrics
08:03 Perception and Success
14:50 Introducing the Net Project Success Score
19:11 MORE Framework for Project Success
23:13 The Value of Being Customer-Centric
24:28 AI's Role in Project Management
31:31 PMI Resources
34:21 End Of Interview
34:39 Andy Comments After The Interview
38:58 Outtakes

Learn More

You can learn more about Project Management Institute at pmi.org.

For more learning on this topic, check out:

Episode 424 with Karla Eidem, who joined us to talk about project management trends.
Episode 319 with Sierra Hampton-Simmons from PMI about the PMP exam.
Episode 253 with one of the most passionate advocates of PMI: Lee Lambert

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Ways of Working

Topics: Project Management, Value, Success Metrics, Stakeholder Engagement, AI, PMI, Research, Project Success