How do you manage stress and burnout as a resilient leader?
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Stress and burnout are common challenges for leaders, especially in times of uncertainty and change. They can affect your physical and mental health, your performance, and your relationships. However, resilient leaders can manage stress and burnout effectively by applying some strategies to cope and recover. In this article, you will learn how to recognize the signs of stress and burnout, how to use the four dimensions of resilience, and how to create a supportive culture for yourself and your team.
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If there is anything that i’ve learned in business, it’s that stress is a inevitable variable in day to day life. From accounting, managing your team and juggling personal life, stress is something that can fester and grow if not managed correctly. Here are some of my methods I use to manage stress: - Time management/scheduling - Working out 1hr a day (clears my mind) - Learn to trust your team and delegate responsibilities - Take meaningful breaks All of these are great for managing stress. Some of my favorite activities to delegate stress include: - Golf - Hiking - Reading on the beach It’s important to find what’s best for you! You can have it all: The career, life and peace of mind.
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My doctoral dissertation on executive coaching explored the experiences of 35 executives who worked with an executive coach to manage stress and mitigate burnout. Coaching has been shown to lessen burnout by increasing clients’ self-efficacy and self-determination, and help leaders realize that they have more control over their life and work than they typically realize. Essentially my study found that executive coaching helps leaders develop their self-efficacy, improve their emotional intelligence, and enhance their ability to problem-solve their way through and around stressors. Executive coaches who listen well and offer words of encouragement can help leaders cope with stress.
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Recognize the signs
Acknowledge the presence of stress and burnout in order to manage them. Stress is a normal response to pressure or demand and can be either positive or negative. Positive stress can motivate, sharpen focus, and increase energy while negative stress can overwhelm, cloud judgment, and deplete resources. Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to exhaustion, apathy, and decreased performance. Look out for physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, insomnia, or digestive issues; emotional signs such as irritability, anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem; cognitive warning signs like difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, or poor decision making; and behavioral signals such as isolation, procrastination, or substance abuse. If any of these symptoms are present in you or your team members it is time to act.
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The rise of burnout begs us to consider that we don't just need rest, but recovery. Especially for women leaders, which Deloitte says that 46% of them are feeling burned out. It's hard to build sustainable confidence if you are overworked and overwhelmed. As a former corporate leader and a leadership coach, I see health consequences like fatigue, anxiety, health issues, sleep disturbances, etc., from leaders who refuse to give themselves a break. Rest v. Recovery Rest: Pausing to catch your breath Recovery: Pausing long enough to heal Rest is brief Recovery is extended Rest refocuses our energy Recovery sustains our energy
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The key to avoiding burnout and staying resilient is to have the presence to notice when stress is edging toward chronic and the courage to build recovery time into your daily and weekly routine. I say courage because it's uncommon in many work cultures and can feel like an act of courage to take a walk in the middle of the workday. Do it anyway, especially if you lead a team. You'll be modeling respect for yourself and your humanness and giving them permission to do the same. Someone has to go first.
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Use the four dimensions of resilience
Resilience is not a fixed trait, but a skill that can be developed and strengthened. According to the American Psychological Association, resilience has four dimensions: physical, emotional, mental, and social. To build resilience and cope with stress and burnout, you should take care of your body by getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising regularly. Additionally, you should manage your emotions by identifying and expressing your feelings, practicing gratitude, and seeking positive feedback. Moreover, you should develop your mindset by challenging negative thoughts, learning from mistakes, and setting realistic goals. Lastly, build your support network by communicating effectively, seeking help when needed, and offering help to others. Through these dimensions of resilience, you can enhance your well-being, performance, and leadership.
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The most insightful and thought provoking comment on resilience I've seen is that being resilient isn't about how we persevere but instead about knowing how we recharge, and recognizing when we need to do it. Whether it's time away, exercise, solitude, meeting with friends, getting out in nature or baking, our recharge method will be unique to us. Helping clients discover theirs, and also those early warning signs, can be one of the most powerful interventions we can have.
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If you want to cultivate resilience, listen to what your body and mind need in each moment. Check in with your thoughts, emotions, and physical signals. Resilience is about controlling what we can control and coping skillfully with what we cannot. By honing self-awareness and taking a balanced approach to self-care, we can weather life's challenges and thrive. The key is remembering resilience lives within us; we simply need to nurture it through daily practice.
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Create a supportive culture
As a leader, it's your responsibility to create a supportive culture for yourself and your team. This type of culture values and promotes resilience, well-being, and performance. You can achieve this by modeling resilient behaviors and attitudes, such as coping with stress and celebrating successes. Additionally, provide resources and opportunities for your team to develop their resilience skills. Encourage a healthy work-life balance by setting boundaries, respecting time off, and avoiding overwork. Furthermore, foster a sense of belonging and trust among your team members by communicating openly, collaborating effectively, and appreciating diversity. Ultimately, creating a supportive culture can reduce stress and burnout, increase engagement and satisfaction, and improve team performance and outcomes.
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Creating a supportive culture truly comes down to caring for everyone. This happens through leading and connecting with others at a heart level. Ultimately, leadership is about helping others.
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Leadership matters. It's crucial that leaders: -Understand the root causes of burnout. -Encourage folks to take their PTO. -Model healthy habits themselves. -Normalize work-life balance. -Are proactive and offer help. -Offer to be supportive. -Ask for feedback. All people want to be seen, heard, and valued. Get that right, and success is almost guaranteed.
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Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
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If you’re not careful, work can take up every minute of every day. After all, there will always be more work to do. Therefore, to protect your well-being, only give work a limited amount of your time by planning time you need to protect your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well-being in your calendar BEFORE your work time. This is Habit Two of the Diary Detox® method and it turns Parkinson’s Law on its head. Doing this also has the effect of reducing the amount of time you have for work which, surprisingly, means you get more done in less time by focussing you. It’s “life-changing”.
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A 'resilience as resourcefulness' lens is also useful. Everything around and inside us is a resource, everything can be a risk or a protective factor. Knowing what 'feeds' us and what depletes us creates a helpful formula o what we want to create more of, to thrive
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