Change Makers: A Woman’s Guide to Stepping Up Without Burning Out at Work

by Katy Murray

We've come some way in the fight to get women into the workplace and delivering impactful valued work. But as the Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionally affected women's progression, many of us are close to burnout and considering scaling back our work faced with other responsibilities.

We cannot let that happen. Your work matters. It's ok to want an impactful career and to demand it do more than bring home a pay check every month. But can you re-awaken your change making power with the spectre of burnout looming?

In Change Makers, expert women's leadership coach Katy Murray devises an actionable plan for you to create the space to grow as a change maker and change the world for the better. This book shares the powerful habits, that allow you to step into a more expansive version of yourself at work. These habits are small but mighty. They reshape your brain, shift your behaviours and create ease-filled change in your leadership, activism, work and life. As you integrate these strategies into your every-day, you will eliminate burnout and overwhelm. You will find clarity in your purpose again. You will feel more joy, more energy, more momentum. You will expand your relationships eco-system, and see fresh ways to navigate and even disrupt the systems you find yourself in. You will have a bigger impact in your work and you will co-create a more equitable world.

Change Makers leads you through a personalized journey of self-discovery, with practical templates, inspirational real-life examples of change-making women, exercises and coaching prompts that make a difference. Join the collective of women finding a powerful new way to lead. It's time to step up.

240 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2022

Reviews

[Hettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A holistic understanding and dissection of not only the impact of individual choices and actions, but how this interplays within the many oppressive structures which shape our societies. It’s refreshing to see the acknowledgement of how these systems can limit our capacities but to be validated that through care and compassion we can build up small changes to improve the bigger picture whilst centring self-care as a key driver within change-making.

As a first read I found the discussions validating to views I already held which in itself is motivational. The structure of the book with interactive elements is usually off putting to me but I think the tasks are effective reflection points to allow the reader to absorb each chapter - I plan on re-reading and actually completing these tasks with a journal to put the lessons I’ve learnt into practice. That’s not to say I haven’t already started applying new perspectives to my everyday life.

[Lyndsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

“What happens when we start to see emotion purely as data, as indicators for ourselves, like a dashboard? Neither good nor bad, neither right nor wrong. Just giving us information, helping us notice things.”

“We’re socialized as women to compete and compare, and the way we dismantle this system of oppression is through collaboration, reciprocity and alliances with others.”

This book has great advice about how to become more confident in the work your doing, find your purpose, improve efficiency in workflow, and analyze your feelings behind work place situations or scenarios, with the overarching theme/goal of avoiding or minimizing burnout.

Each chapter is broken down with an intro on the topic, reflection questions to engage the reader, action items (ie. Journal entries, exercise, etc), an interview of a female professional, and summary section.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley & Kogan Page for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Katy Murray's Change Makers was an interesting idea and I'm always looking for advice on how to be more balanced. The book had some good tips and advice on how to avoid burnout, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I enjoyed the practice sections, which I thought were well conceived and helpful. And the idea behind the book is certainly one I am passionate about, more equity in the workplace for women, women of color, and those who have been marginalized by the current corporate system. I believe, like any coaching or mentoring relationship, fit has to be taken into consideration and I just didn't quite feel this style was a good fit for my own style of work and leadership. I'm rating Change Makers 4 STARS since I do believe there's a lot of great content and this book will resonate with a lot of women.

[Victoria F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly practical with tangible examples and exercises. Very intuitive and inspiring. Though I’ve finished the book and completed a lot of the reflections asking the way, it’s one I will need to keep open and refer to weekly!