ALLE LLC Monthly Newsletter

What we do.

Our organization is a collaboration between Ruth Pearce, Allison Jarrett, Beckie Davies and Irene Poku.

We focus on Human Skills development – so topics such as character strengths, health and wellbeing, burnout, resilience, authentic leadership and more.

Don’t know what “Human Skills means?” Check out this short clip from Simon Sinek's The Optimism Company for a brief introduction to the topic.

We have very varied work and life backgrounds, education and lived experiences. Together then we are able to offer support on many aspects of life, taking a realistic look at life’s ups and downs, and helping you to identify ways to move forward with strengths without sugar coating or downplaying your experiences.

?What we discovered in the August LinkedIn Live discussion

?In May we started hosting monthly LinkedIn Live sessions about topics related to our work, passions and desires to support you, our audience. As many of us as can be there, we join the live session on the first Wednesday of the month at 12pm US Eastern time. The sessions are 30 minutes – we know time is short – and we encourage our audience to provide feedback and ideas. We have fun with it and have gone from intense nervousness in May to excitement in August!

We would love more feedback. Please take our 4-minute survey to help steer our content!

August topic – Flameout vs Burnout

This month we explored the question of flameout vs burnout, what they are and how they are different.

Before the session we asked people what they thought the difference was – if any – between flameout and burnout.

People seemed to be in three broad camps…

• They had never heard of flameout

OR

• They thought flameout was related to being overly passionate about a role, is short-lived, is mental and if left unchecked can escalate to burnout.

OR

• Flameout is more serious than burnout because it implies a fast burn, and extinction of the energy flame. Whereas burnout is steady and occurs over time so there is more opportunity to reverse it.

?As you can see, we don’t even all agree on what the terminology means – even though burnout is a hot topic at the moment!

During the live session, this was the feedback we heard about the difference between flameout and burnout…

?ME said, “Yes, I thought flameout was worse than burnout. Burnout to me in simple terms is “I need a break in order to recharge”. While Flameout is extreme...I have no motivation to continue with my drive or time.”

?JT concurred, “When I think about burns, I think about how it's there but charred while flame out mean it's gone, and you've got nothing left to give. You've been completely extinguished.

She added, " Flameout is jet engine failure when the flame that normally burns continuously during operation goes out. Without heat from the flame, the engine can no longer provide propulsion. “

?The ALLE team were fascinated by this discussion because in preparation for the live session we had generally agreed that flameout is the result of intense often elective activity, happens quickly, passes quickly but creates a risk if unchecked of leading to burnout. Research defines burnout in the context of three components:

1. mental and physical exhaustion,
2. cynicism,
3. ?and a feeling that we cannot do much right.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments!

?What is the source?

In the live session Ruth Pearce , Irene Poku MSc PCC and Allison Jarrett discussed whether burnout is caused by the individual or the system. In general, we agreed that it is often a little of both! Although we were concerned that when we focus on the individual we may be victim blaming and making things worse.

Several social media influencers have made comments like “If you don’t want to burnout, stop living as though you are on fire!” In this article by Brené Brown , she tells of a priest who gave her that very advice... she also has some tips for avoiding burnout.

This may make it harder for all of us to foster systemic change.

Our own Ruth Pearce, Burnout and Principled Insubordination Coach, is currently working with the theory that our push for engagement is one of the CAUSES of burnout. Coaches, trainers and facilitators who foster engagement without its partner disengagement may be contributing to the problem instead of helping!

Several attendees commented on this topic:

CS commented that “Creating boundaries to prevent burnout or flameout can be difficult to establish. Especially when you have leaders and peers who are high performers and don't exactly understand/recognize those boundaries. Even employees who don't respect those boundaries. How do you deal with this situation?”

DM said that “I've experienced that it's difficult for people who haven't had burnout to understand it.”

ME added, “I think leaders in the organization need to take the onus and ensure the culture does not lead to burnout or flameout. I also say managers set the tone for their team.

So what can WE do to reduce the risk of burnout?

HL offered, “I've said before to a manager, "I can't do all this within the requested time period. Can you please help me prioritize?" and it went well but it does depend on how the manager responds.”

Another contributor, KB explained that when asked to take on more, she will always ask what can be de-prioritized and ask the manager to choose what gets put aside.?

But what do you do when you have to work, it feels like this is the only job available, the expectations are high in terms of effort availability and access? Well then you may want to follow my mother’s advice and consider that a change is as good as a rest. No, not changing your job, but doing something entirely different for an afternoon or even an hour! Small doses of novelty, nature, or connection can help us to reset. Not a perfect cure, but enough to make things 2% better!

If you missed our August Live discussion, here is a link to watch the recording: https://www.dhirubhai.net/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6920442541616107520/

Upcoming session details

In September, we will be discussing Authentic Leadership, what it is and how to develop it. Irene Poku is our Authentic Leadership coach, and we look forward to digging more deeply into this topic!

1. What does authentic leadership mean to you?
2. Do you believe a leader who says they are humble?

To join us on September 7th, at 12pm Eastern, check out this link!

https://www.dhirubhai.net/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6961418188869771264/

Want to do more work on burnout? Check out the #LinkedInLearning program: