Are you burned out, in the wrong seat, or in a bad environment?
Tired for a month is one thing. Tired for a year, and not sure whether it is you, the job or the place, is another. Leaders mix up three readings that need three different answers. Burnout is a state, and states recover. The wrong seat is a preference, and it is worth knowing. A bad environment is a system, and it will not change because you rest harder.
This test asks twelve statements about the last thirty days: three about your energy, three about your recovery, three about whether you want the work of managing people, and three about what the organisation around you gives you. It takes about four minutes and shows your result without an email. You get a score from 0 to 100 where higher means steadier, a level, and the lowest of three readings: you, the seat, or the environment.
Two things before you start. This is not a clinical tool and cannot tell you whether you have a medical condition. And your result is the lowest of three bars, not a verdict on you.
Leader Burnout Test: burned out or wrong seat
Am I burned out, not cut out for this, or in a bad environment?
What you get
- Your score out of 100
- Which of the 4 results you land on
- Scores across Depletion, Recovery, Fit and Environment
- Your strongest dimension and your gap, and where to start
Email me this result
Optional. Your score is already on screen. Enter your details and a copy of this result, your score, your level and your four dimension scores, is sent to you.
Done. Your result is on its way.
Related tools
The four results
Every completed run lands on one of these pages, with your own scores drawn from the link the tool gives you. Each one is readable without taking the tool.
- SteadyYour energy is holding. Watch the bars, not the score.
- DepletedYour lowest reading is you. It is the most recoverable one.
- Wrong SeatYour lowest reading is the seat. A preference, not a failure.
- EnvironmentYour lowest reading is the environment. It is not an excuse.
How this differs
None of the live diagnostics on this site measures your own state; they measure how you lead, how you decide and how your team works. This one measures you, over the last thirty days, and separates three readings that get mixed up: depletion, which recovers; the wrong seat, which is a preference; and a bad environment, which is a system. It does not copy the Maslach Burnout Inventory or any published clinical scale, and it is not a diagnosis.
What happens to your responses
Your score, your result and your dimension scores are shown on screen without an email address. An anonymous copy of the score and the dimension scores, with no name, email or free text, joins the aggregate statistics for this tool, which are published only when a cut has at least 30 completions. Email is optional. Only if you ask for the result by email is it written to your contact record, and only then. The full rules are on the methodology page.
This test is not a diagnosis and cannot replace one. It is a coaching tool, written for people who lead others, and it does not measure any medical condition.
If the last few weeks have been more than tiredness, if sleep has gone, or if you have stopped caring about things you used to care about, please speak with a doctor or with someone you trust. A coach is not the right first call for that. Your national health service or a helpline in your country comes before any page like this one.
When I think a client needs more than coaching, I say it plainly: see a doctor first, and we will pick this up when you are ready. Coaching starts where there is frustration and a wish to move, and it is not built for someone who is worn down in a way that rest does not fix. Sending you to the right person first is the most useful thing I can do.
Common questions
Is this a clinical burnout test?
No. It is a coaching tool for people who lead others. It does not use the Maslach inventory or any published clinical scale, and it cannot tell you whether you have a medical condition. If the last few weeks have been more than tiredness, speak with a doctor or someone you trust before you act on anything a web page tells you.
What is the difference between burned out, wrong seat and bad environment?
Depletion is a state: your energy and recovery are low, and states change. Wrong seat is a preference: you do not want the work of managing people, which is worth knowing and is not a failure. Environment is a system: the organisation is not telling you what it wants or how to improve. Your result is whichever of the three bars is lowest.
Why does the result say the lowest of three bars rather than a verdict?
Because the three readings hide each other. A depleted leader often scores low on fit because nothing feels wanted when you are empty. A leader carrying a bad environment for a year ends up depleted, and by then it looks like a personal problem. Seeing all three bars next to each other is what makes the reading useful.
What does a high score mean?
Higher is steadier. The score runs from 0 to 100 and the four levels are Running Empty, Running Hot, Holding and Steady. A score of 76 or above reads as Steady whatever the bars say. Below that, the page shows which of the three readings is lowest, along with the level as a badge.
Is my result private?
Yes. Your result appears without an email, there is no share button on this test, and nothing identifying is stored. Anonymous scores feed a statistics page that publishes nothing below 30 completions and rounds every figure to the nearest 5 percent. If you ask for the result by email, that contact is never added to a sales sequence.
Related tools
- Leadership Assessment GuideReference. How to assess leadership, and which tool to use.
- Leadership Style Quiz12 min. How you exercise authority.
- Executive Coaching Cost IndexReference. Published coaching price ranges with sources.
- CEO MastermindProgramme. A peer group for CEOs.
The numbers behind this tool
Aggregate results are published at Leader Burnout Statistics: Readings and Levels once a cut reaches 30 completions, under the Leadership Readiness Index methodology. More free tools are at the tools shelf.