Dealing With Burnout

Right now, I am again seeing a massive wave of burn-out taking place in the work place. People are overwhelmed and struggling. They are starting to question everything and feeling like they will never get caught up. This is especially true with e-mail.

Ron Heiftz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky in their book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World (Harvard Business Press, 2009) note that this is very common when dealing with adaptive problems because “a significant element of the burnout is from trying to carry other people’s water - other people’s hopes, needs, expectations, and fears - trying to do it for them.”

From the first day we are on the job until the last day we retire, people are constantly loading us up with expectations and challenges. Some we can handle more than others but everyone, in the end, can become more than a bit toasty from the amount of work. 

There are no simple solutions, but if you feel you are carrying too much of a specific person’s water or too much from multiple people, then it is time to stop and assess. What are the costs, risks, and long term damage that come from this action? Is there one thing today that you can start doing or stop doing which will help you with this situation, individual or group?

Right now, I believe more people need to stop and process what is happening in their life. They need to rethink how they are working and why they are working in this manner. Then, once they are clear about what is most important, it is time to develop strategies to give the work back to the people whose work it was suppose to be in the first place.

This week, carry your own water and help others to do the same. Burnout does not have to be inevitable.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Leadership Myth #3

When out on the road visiting with clients, I spend a lot of time meeting senior executives in their offices. Some offices are immaculate, dust free work places with every paper, pen and stapler in perfect order and ready for action. Others are filled with stacks of paper and reports on every horizontal surface in the entire room. And some look like the cross between a freshman college dorm room and a sophomore boy’s bedroom. In these, there are piles of paper, a variety of jackets and ties left on chairs, unfinished mugs of coffee, and numerous post it notes about everything on anything where one will stick. 

From experience, I know that each of us are doing the best we can given the circumstances before us. I also know that more and more executives are working longer and longer hours with no hope of ever getting caught up. Most just suffer quietly with the burdens of their work. Overwhelmed, they push hard and harder just “to get one more thing done before I head home.” And in this grand electronic era of constant connectivity, I am seeing more and more e-mails later and later at night, or very very early in the morning. Leaders at all levels are getting caught in one simple myth, namely “my job is to get everything done before I rest.”  

This mentality of 24/7 leadership is just not working. We are way past the burnout stage. Now, for many, we are deep into bone level exhaustion and soul numbing consequences. Personal lives and families are getting impacted, if not ruined, by people who believe they just have to “get’er done” before they can rest.

First, it is impossible to get everything done now given the flood of connectivity. There will always be more e-mail than time. The internet has not saved us time. It has instead accelerated it and created unrealistic expectations.

Second, at the current pace of change, there is no stabilization but just constant adaptation to continually changing events and systems. Furthermore, anyone’s real or manufactured crisis can upset the apple cart. Therefore, we need, as leaders, to re-learn how to practice self care.  Remembering an old adage of my Mother’s, namely “we can not give what we have not got,” it is time to rebuild our own personal foundation. Moving forward, we must lead from a place of clarity and health rather than exhaustion, burn-out or cynicism. This is not easy work but it is important work.

Finally, remembering the words of Kevin Cashman, namely “Leaders get what they exhibit and what they tolerate,” we need to role model a healthier way of leading. If we only rest when the work is done, then we are sending a signal through out the organization which will have a dramatic impact over time at both the strategic and operational levels.

This week, practice healthy self-care. Give yourself permission to rest well and work well. You and your organization will be much better in the short and the long run.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Eating Our Young and Kicking Out Our Old

It is happening again. The last time I saw this corporate behavior was in the mid-90’s. It did not work then and it still does not work now. Specifically, we need to stop eating our young employees, and prematurely kicking out our older ones.

Over and over, I hear young employees burning out from the massive amount of work they are expected to get done each day.  Many report to me that 60-80 hours a week at the office is becoming the new normal. These are not slackers or problem people, but instead people in up and coming leadership positions with commitment and capacity who have been presented with unrealistic work loads and responsibilities. They are expected to do all things and be all things to all people plus get their own jobs done at the same time.

The result is massive burnout and frustration amongst young and committed professionals right now. These are the people who we want to become future leaders in the company. They believe in what they are doing but not at the pace of change some are experiencing. These young people are struggling and ending up cynical, and exhausted. 

Meanwhile, some companies are also pushing out their older workers as too slow and not deeply committed to the future. These long term and faithful people are being encouraged to leave early without even a thank-you. They are being dumped off at the curb with the hope of on-boarding more young people who will blindly work until they are exhausted.

Over time, the outcome for this pathway to the future is a massive decline in organizational trust and respect. The good employees who witness this corporate behavior start bailing as fast as possible. The poor performers keep getting more goals and responsibilities adding on to them while the middle managers run a tread mill to no where. In short, organizational choices of this nature will start a downward spiral.

I witnessed this corporate behavior many times in the 90’s and it was a sad process. As I start to see it surface again in 2014, I just shake my head and wonder why. It will take a strong and level-headed leader to change this strategic choice before better days are to come round once more. If you think your organization may be on a trajectory of decline, then read the following book: Collins, Jim. How The Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In, HarperCollins, 2009. There is hope but recovery is not going to be an easy process if we keep eating our young and pre-maturely retiring our older workers. 

I also encourage you to read the article “Why Your Company Must Be Mission-Driven” by Chris Groscurth which was recently posted on the Gallup Business Journal website < http://businessjournal.gallup.com >. As the author notes, “Many executives don't realize that mission is an underused asset in improving organizational performance and profitability, and they neglect their ultimate responsibility of aligning their brand and culture with their highest purpose. Failure to meet a company's mission-related needs is failure of leadership.” The article includes a sound review of the 12 elements of great management, but it also includes the latest meta-analysis on the value of mission and its relation to margin. On page two of the article, I enjoyed reading about the “five factors behind the success-promoting, margin-boosting benefits of focusing on mission” and the “seven strategies for maximizing mission-driven leadership.” Overall, it is a good, short article and well-worth the time to read.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257