Why Coaches Need to Stop Rehashing the WHO Definition
If you search “burnout” online, you’ll see the same thing over and over: the World Health Organization (WHO) definition and the 12 stages of burnout. Coaches, consultants, HR teams - everyone parrots the same lines, REPEATEDLY!
And it’s not enough.
If your entire understanding of burnout is the WHO definition, you are NOT an expert.
And if you’re building your coaching practice on those 12 stages alone, you’re not helping your clients - you might even be harming them.
The Limits of the WHO Definition.
The WHO defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” It lists three dimensions:
1. Exhaustion
2. Cynicism or detachment
3. Reduced professional efficacy
On paper, it looks clear. In practice, it barely scratches the surface.
- Burnout isn’t only about the workplace - it spills into every part of life.
- Burnout isn’t just exhaustion - it rewires the brain, wrecks the body, and erodes identity.
- Burnout isn’t simply about stress management - it’s about systemic toxicity and the loss of self.
So when coaches lean on this definition as their starting point, they’re already missing the bigger picture.
The 12 Stages Trap.
The “12 stages of burnout” model is popular because it looks neat and structured. But life doesn’t happen in 12 tidy steps. Clients don’t present in a linear way. Burnout is messy, layered, and deeply personal.
Clinging to the stages encourages coaches to diagnose instead of listen. To tick boxes instead of notice nuance. And to apply the same framework to every client, regardless of context.
That’s not coaching. That’s reductionism. That’s laziness.
What Coaches Are Missing.
When coaches stop at the WHO definition and the 12 stages, here’s what they miss:
- The neuroscience. How burnout changes memory, focus, creativity, decision-making, and emotional regulation.
- The somatic reality. How clients carry burnout in their bodies, not just their thoughts.
- The identity impact. How clients lose their sense of self, mask their reality, and disconnect from who they are.
- The systemic drivers. How toxic leadership, culture, and environments fuel burnout far beyond “too much stress.”
Without this awareness, coaching risks becoming superficial - or worse, complicit in keeping clients stuck.
Why This Matters.
Coaches hold power.
The way you frame burnout shapes how your clients understand themselves. If you reduce burnout to the WHO’s three bullet points or a 12-stage checklist, you risk telling your clients that their experience is smaller, simpler, or easier to “fix” than it really is.
That kind of minimisation feeds shame. It makes clients feel like they should be able to recover with a few tweaks, instead of recognising the depth of what’s happening.
Beyond the Definition.
The WHO definition has its place. It gave burnout recognition on a global scale. But it’s a starting point - not the full story.
If you’re a coach and you want to work ethically, safely, and effectively with clients at burnout, you need more.
You need to understand the brain, the body, the identity, and the systemic drivers. You need to know what burnout really looks like in practice, not just in theory.
And that’s exactly why I created the Burnout Academy - to move beyond the surface definitions and give coaches the depth they need to do this work properly.
Burnout won’t be solved by repeating a definition.
It’ll be solved by awareness, depth, and action.
And that starts with coaches daring to go further than the WHO ever did.
Kelly
I’m daring to imagine a world where Burnout no longer exists, and if you’re daring to imagine a world like that too, then come and join me.
- Connect with me on LinkedIn
- Subscribe to the Burnout Bulletin - my weekly email that gives you the insights you won’t find on LinkedIn
- Join me in the Burnout Academy - because Burnout ends with Awareness