How to Beat Burnout as a Leader: A Story
Imagine your newest Netflix binge. With no episodes. Just a loooooong moving picture that lasts for hours and hours. 4? 9? 13 hours… Or Super Mario Brothers with no levels, no rewards.
An adventure! That never ends.
Your brain would not be happy.
There's a reason for this: your brain needs closure in order to learn, rest, and then build energy for what's next. It's why TV shows have episodes, books have chapters, and games have levels.
Do > close > learn/reward >> level up.
Do > do > do >> burn out
It really is that simple.
As an executive coach who works with high-achieving leaders, I see burnout happen all the time. Here is what I’ve learned from my amazing clients about how to beat burnout.
You already know what to do.
I'd share a helpful article from Harvard Business Review on beating burnout. Yay! But if you're like my clients you've read it. Or it's on your list? You're smart, high-achieving, well-read. Good job.
Wait, you haven't read it?
That's right. You're too burnt out.
(That's fine. I read it for you 👇)
According to Harvard Business Review, to beat burnout:
Prioritize self-care
Shift your perspective
Reduce exposure to job stressors
Seek out connections
Smart, right?
But you’re not doing it. (That’s fine.)
So why aren't you doing it?? Now! 🤔
Here's why: you're too burnt out.
There's always better, more, more! + pandemic. Sigh.
Adding self-care and slowing down to an ever-growing to-do list doesn't mitigate burnout.
It just makes your to-do list longer.
There is a better way.
Think like a storyteller. Act like a story-maker.
Life is a story. And in that story, YOU are the hero. I'm not being poetic here. This is just how your brain works. The ability to parse and create stories is what makes you uniquely human.
And the ability to live your best story is the key to nipping burnout in the bud.
So if you find yourself feeling burnt out, think like a storyteller and act like a story-maker.
Less soap opera. More adventure tale.
The trick to making this work is not just to stop what you're doing and get a massage. That would be frustrating. You would never relax. The very technical term for that is cliffhanger. The more you try to stop, the more YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW IT WILL END.
Close != Stop.
Here's what closure looks like:
One of my clients recently threw a party for her burnt out team to celebrate a milestone even though they had so much more work to do before they could confidently chill out. It's counterintuitive, but slowing down ultimately sped them up.
Another client decided to put his house on the market. He didn't realize how much working out of his family room was affecting his ability to be present for his team. It might be a while until he moves, but knowing the end is in sight has reinvigorated him to show up.
Another client offloaded an initiative that was bogging her team down. She was afraid she'd feel and look like a failure. Instead, she's ecstatic. So is her team. Now they're getting real work done and on track to meet more important goals this year. Her colleagues are jealous.
Usually, you get closure by finishing things up before a holiday or at the end of the year.
Why wait?
It's November. You're tired. You've had a long year. What can you close out NOW? Your brain will thank you for it. And you’ll probably regain enough energy to do things like writing this blog post that I didn’t think I had the energy to write.
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This not-a-blog-post is brought to you by my decision to give myself permission to NOT write any new blog posts for the rest of the year 👍
