Step 1: Map your year, not just your week
Lawrence work tends to follow the university's rhythm. KU, a public institution governed by the Kansas Board of Regents with its main campus here, sets a calendar that ripples out to vendors, landlords, restaurants and local agencies. Sit down with a blank calendar and mark your heavy periods: semester starts, budget submissions, board meetings, travel weeks. Most people find that their overload is predictable, which means it can be planned around.
Step 2: Name what you want to change
Coaching works better with a target. Write down two or three specific goals. Examples: stop answering email after 9 p.m., take one full day off each weekend, delegate the monthly report, or protect two mornings a week for focused work. Vague wishes like "less stress" are hard to coach; concrete changes give you and the coach something to measure.
Step 3: Decide what coaching is for
Executive burnout coaching here is non-clinical. It covers workload, boundaries, delegation, energy and recovery time. It does not address health conditions. If you suspect something more is going on, see a health professional first or alongside coaching. Being clear about this keeps your expectations realistic.
Step 4: Choose a format that matches your commute
If you travel between Lawrence and Kansas City or Topeka, video sessions may be easier to keep. If you work from home, meeting in person can give you a needed change of scene. Some coaches offer walking sessions. Decide what you'll realistically stick with for three months.
Step 5: Shortlist and interview three coaches
Use the directory to find a few independent coaches. In a short first call, ask each one:
1. What kinds of leaders and workplaces have you coached? 2. How do you structure the first month? 3. How do you handle confidentiality if my employer pays? 4. What are your fees, package lengths and cancellation terms? 5. How will we know if this isn't working?
Pay attention to whether they ask about your situation before pitching their approach. A coach who wants to know about your team, your reporting lines and your typical Tuesday is more likely to suggest changes you can actually make. Take notes during each call and compare them the next day, when first impressions have settled.
Step 6: Put rest on the calendar before you need it
Don't wait for a coach to tell you to rest. Block recovery time now. Clinton Lake, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is roughly a mile west on Clinton Parkway and has over 50 miles of hiking, equestrian and mountain bike trails; from much of town it's about a 15-minute drive. Prairie Park Nature Center on Harper Street offers trails through a 100-acre preserve of prairie, wetlands and woodland, often about 10 minutes from downtown. These drive times are approximate. A standing walk after a hard meeting day is a small, repeatable reset.
Step 7: Start during a lighter stretch
Begin coaching when you have a little room, not in the middle of your heaviest week. The first few sessions usually involve experiments: dropping a meeting, handing off a task, trying a new start time. You need some slack to try them.
Keep guarding the recovery blocks from Step 6 while you start. Handle them like meetings with your most important client. If a colleague asks for that slot, offer another time rather than giving it up. Rest that only happens when nothing else is scheduled tends not to happen at all, especially in a town where the academic calendar keeps refilling your week.
Step 8: Review after six to eight weeks
Look back at the goals from Step 2. Which changed? Which didn't? Tell your coach plainly. A good coaching relationship can shift focus, slow down or end when it has done its job.
Step 9: Plan for the next crunch
Before your next predictable rush, sit down with your coach and plan how you'll handle it differently: who covers what, what you'll say no to, and when you'll recover afterward. A short retreat at the lake, even a single afternoon, can be part of that plan.
A note on this directory
We introduce Lawrence leaders to independent coaches. We don't provide coaching and don't check credentials, so ask each coach your own questions and choose the one who fits.