How do you cope with the stress and burnout that may arise from serving others?
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The first step to coping with stress and burnout is to identify what triggers them for you. Stress can come from different sources, such as workload, deadlines, uncertainty, ambiguity, role conflict, lack of resources, feedback, or recognition. Burnout can result from prolonged or chronic stress, especially when you feel overwhelmed, exhausted, cynical, or detached from your work. To identify your sources of stress and burnout, you can use tools such as the Stress Inventory or the Maslach Burnout Inventory, or simply reflect on what causes you to feel frustrated, anxious, or drained.
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From my experience, the first step is actually recognizing stress in yourself or team. Remember, all the following could symptoms of stress or burnout: - Apathy for work - Physical illness (Headaches, stomach aches...) - Fatigue - Short temper Recognize these symptoms in yourself and team, then consider if the root-cause may be stress or burnout.
As a servant leader, you may tend to put others' needs before your own, but this can lead to neglecting your own well-being and health. To cope with stress and burnout, you need to practice self-care and self-compassion. Self-care means taking care of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs, such as getting enough sleep, exercise, nutrition, hydration, relaxation, hobbies, and social support. Self-compassion means being kind and understanding to yourself, especially when you face difficulties, failures, or mistakes. You can practice self-compassion by using positive affirmations, reframing negative thoughts, forgiving yourself, and seeking help when needed.
Another way to cope with stress and burnout is to set boundaries and priorities for yourself and others. Boundaries are the limits and rules that you establish to protect your time, energy, and resources from being exploited or abused by others. Priorities are the goals and tasks that you value and focus on to achieve your vision and mission. To set boundaries and priorities, you need to communicate clearly and assertively what you can and cannot do, what you expect and accept from others, and what you are willing and able to offer. You also need to learn to say no, delegate, and negotiate when necessary.
A servant leader is not a lone ranger, but a part of a community of learners and collaborators. To cope with stress and burnout, you need to seek feedback and support from others who can help you grow and improve as a leader. Feedback is the information and advice that you receive from others about your performance, strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development. Support is the emotional and practical assistance that you receive from others who care about you and your well-being. To seek feedback and support, you need to be open and receptive to constructive criticism, praise, and suggestions. You also need to build and maintain trusting and respectful relationships with your followers, peers, mentors, coaches, and friends.
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Get professional help. There is no longer a stigma to mental health among the well-educated and informed workplace. Mental health is physical health. I encourage clients to establish a relationship with a professional psychologist / therapist before they hit a crisis point. In fact, this usually helps them avoid burnout or mental health crises altogether. Then, I encourage them to model the behavior for their teams. As a servant-leader, it's important you let the team know therapy is a good practice. Mental health is physical health. Get professional help.
Finally, to cope with stress and burnout, you need to renew your purpose and passion as a servant leader. Purpose is the reason why you do what you do, the vision that guides your actions, and the values that shape your decisions. Passion is the enthusiasm, motivation, and joy that you feel when you do what you love, the challenges that inspire you, and the impact that you make. To renew your purpose and passion, you need to reconnect with your core beliefs and aspirations, celebrate your achievements and contributions, and explore new opportunities and possibilities.
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The power of having fun as a team is largely underrated. Giving your team a safe space to be themselves can really play an important role. This lets you lower your own guards and reveal the human that lives in the core. This in itself may sound brave, but it is also equally rejuvenating. The true fruit of servant leadership is born when the employees leave the organisation and still look at you as a leader who truly cared and served them as a Servant Leader.
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