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Your Team or Audience
Book Kafi A. Joseph for speaking engagements on reconceptualizing burnout through the lens of safety and agency.
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The Burnout Equation
Burnout = Threatened Safety × Limited Agency
Burnout intensifies when safety threats are high and agency is limited. Relief comes not from endurance alone, but from restoring conditions that make safe action possible.
Safety
When basic needs feel threatened—belonging, identity, resources, boundaries, or values—people push harder to restore safety.
Agency
Without real control or safe alternatives, hard work becomes the only perceived option, creating unsustainable patterns.
Flow
When both safety and agency are present, people can work sustainably, make aligned choices, and access their natural productivity.
Speaking Topics
Two keynotes designed for your audience and objectives.
Burnout Isn't an Outcome.
It's a Symptom.
Why overwork persists even when you "know better" — and what it's actually protecting.
High performers do not burn out because they lack endurance. They burn out when rest, boundaries, change, or disengagement feel unsafe — psychologically, socially, morally, or professionally.
Learning Objectives:
- ✓Reframe burnout as a symptom, not an outcome
- ✓Identify your primary burnout pattern and its safety–agency drivers
- ✓Recognize early signals that rest, change, or boundaries feel unsafe
- ✓Distinguish when to restore agency v. when structural change is required
Best For:
Burnout Is a System Signal.
Not a talent problem.
Why burnout persists even when resources are added — and why it's a structural warning, not an individual resilience deficit.
When employees cannot act without unacceptable cost — reputational, relational, financial, or moral — burnout emerges as a rational adaptation. Leaders learn how role design, reward patterns, and cultural norms can unintentionally threaten safety and restrict agency.
Learning Objectives:
- ✓Explain why burnout survives wellness initiatives
- ✓Identify safety threats embedded in role design
- ✓Distinguish between real structural constraints and cultural misperceptions
- ✓Apply a safety–agency lens to reduce burnout risk without lowering standards
Best For:
Podcast Appearances
Conversations on burnout, energy, Human Design, and the veteran experience.
Warrior Women Rising
A platform for authentic conversations about life after military service for women, the pursuit of purpose, and the evolving definition of success.
Severe Burnout Pushes West Point Grad To Find Worthiness Beyond Career
On burnout, identity, and redefining success
Women in the ArenaRedefining Productivity and Human Design
Energy alignment and sustainable performance
West Point AOGLeaving a Lasting Legacy at West Point
With Carl Owens '78 and Kafi Joseph '03
War Room to the Board RoomWomen's Army Rugby & Military Police to Consulting & Chief of Staff
Career journey and military transition
Want to go deeper than a keynote? Explore Workshops →
Ready to Book?
Get in touch to discuss speaking opportunities, keynotes, or custom presentations for your event or organization.