By Mary Tucker | Senior Communications and Content Manager | IAEE
Exhibitions and events professionals are accustomed to working in a high-pressure environment where they juggle multiple deadlines, client expectations and last-minute changes. April is National Stress Awareness Month, and a good time to address how industry professionals can better manage stress and build lasting resilience. It’s also a good time to bust some burnout myths, because the biggest myth of all is that burnout is the fault of an individual performer, not the sign of systemic problems in an organization.
This myth leads to increased burnout, stigma, and feelings of failure across employees and managers as they strive to “fix” themselves – often alone – instead of identifying root causes in the company or industry culture. Enter Rachel Boehm, a consultant and coach specializing in burnout, stress and sustainable high performance, who brings a unique blend of expertise as a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) and Ph.D. Candidate in organizational psychology.
Through her work at Rachel Boehm Coaching & Consulting LLC, she has helped countless professionals and organizations transform the way they work to turn stress into a strategic advantage, redefine success, and develop high-performance strategies that are sustainable throughout one’s career – not just a business cycle. This isn’t about working less; it’s about working smarter for yourself, your clients and your team.
At Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2024, Rachel busted common burnout myths and taught attendees about the systemic drivers of burnout and how to make changes across their company culture to tackle root causes. In her webinar on 2 April, Navigating Turbulence: Stress Management Strategies for Uncertain Times, she will teach what can be done to protect ourselves until those causes are fully addressed.
Rachel will explore both immediate and long-term stress management techniques and habits that can help industry professionals thrive in their demanding roles no matter how much authority they have over their company culture. Drawing on Science-Backed, People-Proven™ methods, she will share how to truly thrive under pressure.
You’ve worked with event planners dealing with burnout. Could you share a surprising way that chronic stress manifests in this industry that most professionals don’t recognize until it’s too late?
Rachel: It’s similar across all high-pressure industries. The biggest factors are that people are so swept up in being busy, they don’t recognize what they’re feeling. This is made worse by the fact that living in business and stress has become so common that people think it’s normal. So even if they notice it, they don’t question it until it’s too late. They’re the proverbial frog in a pot of water at a slow simmer that becomes a full, overflowing boil.
This industry often calls for a “hustle culture” and wearing multiple hats. Can professionals maintain their high performance while actually reducing their stress levels?
Rachel: Yes, it’s 100% possible. But it takes a balance of self-discipline and self-compassion, and it also takes leaders in the organizations to implement changes in their policies, programs… their entire culture, to address the root causes. Individuals can only be so resilient.
When it comes to “in-the-moment” stress management, many of us are familiar with deep breathing. What is another powerful technique you’ve seen work particularly well during high-stakes situations?
Rachel: Deep breathing is great for people who want to do it and can remind themselves to do it in the moment. It’s a tactic. The strategy is to know what works for you, there are many stress management tactics that might work better for some people. We will explore these in the webinar so attendees can discover a range of tools to use for different situations.
We’re curious about the science behind resilience in high-pressure environments. What is one interesting discovery from your research that changed how you approach stress management?
Rachel: That it’s OK that I don’t like meditation, ha-ha. Or at least not the way meditation is typically presented to us. Again, there are many ways to achieve the goal of resilience under pressure. You need to find the tactic(s) that works best for you and when.
Many event planners pride themselves on their ability to handle extreme pressure. How do you help these high achievers recognize when their ‘superpower’ might actually be undermining their long-term success?
Rachel: Strengths overused can become weaknesses. So, if your strength is “grit” it can mean you also don’t know when to pivot for fear of failure. One of the best and hardest lessons I learned early in my career is that changing my mind isn’t the same as quitting. Or that needing a break so I can come back to the problem recharged, isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s about challenging these misconceptions and redefining success and hustle and performance for yourself.
Your approach emphasizes personalization rather than “one size fits all” solutions. What is one unique aspect of your approach that differs from typical stress management advice?
Rachel: Just that. There are several unique aspects and my clients say that, not just me. I often see “experts” pushing the plan that worked for them onto everyone. And people try that; it doesn’t work or only partially works. But instead of saying, ‘hey, maybe the expert was wrong,’ they beat themselves up for “failing.”
It’s the law of the instrument. The quote describing it is often attributed to both Abraham Maslow and Abraham Kaplan. It says, “It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”
This is relevant for those teaching or coaching others; they need to have a number of tools to personalize the approach for people and meet them where they are at.
It’s also relevant for the student or coachee; they need to learn a number of tools to add to their toolbelt, so they know what to use in which situation. Sometimes a mantra will do the trick. Sometimes you need to go for a walk. Sometimes you need to scream into a pillow or have a good cry or call a loved one or vent to a journal. Sometimes you need to call BS on your own self-talk and stop bullying yourself. Other times you might need to kick yourself into high gear even when you don’t feel motivated.
