From Burnout to Balance: Identifying and Stopping Energy Drains in Leadership
Jul 30, 2025Are you hemorrhaging energy without realizing it? When wellness business owners finally ask themselves "where is my energy leaking," the answers often reveal patterns that have been silently driving them toward burnout for months or even years.
Anna and Kendall's honest exploration of energetic leakage begins with their personal evolution from exhausted multi-taskers to strategic leaders. Kendall recalls her early days with a one-year-old daughter, "setting up the studio, getting stuff off Craigslist, the whole thing. And I did everything—I answered the phone, I cleaned the bathroom, you know, all the hats." Anna's journey started similarly, though she quickly identified bookkeeping as her first energy drain: "I was a notorious procrastinator with that... I would leave it for about six months."
The conversation reveals how delegation becomes both liberation and challenge. While passing off tasks provides relief, it often creates new energy drains through training, quality control, and the emotional labor of letting go. Anna shares her recent experience delegating payroll: "More mistakes happen... but not being responsible for them is quite nice. So I can sort of say, oh, I'm sorry that that happened."
Both hosts identify hiring cycles as particularly significant energy leaks that catch business owners off-guard. "You're going along in your workflow and they feel like, okay, I have my boundaries... And then here comes a phase of hiring and it wipes out the flow," Kendall explains. This insight resonates deeply for small business owners who can't afford dedicated HR staff but find recruitment consuming disproportionate mental and emotional resources.
The discussion turns to boundary evolution, with Kendall sharing how her multiple sclerosis diagnosis at age 20 forced early awareness of energy management: "I learned pretty early on, like, well, you can't overdo it or you're gonna really regret it and you're not gonna be able to function." However, she emphasizes how employee management complicates even the strongest personal boundaries.
A pivotal moment comes when Kendall shares advice from her former supervisor: "The most important thing I want you to think about is when are you not working? You have to choose that. You have to be intentional and choose that when you're not working." This guidance reframes rest as an active choice rather than a passive default.
The hosts tackle procrastination as a major energy leak, with Kendall citing research showing "we use more energy putting off the task than we would just completing the task in the moment." This insight leads to Anna's innovative solution: scheduling quarterly "admin weeks" to batch-process accumulated tasks that typically drain energy through avoidance.
The conversation takes an inspiring turn when Kendall describes her recent flight lesson, illustrating how intentional new experiences serve multiple purposes. Beyond providing mental clarity—"not once in the air did I think about my to-do list of work or home"—learning new skills offers cognitive protection against dementia, according to research their medical director shared.
"There's studies about if someone went to college, but then they stop learning new things after that, they have a higher incidence of developing dementia than people who didn't go to college but are learning like a new skill every few years," Kendall explains, connecting energy management to long-term brain health.
Throughout the discussion, both leaders emphasize that energy leakage isn't just about time management—it's about recognizing the cumulative impact of small drains that compound into exhaustion. The solution isn't working less, but working more intentionally.
This episode offers profound insights for wellness practitioners caught in the endless cycle of business demands. By identifying where energy leaks occur and implementing strategic boundaries, leaders can create sustainable practices that preserve both their well-being and their capacity to serve others effectively.
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About Anna Rudel
Anna Rudel, L. Ac is the owner and founder of Lokahi Acupuncture Clinic in San Jose California, founded in 2003. Anna is a master organizer and clinician, and as a Coach she specializes in working with Clinic Owners in the state of California, and Acupuncturists and Acupuncture Clinic Owners, or groups wanting to add Acupuncture worldwide, as well as teams that need support with employee retention and satisfaction. Born in the UK, Anna has traveled extensively in Asia and now has a thriving multi-practitioner clinic in the US!
Anna's Website and Links
- Website: https://lokahiacupuncture.com/
- Learn Group Coaching: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching
- For info about Individual Coaching: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/individual-coaching
About Kendall Hagensen
Kendall is a Somatic Mental Health Therapist, Multidisciplinary Clinic Owner and Business Coach. She specializes in, and is passionate about, working with healthcare professionals to create the businesses of their dreams. Big goals always have a psychological component beneath the surface, so Kendall uses her background in Somatic Psychotherapy and EMDR Therapy mixed with Business Coaching tools to help clients develop a healthy relationship with their business and their strength as a leader.
As someone who lives with a chronic illness herself, Kendall feels that health happens best within community, which is why she takes a holistic, integrative, and collaborative wellness approach to her personal and professional life.
Kendall’s Web/Social Links