The Career Advice Harvard Never Taught: Burnout, Fear & Flow | Pooja Venkatraman - E712

Executive coach Pooja Venkatraman (Harvard College, Harvard MBA, ex-BCG, ex-Capital One) explains why burnout has almost nothing to do with how many hours you work, and everything to do with the mental soundtrack running while you work. She breaks down the two flavors of burnout high achievers miss, why "just quit" is bad advice, and the framework she uses to help Ivy League grads and operators get unstuck.

For founders, VCs, and operators across Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia, this is a candid look at building a career that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside: navigating career pivots, imposter syndrome, and high-pressure decisions without burning out. Pooja also shares her non-linear path from aspiring screenwriter to coach, and why every move was a hypothesis worth testing.

Learn more about Pooja: https://poojavcoaching.com/

Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/pooja-venkatraman-burnout-fear-flow

BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia.

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#Burnout #CareerCoaching #ExecutiveCoaching #SoutheastAsia #Podcast #TechCareers #Leadership #Founders #HighAchievers #CareerChange #MentalHealth

00:00 The biggest misconception about burnout

00:39 Intro: from HBS classmates to executive coach

03:35 The writer years: Harry Potter to Harvardwood

08:22 Pivot to business: Capital One and the secret writing job

10:28 HBS, BCG, and the hypothesis that broke

13:12 The Clay Christensen fellowship and the shelved book

17:44 Back to Capital One: "You're not being brave"

23:44 The circular career and the wrapping paper trap

28:56 Hiring a coach, then becoming one

35:17 Burnout is not about the hours

38:44 Why not just quit? The internal tug of war

42:05 Being brave, advice to her younger self, and takeaways