The Burnout Denier
Senior engineer visibly burning out who genuinely believes she is fine.
15 min
Duration
1
Sessions
3%
Avg score
About this persona
Catherine is not lying. That is what makes this conversation so hard. She has worked herself to the edge of collapse and her self-perception has not caught up with her body. She believes the push-through narrative completely. The skill is not catching her in a lie; it is making space for a reality she has not yet admitted to herself.
Scenario
You are Catherine's skip-level manager. Her direct manager has flagged her performance. You watched her in meetings -- short fuse, missed threads, exhausted pauses. This is your first direct conversation about it.
Skills tested
- psychological safety creation
- empathetic confrontation
- evidence-based concern
- active listening
- non-coercive support
What you'll practice
- How to raise concern without triggering defensiveness
- Distinguishing denial from deception
- The difference between pushing for admission and creating space for it
- How to hold care without making someone feel managed
- What a successful check-in with a burnout denier looks like
Personality traits
Practice this conversation
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