Caitlin Donovan
Keynote Speaker on Burnout at Cait Donovan LLC
Leadership
Education: Boston University / Penn State - Pacific College of Oriental Medicine
Little Falls, New Jersey, USA
Biography
Cait Donovan is a Keynote speaker, one of New York City’s leading burnout experts, host of “Fried – The Burnout Podcast,” author of the book "The Bouncebackability Factor", and an acupuncturist with a master’s degree in Chinese medicine. Her creative burnout recovery solutions have been featured on podcasts and online magazines such as “Forbes”, “NPR,” and “The New York Post” and in companies such as Lululemon, and Pepsico.
Passion
Burnout is an evolving concept and its definition is changing as we learn more. I love staying on the cutting edge of this research, as well as perform my own research (specifically in boundary building) in order to provide people with the most impactful tools for change. I'm on a mission to #endburnoutculture.
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I generally get paid for speaking but make exceptions
Topics
Best Story
Almost daily, the Prague a.m. tram would be full and the seat that is set aside for the elderly, pregnant, and disabled would also be full.
We’d come to a stop where an older woman would get on, maybe 90ish years old. As soon as I noticed her on the sidewalk, the righteous irritation would start to build. Would the healthy young person sitting in the seat offer their spot? Would this woman with a can, a hunchback, and a bag full of groceries be forced to stand?!
So, I’d swoop in as the savior and ask if they could get up so she could sit down. (Internally, I’m praising myself for being such a GOOD PERSON). And the older woman would say, fairly frequently, “Oh, I’m just going one stop, it’s not a problem”.
As I went through burnout recovery, I noticed that in those situations the initial feeling that I was feeling wasn’t usually actually irritation but resentment. I felt that it was unfair that I was paying attention to the whole world’s comfort all the time and trying to take care of everyone and this person could just sit in a seat and ignore everyone. Why aren’t we paying more attention to each other? Why is everyone SO INCONSIDERATE?!?!?
And thus started my love affair with resentment. I started keying in to all the moments where I was feeling unfairly burdened, overly righteous, and ultimately - resentful.
And so resentment became my muse, my guide, my indication that it was time to return my attention to my own body, to my own physical and emotional needs, to start treating myself with a basic level of care and respect.
Origin Story
My current business and platform was born from an incredibly deep desire to learn how to set up a life and business in a way that is actually sustainable. I combined life coaching with my 12-year Chinese medicine career and loads of Burnout / Chronic Stress research to find a way to help myself and then others keep burnout at bay. Burnout and Chronic stress are rampant in this day and age and I am part of the wave that is transforming that.
I have been speaking for executives since 2009 when I lead a C Suite team from Cargotec in a stress management session. Since that time, I have taught stress management techniques in Poland, Czech Republic, and all over the US. Stress management turned into burnout prevention and recovery and started with the creation of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast. FRIED has made the Top 100 Mental Health Podcast list in over 15 countries and has been downloaded 250,000 times.
I truly come alive when I am sharing about boundaries, using resentment as a superpower, and burnout recovery. I love interacting with participants and my favorite is making people laugh and keeping things light even if the expectation of the subject matter is heavy.
I wear silver Nike Air Macs on stage as part of a message and modeling to choose comfort, but make it cute.
Example talks
#1 FINANCE PODCAST GUEST SPOT
Cait appeared on So Money to talk about organizational and personal responsibility for burnout and what really needs to happen for recovery to happen.
RADIO INTERVIEW
KQED San Francisco (NPR) - How to Heal from Burnout
https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101884116/how-to-heal-from-burnout-in-time-for-re-entry
KEYNOTE / LAB: Top Down Bottom Up Solutions for Burnout
The demand on workers and leaders alike through the past 3 years has caused burnout rates to skyrocket. High levels of burnout lead to communication issues, high employee turnover, high level of health related absence from work, and lack of productivity. This keynote addresses what can be done at the leadership level as well as the individual level to decrease burnout risk and increase burnout recovery. Top Down and Bottom Up, the best changes happen together.
Takeaways:
🍳 Organizational risk factors for burnout and their solutions
🍳 Personal risk factors for burnout and their solutions
🍳 Red flag signs and symptoms to look for in employees
🍳 The secret emotion that guides burnout recovery
Performed as a both a lab (90 minute) or a keynote (60 minute).
As a Keynote Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFh-Gj7NU1w&t=1111s
This is a great keynote or lab for companies who want to kickstart employee well being after HR surveys dictating need. It is also great for HR conferences. Handouts available for review.
KEYNOTE - Resentment Is Your Superpower
Do you want 5% more energy by the end of the hour? This workshop will show you how to get it. In a world obsessed with positive thinking, we've left behind some of our most powerful resources and lost connection with how to use them. Resentment is Your Superpower allows participants to gain an entirely new understanding of 'negative' emotions, energy management, boundaries, and what getting your spark back really entails. It is empowering, inspiring, and Cait’s most requested workshop. This one promises laughter and fun!
Takeaways:
🦸 How to use resentment as a guide for boundary building
🦸 The set of questions that you can implement now and time again to transform resentment
🦸 How to communicate your boundaries and emotions safely
Performed for the Alumnae at PepsiCo's Pinnacle Group.
This talk is great for women's leadership groups and ERG's for women who are tired of being told to be more grateful, more positive, and more soft. Handouts available for review.
KEYNOTE - Be a B.R.A.T. About Your Boundaries
Can you build boundaries using the acronym B.R.A.T?
At the end of this workshop, you'll be able to use B.R.A.T. to create clear, kind, and concise boundaries that are designed to help empower other people into action and save YOU precious energy. You will come away with a deeper understanding of what how intrapersonal boundaries are represented on a scale researchers call the Integration Segmentation continuum and a set of tools that will allow you to create both internal and external boundaries while still embracing generosity and a community spirit!
Takeaways:
🤬 A set of rules that make boundary building feel safer
🤬 Cait's B.R.A.T. tool for stating boundaries that are clear, kind, and concise
🤬 Feeling more empowered to create boundaries without guilt
Done with PepsiCo as a Keynote for their women's Pinnacle Group and at a leadership retreat for Beacon Hill Staffing.
This is best for female leadership retreats and HR conferences. Handouts available.