The Overwhelmed Manager: Rethinking Stress, Leadership, and Mental Wellbein

Season #2 Episode #17

The Overwhelmed Manager: Rethinking Stress, Leadership, and Mental Wellbeing

Featuring Martyn Dawes, author of “The Overwhelmed Manager”

What if it’s not your job that’s making you sick?
In this episode, I’m joined by Martyn Dawes—author of The Overwhelmed Manager—to unpack a radically different view of stress, one that challenges how we think about mental wellbeing at work.

With firsthand experience of burnout in the health and social care sector, Martyn now teaches managers and leaders how to access a deeper understanding of where our experience is truly coming from—and why that changes everything.

💡 Key Topics We Explore:

  • 📉 Why traditional views of stress don’t work—and what to focus on instead

  • 🧠 A powerful introduction to the Three Principles and their impact on leadership

  • 🔍 What it really means when managers feel overwhelmed (hint: it’s not about workload)

  • ⚕️ Lessons from health and social care on emotional overload, responsibility, and resilience

  • 🔄 How this insight is transforming the way managers lead, support teams, and manage mental health

🎧 For HR and L&D Leaders:

If you're exploring how to support leaders who feel emotionally stretched, this conversation will help shift your perspective—and theirs. It’s a powerful entry point into more sustainable employee wellbeing solutions and emotionally intelligent leadership.

💬 Want to Help Your Managers Lead from Clarity, Not Overwhelm?

Explore how our mental health training for managers, employee wellbeing programmes, and emotional intelligence training can support your leaders to build resilience—without burning out.

👉 Book a free discovery call today and let’s talk about real support.