Jacinda Ardern - is she courageous or a letdown?

Is leadership improving or declining?

We all heard the news of the New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, resigning due to burnout.

I was shocked to hear the honesty, but not for the reasons you may think.?

Not often do you hear a high-profile minister admit they're burnt-out and can't fulfil their duty.

It's bold. Courageous. Admirable.?

Being a great leader means knowing when you can't fulfil the job.

And when you can't give it the dedicated thought, time and strategy.

How many thousands of lives will she potentially save from the consequences of poor decisions that she may have made due to being burnt-out?

She is inspiring this work generation beyond belief.

To all those who continue to work even when they know their mental health is declining, it's your time to stand up and take a break.

To all those who have been crippled by burnout because you were scared to speak up, let's ensure you don't make that mistake again.

This is leadership. Leadership comes with the good and the bad, and Jacinda is a strength we can all aspire to be. She knew when to give it her all and when she had nothing left to give.

How often have we begged Prime Ministers here in the UK to resign?

You may wonder, what has this got to do with Business Bullsh*t?

Let me tell you.?

The leaders and CEOs within businesses have a lot to learn from Jacinda.?

Within businesses, we're often pushed to breaking limits. I'm tired of seeing great individuals burning at both ends without real support.?

Burnout shouldn't be a taboo. I thank Jacinda for bringing more light to this prevalent topic.?

Being a burnt-out leader

This one is for the leaders whether you're in sales, marketing, a CEO etc.?

You must realise that being a burnt-out leader will heavily impact your job and your team.

How can you lead a team positively and productively when running on empty??

You will know when you're burning out.?

You'll feel:

• Tired all of the time, even after plenty of sleep
• Helpless and deflated
• As though you never have a moment to think
• Feeling detached and unenthusiastic about your work
• Being cynical or negative
• Overwhelmed
• Unable to do the job
• Rushed

They're all signs of burnout.

Recognise you're approaching it so that you can do something about it.

What can you do as a burnt-out leader?

I'm not telling you to quit or resign as the Prime Minister of New Zealand did. We don't all have that luxury.?

But what you can do is speak up and be honest. A great leader will lead during tough times, but an even greater one will reach out for support when they fall short.

So, how can you do this?

Talk to someone. Tell them how you feel and why you believe it got this way. Let them know how it's affecting your job and ability.?

Talk about what changes you want to implement to work through and overcome this, or ask for some time off. It'll be cheaper for a company to grant time off in the short term than to pay for extra staff if you have to take long-term sick leave.?

The changes you will make to the workforce

Being honest and open will make positive changes to those you lead and within the company. Being burnt-out means you had too much on your workload. You need to take a step back in order to put the systems in place to ensure this does not happen again.

Additionally, if any individuals you lead feel the same, they will feel more comfortable speaking to you about it as they know you went through something similar.

What you can implement as a leader

In teams, especially on the executive board, there is rarely a wellbeing leader there to:

• Implement systems to prevent burnout?
• Be on hand for business therapy
• Be a voice of reason during tough, busy and uncertain times

You can request a change.

Someone in your corner should support you and your team's mental wellbeing.

There should be someone preventing burnout.?

Could you have a business therapy coach on the team??

It has been proven to increase the happiness and productivity of the team significantly.

Think about yourself and your team members.

Being a great leader means doing what you can to bring the best out in your people. Mental health and wellbeing is included in that.

If you'd like to learn more about what a business therapy coach could do to help you and your team, contact me.

I've been there, and now I'm helping leaders and teams to prevent burnout.

44% of corporate employees have felt burnt-out at one point or another.

Let's reduce that number by implementing change.

Time for the quick self plug??

• Listen to my weekly podcast, I dive into startups, leadership, and unearthing stories from companies and business owners https://www.humanestartup.com/podcast?

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