Leader Low - Boss Burnout

We often don't think of our boss stressing out because it's 'what they signed up for' but burnout has no bounds or exceptions. This blog post is for the leaders who are feeling not just the pressure but chronic stress. You may have symptoms and signs which include: loss of passion, brain fog, feelings of overwhelmed (even by the little things), irritable and disengaged.

When placing this topic out to FLITT social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter) there was an alarming response that the highest noticeable sign someone knew their boss was in burnout was in the emotion category. In the 12 phases of burnout by psychologists Freudenberger and North (50 years of research that still stand true) they state that recognized behavior changes such as strong swinging emotions is already phase 8 of 12 on the road to burnout collapse. The next couple phases I'll tell you from experience, aren't so pretty. 

To what's the cost of a burnt out leader? Well more than just your average employee. Most likely this person was placed into a leadership role because of their high performance or skillset. There may be many looking up to this individual as well as the people they serve watching. The ripple effect of a burnt out leader can spread like poison across the organization. Worse case scenario, they exit and so does many right behind them. So how does a leader low get turned around back to energy? Check out these five tips!

1. What is the expectations from yourself and from your boss. What needs to pause right now so you can breathe. 
2. When is the last time you had a conversation with your boss on prioritization and workload. Schedule a closed-door conversation. Come with a temporary (immediate action) as well as more permanent solution. It shows you have thought through the stressors, demands and aren't making it more of their problem. The higher up you go in the organization, the more they will want a solution-based conversation. 
3. What are YOU doing that is contributing to your burnout. Is is lack of movement, how you're fueling an already stressed body, working through breaks. During my burnout recovery, I found a majority of actions that could've prevented the collapse was in my control. We dig into a recovery plan through the Burnout Compass Program. Grab your compass here: Burnout Recovery Plan
4. Observe what is in your control and what is not. Act on it. For example: dysfunctional relationships back to functional through constructive convos, reality/facts vs the story in our head, safe vs threatening environments, healthy boundaries to not be working, etc. 
5. When. This all comes down to action no matter what step(s) you take. What are you going to do in the next 24-hours, next month, where do you need support.

Exploring other employers might not be a great idea while in survivorship mode. Since most of these preventable actions are in your control, it is likely that burnout may follow you to the next place too. 

If several leaders on your team are in burnout or headed there, it's time to create a focus group in which I facilitate a virtual meeting once per week over a month and spread out thereafter to guide your leadership team from zombie mode back to liveliness. Contact me at [email protected] to find out more information.