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Summer can be an intense season for creative teams working in culture, entertainment and event production. The hustle ramps up, but so does the pressure. Left unchecked, that energy can lead to exhaustion and disengagement at a time when you need everyone to be working at their peak.
Below, members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share how they recognize and address burnout before it becomes a larger issue. Here are their best strategies for supporting your team’s wellness without losing momentum.
Focus on Emotional Awareness and Build In Recovery Time
A leader’s superpower is emotional awareness — tuning into team shifts in tone, engagement or behavior before they become performance issues. My go-to strategy: Build in recovery, not just resilience. Normalize rest, model boundaries and create space for people to recharge without guilt. This is another big reason why teams burn out — constant pressure to outperform one another and chase perfection. – Kimberly Reed, Reed Development Group
Stay Present and Communicative
We stay ahead of burnout by staying present and communicative through frequent check-ins while also making space for both recovery and recognition. Our founders are alongside staff at festivals, which keeps us closely connected to the day-to-day pulse of the team. This allows us to adjust workloads in real time, ensuring support is in place before stress escalates. – Geoff Robins, Tradable Bits
Let Your Team Focus on Work They Enjoy
Let your team focus on events and festivals that they enjoy working or attending. That way, they look forward to the events. This will help to avoid burnout. Also, you can’t always expect your team to be “on” all the time. Burnout happens when your team feels overworked and underappreciated. – Nathan Green, New Level Radio
Make Space for ‘Creative Pauses’
I spot burnout in the silence, missed meetings, less laughter and short replies. To counter it, we build in creative pauses: scheduled walking meetings, “no Slack” hours and rotating time-off windows. Summer energy should fuel us, not fry us, so I prioritize rhythm over hustle. – Sonia Singh, Center of Inner Transformations
Lead Smarter With Recovery Time and Calendar Breathing Room
When I see creativity dip, response times lag or the team starts pushing through instead of leaning in, I know it’s time to pause. My go-to strategy is building in intentional recovery with shorter meetings, calendar breathing room and permission to step away before it’s urgent. Sustainable energy isn’t about working harder; it’s about leading smarter. – Stephanie Dillon, Stephanie Dillon Art
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Create Flexibility and Encourage the Joy of Events
Summer brings high energy and heavy schedules. Burnout shows up fast when creativity drops or collaboration fades. We keep things sustainable with flexible time, open chats and fun breaks. We make sure our team enjoys events, too. – Francis Hellyer, tickadoo
Foster Open Conversations and Personal Choice
Effective management is built on trust and connection. Burnout starts when people feel they can’t speak up. We create space for honest conversations, encourage personal time, and ensure our culture empowers people to choose what’s best for them — first as humans and then as teammates. That’s how we sustain energy, creativity and performance year-round. – Bill Hobbs, Epiphany Collective
Plan Team Bonding Activities
The obvious signs include a rise in small errors, sick days, lack of follow-up and decreased communication. To prevent my team members from burning out, I try to promote regular breaks. I encourage them to take days off when I notice they are beginning to struggle. It’s also beneficial to come up with team bonding activities to give your team a break from the monotonous day-to-day tasks. – Nancy Pulciano, Silent Crowd
Intentionally Introduce New Elements for Your Team to Look Forward To
When a thing you normally look forward to starts to feel like a chore, it’s time to take note. Work is work, but we all need a steady dose of things we get to do in our lives, or burnout will start to set in. If the old “get-to-dos” are becoming “have-tos,” introduce new elements for you and your team with the goal of being purely fun and restorative. – Jed Brewer, Good Loud Media
Use Data Cues and Encourage Micro-Breaks
I track our “Wellness Pulse” scores in Slack — watching for dips in emoji reactions, slower reply rates or more terse messages. It helps me spot burnout before it spikes. My go-to is honoring “Zero-Meeting Friday” each week and using Bradford AI’s Wellness Coach to ping five-minute micro-breaks. It ensures everyone logs quick recharge moments. This data-driven rest cycle keeps us energized all summer. – Kristin Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
Prioritize Life Outside Work
I have never denied a request from a team member to leave work early or to step out for a doctor’s appointment. You must let your team live their lives to keep them from burning out. If you keep their best interest at heart within reason, they will feel appreciated, and it will be a win-win for everyone. – Victoria Chynoweth
