In this episode, Dr Catherine Sykes, a psychologist and coach who works with City lawyers, explains why burnout is so common among high-performing professionals, and why it’s often misunderstood. Drawing on decades of experience, she argues burnout is not simply about long hours, but “constant effort without psychological returns with no end in sight,” where meaning, satisfaction and growth are missing from the work.
The conversation explores the psychology of lawyers, particularly the role of perfectionism. Sykes also breaks down the early warning signs of burnout and why the instinctive response to “work harder” can make things worse. Instead, she argues that recovery often requires stepping back and in some cases seeking out new challenges to break out of unfulfilling work patterns.
The episode also dives into imposter syndrome. Her core message is that sustainable performance comes from shifting away from perfectionism towards high standards, building self-trust and ensuring work delivers meaningful psychological returns.
This episode is supported by:
Chapters
00:01 Introduction
02:35 From academia to coaching: specialising in burnout
04:37 The psychology of high-performing lawyers
07:12 What burnout actually is (and isn’t)
10:44 Early warning signs and what to do first
13:48 Breaking the burnout cycle and finding balance
16:28 Imposter syndrome explained
21:19 Perfectionism vs high performance
24:30 What peak performance really looks like
