What do you do if you're experiencing burnout in a leadership role?

When I feel burnout creeping in, I first acknowledge it and take a step back to reflect. I reassess my priorities and delegate tasks where possible. I also make sure to communicate openly with my team about how I'm feeling and seek their support. Engaging in activities that help me relax and recharge, such as exercising or spending time with loved ones, is crucial. I also seek guidance from mentors or coaches to gain perspective and strategies for managing burnout.

Burnout is like death by a thousand cuts. It simply creeps up on you. If you ever acknowledge it or people around you show concern, slow down and pause. Don't ignore the signs; don't let them become too loud. When we intentionally slow down, we allow ourselves to think and find a solution.

Recognize the Signs: Acknowledge the symptoms of burnout, such as exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced performance. Reflect on changes in your behavior, mood, and energy levels to identify if burnout is affecting you. Being aware of these signs is the first step in addressing the issue and preventing it from worsening.

Assess the Root Causes: Take time to understand the underlying factors contributing to your burnout. Reflect on work-related stressors, excessive workload, lack of work-life balance, or unresolved conflicts. By pinpointing the root causes, you can develop targeted strategies to address them effectively and prevent future burnout episodes.

Prioritize Self-Care: Make self-care a priority to replenish your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Engage in activities that recharge you, such as exercise, meditation, hobbies, or spending time with loved ones. Set boundaries to protect your personal time and ensure sufficient rest and relaxation. Incorporating self-care practices into your daily routine is crucial for combating burnout and fostering resilience.

Setting boundaries is one of the most important skills we need to learn and practice as leaders. Please remember, when you say NO to something, you are honoring the 'YES' you have already committed to.

Seek Support: Don't hesitate to reach out for support from colleagues, mentors, or mental health professionals. Discuss your feelings of burnout with trusted individuals who can offer guidance, perspective, and encouragement. Consider joining peer support groups or seeking counseling to gain insights and coping strategies for managing burnout effectively.

Reevaluate Workload and Responsibilities: Review your workload and responsibilities to identify areas where you can delegate, prioritize, or streamline tasks. Collaborate with team members to redistribute workload more equitably and create a supportive environment. Set realistic goals, deadlines, and expectations to reduce stress and prevent burnout from recurring.

When coaching leaders it is a common theme that can appear with the feeling of burnout beginning to take hold and cause disruption in their mindset, health, and connection to their responsibilities. I encourage spending time at a minimum once a week to mindsweep what positive things leaders accomplished that week, what obstacles appeared, and how is their mindset. Incorporating this exercise into a consistent routine creates a behavior to enhance their self awareness so that they can show up in the way they intend with their full engagement and energy. Also, if they are feeling disconnected it will give them time quickly to identify the cause and build action steps to get themselves back so that they regain their focus moving forward.

Know that you are an individual who is susceptible to burnout and put in place future-focused strategies that will help you identify when this situation starts to occur again. This will also help build confidence that you have the awareness you need to protect your future mental health.

'You cannot pour from an empty cup.' This is my advice to everyone reading this and a reminder to myself. If you want to be spectacular at all you do, give yourself the grace and respect of pause, reflection, and care.

Take annual leave. Take two weeks off (amazing how many leaders who are overwhelmed have never taken more than a few days off at a time). Plan for this time off at least 6 weeks in advance. brief your team, suppliers, plan, coach, train and get your team up to speed to cover for you and leave no stone unturned so that you have 2 weeks completely uninterrupted. Burned out leaders often are the ones who take the odd day off here and there and end of semi-working, and always check emails every day. By planning a proper time off that you will enjoy, you will realise that your team can manage without you and that everything doesn't fall apart if you are off. It's a gamechanger for you and its empowering for your team.