404: Burnout, boundaries and bold leadership with Kelly Swingler

Women Who Lead is more than a podcast—it’s a movement, a mindset, and a space for transformation. It’s a platform for real, raw, and radically honest conversations with women who are redefining leadership on their own terms. Rooted in the belief that true leadership begins within, these Women Who Lead invite us to break free from outdated models of power and success.

Through storytelling, coaching, and a soulful newsletter that follows the rhythm of the seasons, it supports women to rise—courageously, unapologetically, and as their whole selves. This is a space for women ready to lead with more self-trust, more softness, and more power. Learn more at https://ourtimetobloom.com/.

Season 4, Episode 4: Burnout, boundaries and bold leadership with Kelly Swingler 

This week, I’m joined by the fierce, no-fluff force that is Kelly Swingler—global burnout educator, executive coach, and founder of The Burnout Academy.

After two devastating burnouts—one that wrecked her health, the other that nearly ended her life—Kelly made a decision: this ends here.

Now she’s on a mission to challenge everything we’ve been told about success, productivity, and performance culture. She trains the world’s leading burnout coaches and works with organisations to move beyond lip-service wellbeing. No tick boxes. No fluffy fixes. Just real, lasting change.

In this conversation, we talk about how we got here—glamourising stress and normalising self-sacrifice—why burnout is not a personal failure, how to lead without losing yourself, and what it means to build bold, burnout-aware leadership from the inside out.

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Timestamps:

01:13 | What does it mean to you to be ‘in Bloom’ in work and life? 

02:14 | How do you define success without sacrificing well-being? 

04:01 | Which season of your career shaped you the most, and how did it impact you? 

06:18 | What challenges did you face as a woman in the male-dominated world of work, and how did you navigate them? 

07:44 | How did you create and maintain confidence and authenticity in environments where those traits might be tested? 

09:39 | What advice would you give to women on building confidence and asking for what they deserve? 

11:17 | What’s your relationship like with your feminine energy? How do you balance masculine and feminine energies in leadership? 

13:10 | What are your top strategies for preventing burnout while staying driven? 

15:02 | We can’t possibly Bloom all of the time, how do you bounce back from setbacks or failures stronger than before? 

16:38 | How has understanding the connection between mind and body influenced your life and career growth?

Resources mentioned:

https://www.kellyswingler.com/

Mind The Gap → https://amzn.eu/d/dFoulwQ

F*ck Burnout → Buy here](https://amzn.eu/d/46Fqdl8

Kelly on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyswingler/