Case Studies
High-performing women navigating burnout, overload, and disconnection
The case studies below offer a closer look at what coaching can make possible for a woman who has lost her sense of connection, is stretched too thin, or is ready to rethink a direction that no longer fits.
Each one shows a different context and a different outcome, shaped by what needed to be reworked, reclaimed, or let go of.
Case Study 1: Buried In Decisions
From always involved to strategically selective
A seasoned business owner came in overwhelmed by daily execution and unclear boundaries. What emerged was a deeper need to redefine her role and decision systems to match the business she had built.
This client led a successful creative services business that had outgrown its early systems. Over the past two years, her team had expanded, client volume increased, and operational layers multiplied. On paper, things were working, but internally, she felt buried.
She described it matter-of-factly: “I don’t have time to think. Every decision ends up back on my desk.”
At first glance, this looked like a time management problem. But deeper into the coaching process, it became clear the core issue wasn’t volume but structure. The client was still operating within the logic of a much earlier business stage: open availability, high personal responsiveness, and low friction for incoming requests. The systems hadn’t failed; they simply hadn’t been redefined to match her current role.
We began with a single coaching session (Sparkplug) to identify whether the pressure she described was personal or structural. From there, she moved into a focused coaching engagement (Ascendant). The work centered around clarifying what only she should be deciding, reframing her leadership presence, and reducing the noise created by unexamined operational defaults.
Her motivation wasn’t in question, but it was running ahead of her capacity to discern. Coaching allowed her to evaluate how she was making decisions, using her time, and what leadership model was required at the next stage of her business.
As the client’s decision patterns stabilized and internal clarity returned, she chose to continue in a lighter, long-term rhythm. The ongoing coaching (Leverage) supported more strategic reflection, no longer focused on repair but on navigating growth with less friction and more intention.
This case wasn’t about burnout. It was about recalibration, rebuilding the shape of the client’s work so that clarity and momentum could move in the same direction again.
Client Profile Snapshot:
BURNOUT RISK: Moderate, tied to cumulative system strain rather than emotional depletion.
CLIENT JOURNEY: Entered with a single Sparkplug session → engaged fully through Ascendant → transitioned into long-term thought partnership via Leverage.
PRIMARY ENTRY THEME: “There’s not enough time for what matters.”
CLIENT INSIGHT: The pressure wasn’t about effort; it was about structure.
IMPACT OF THE WORK: The client redesigned her decision-making process, realigned her use of time, and adopted a leadership model that matched the direction of her business.
Case Study 2: Full Calendar, No Alignment
From mental noise to a sustainable structure
Even with a full calendar and a solid business, a solo consultant couldn’t shake the feeling that her direction no longer fit what she actually wanted. In one rapid results coaching cycle, she cleared the mental noise, simplified her offers, and chose a path she could sustain.
This client came in with a full roster of high-paying clients, a solid reputation, and a full calendar, but also a persistent sense of unease. She wasn’t burned out, she wasn’t blocked, but something in the way her business was operating no longer felt right.
She described it like this: “It all technically works—but I’m tired of doing it.”
What the client initially wanted was clarity on her next step. Should she redesign her offers? Take a break? Go bigger? Shrink down? She’d already spent months circling the question without resolution.
We worked together in a short-term, rapid results coaching format (Ignition). The goal was to stop circling and start testing. Within the first session, it became clear that the problem wasn’t direction but decision fatigue. The client had too many options, too many assumptions, and no clean structure for sorting through what mattered.
Over the course of the program, she simplified her offer ecosystem, clarified her pacing priorities, and tested two new weekly rhythms to gauge not just her efficiency but the energy return. By the end of the engagement, the client had made three decisive choices: what to drop, what to keep, and what to watch for. She finished with what she needed for now: clarity, a rhythm she could trust, and a structure she could keep refining.
This was a case of mental clutter masquerading as a lack of direction. Coaching helped the client clear space to hear herself again and to make decisions that matched her current stage, not her old expectations.
Client Profile Snapshot:
BURNOUT RISK: Low to moderate; decision fatigue and mental noise, not emotional depletion.
CLIENT JOURNEY: Completed one Ignition sprint, with no continuation needed at the time.
PRIMARY ENTRY THEME: “I need to figure out where this is going.”
CLIENT INSIGHT: The issue wasn’t direction, it was decision fatigue and blurred expectations.
IMPACT OF THE WORK: The client clarified her next steps, reduced reactivity, and built a pacing structure she could sustain on her own.
Case Study 3: Running the Machine, Losing the Driver
From operational control to meaningful presence
A systems-minded founder was running a business that looked solid on paper but felt increasingly flat in practice. She hadn’t lost traction, but she had lost connection. Coaching helped her rebuild a structure that supported not just performance but also presence and internal relevance.
This client ran a STEM-adjacent practice focused on decision support and client-facing analysis for enterprise teams. Her work required precision, structure, and mental stamina. The business was thriving, systems ran efficiently, clients stayed loyal, and nothing was visibly broken. But over time, she felt herself disappear into the machine she had built.
She put it simply: “It works. I’m just not sure I want to keep doing it.”
The client wasn’t in crisis. But she was in deep disengagement—mentally flat, emotionally checked out, and quietly disconnected from the purpose that once drove her. The business hadn’t collapsed; her motivation, however, did.
Coaching didn’t begin with emotional repair. It started with an audit: where was her energy going, and what space had she designed herself out of?
A short-term reset wouldn’t have touched what was breaking. The client needed space to rethink how she worked, not just what she did. Bozena’s Ascendant coaching program gave her the time and structure to examine what she’d built and to reshape it around presence instead of performance.
During coaching, the client examined how her systems shaped her week: tightly scheduled delivery blocks, limited room for review, and almost no time set aside for strategy or reflection. Her calendar still looked efficient, but she no longer felt like a decision-maker in her own business.
We didn’t tear it down. We made room to ask different questions, like about how she wanted to lead, how she made decisions, and what kind of work still felt meaningful. From there, she adjusted the structure: adding space for weekly review, changing how she prepared for high-stakes work, and protecting time for deeper focus.
But more than that, she reconnected with her own role, not just as a doer but as a thinker, a strategist, and someone whose presence shaped the business. She left with a rhythm that supported both clarity and direction, along with practices that helped her stay engaged, not just effective.
Client Profile Snapshot:
BURNOUT RISK: High-functioning burnout (Autopilot Professional); disguised by performance.
CLIENT JOURNEY: Entered through the Burnout Test → engaged fully through Ascendant → transitioned into structured solo reflection after coaching.
PRIMARY ENTRY THEME: “I’ve outgrown the way this works.”
CLIENT INSIGHT: Optimization had replaced engagement.
IMPACT OF THE WORK: The client rebuilt how she engaged, not just what she did, so presence and performance could coexist.