Episode 50: Don’t Text Me at 9 PM: Burnout, Boundaries and the Conversations Leaders Need to Have with Matthew Jackson
Episode 50 woo hoo! 🎉
For this milestone episode of Not Another PD, I’m joined by senior psychologist, Board-approved supervisor and self-described “personality hire” Matthew Jackson.
And yes, we talk about why you probably shouldn’t text your leader at 9 PM about something that could have been an email the next morning.
But this conversation goes much further than after-hours messages.
Matt has worked across private practice, hospitals, corporate teams and university settings, as well as leading teams himself. Outside of psychology, Matt also has another professional identity as drag performer Matilda Mercury Queen.
Together, we get into the very human side of leadership: burnout, boundaries, difficult conversations, resentment, self-awareness, professional support and what happens when either leaders or their staff start to disconnect from the work.
We also talk about why burnout isn’t simply an individual resilience problem, why leaders need somewhere safe to be supported themselves, and what leaders can do when they realise something isn’t quite right within themselves or their team.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Warning signs that leaders themselves may be struggling
- After-hours communication and setting clear boundaries with your team
- How to have difficult conversations without damaging professional relationships
- Why leaders need to ask, “What’s my part in this?”
- Warning signs that staff may be struggling, disengaged or burning out
- Burnout as an individual, leadership and organisational responsibility
- Why blaming individual workers for not being “resilient enough” misses the bigger picture
- How leaders without a clinical background can better understand the realities of frontline practice
- Staying curious and asking your team questions rather than making assumptions
- Why leaders acknowledging their own mistakes can help create safer teams
- Professional supervision, peer support and other places leaders can access support without relying on their staff
- Matt’s simple two-minute self-awareness check-in
- Connection to your role, your team and your organisation, and what it might mean when one of those connections starts to disappear.
Towards the end of the episode, Matt gives us another great reflection: think about how connected you currently feel to your role, your team and your organisation. If the answer is “no” to one of them, that doesn’t necessarily mean everything is bad. It’s a clue.
As Matt puts it, pick up the magnifying glass, be Agatha Christie and investigate. What has changed? What are you missing? What is your part in it? And what might need to change?
Because, as Matt also asks, why does business have to be so serious?
Connect with Matt:
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I support leaders, practitioners and organisations across the helping professions through professional supervision, leadership development, training and consultation.
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I’m currently running online focus groups with Australian-based leaders to help shape new leadership training around reflective practice, professional boundaries, wellbeing and psychosocial safety.
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Thanks so much for listening to Episode 50 of Not Another PD!
And a huge thank you to Matt for such a fun, honest and very Matt conversation.
If this episode got you thinking about your own boundaries, leadership or how connected you’re feeling to your work, I’d love to hear what stood out for you.
And remember: if it can wait until 9 AM, maybe don’t text your leader at 9 PM.
