Ways of Working, with Jimmy Burroughes: Ep 10
Mid-level and senior corporate leaders struggling with heavy workloads and looking to improve team engagement without burning out.
What the conversation covers
Jimmy joins host Paul Teasdale to discuss his transition from military service to the corporate world, and how experiencing burnout first-hand led him to develop his Ways of Working programme. Drawing on lessons from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and leadership roles in global companies like Fonterra and Westpac, Jimmy explores the misconceptions modern leaders have about holding all the answers, showing why collaborative decision-making and genuine trust are critical to sustaining performance.
The conversation examines why traditional leadership development initiatives regularly fall short. Jimmy explains that overstretched leaders are often pulled away from their desks for content-heavy sessions, only to return to overflowing inboxes and resistance when attempting to apply new theories. Instead of isolated training, the Ways of Working framework engages leaders alongside their actual teams, using diagnostic tools, structured leader labs, and executive masterminds to embed lasting behavioural change directly into daily work routines.
Finally, Jimmy shares his personal strategies for sustaining personal energy and clarity of thought, from scuba diving in Baja California to structured running and wide-ranging reading. He emphasises the importance of curiosity, ongoing experimentation, and cross-industry peer communities in protecting against burnout. By building environments grounded in trust, connection, and clear performance expectations, organisations can replace volatility and fatigue with clarity and resilience.
“What works is helping leaders to have the conversations that really matter and make a difference with their teams.”
Key takeaways
- Consult subject-matter experts within your team before making decisions rather than feeling pressured to generate all the answers alone.
- Treat trust as an outcome produced by specific daily behaviours and open discussions rather than treating it as an input.
- Shift volatile, uncertain operating environments toward clarity and agility by applying the principles of VUCA Prime.
- Train leaders alongside their direct teams to overcome organisational resistance and see immediate improvements in workplace connection.
- Cultivate a mindset of curiosity and regular experimentation to significantly reduce burnout while solving workplace problems.
- Brief one-up leadership teams before starting frontline workshops to ensure executive sponsors actively clear obstacles and support changes.
- Join diverse, cross-industry mastermind groups to gain fresh perspectives on common leadership struggles without commercial competition.
Where this shows up in your business
The ideas in this conversation come from the Simplify to Amplify method. To see where friction is costing your team time, try the free Leadership Friction Finder, or browse all of Jimmy's guest appearances.
Summary written by JBL High Performance from the episode audio. The episode belongs to Helping People Perform.