Burnout Nuggets for Managers

We’ve recently been talking about Burnout, and that both connection to self and connection to others, can be a powerful tool in avoiding it and managing it when it hits.

For many, burnout is not a response to one specific thing, but to some combination of workplace demands, personal responsibilities, and the strain of the past few years.

As millions of employees continue to leave their jobs, we’re pivoting our focus today to suggestions for managers and leaders on ways they can support their team members in avoiding and managing burnout.

We want to start by acknowledging that you, as a manager or leader, are also burned out. So, our goal isn’t to add more to your plate, but instead to help you think about some new ways of connecting and communicating that could help your team to feel supported, which will ultimately result in you being more supported.

In the work that we do, we’ve come to see the power that great managers and leaders have in transforming their workplaces into ones where people trust each other, feel a sense of belonging, and are motivated to work toward success.

Those leaders typically lead with
curiosity, caring, and connection.

Consider how these three behaviors can contribute to your success as a leader by contributing to your teams’ success.

In your regular 1:1s or team meetings, add the following to your conversations and meetings:

1. Curiosity: Genuinely ask how people are doing and what support from you would look like. As you have these conversations, remember to approach people as if you’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder, working toward their individual success and satisfaction, and organizational success, together.
2. Caring and Value: We’ve learned that people feel like they matter to you and belong to something larger than themselves, when you demonstrate that you care about them as humans and that you value their unique skills and contributions. Being specific when you see them contribute, and curious about how they’re doing during this wild time, will increase their felt experience of being an important member of the team.
3. Connection: Building a sense of connection is not a one-and-done. True connection grows over time, by having shared experiences, dealing with success and failure together, talking about development needs, and in having each others’ backs. It can feel like extra work when you first lean in, but the increase in success, the decrease in drama and burnout, and the sense of engagement that fuels the team will accelerate all of your work.

Over the next three weeks, we’ll go into more detail and scripting examples, on each one of these suggestions.

This week, think about how you can deepen your connections with your employees so that they feel supported and have a sense that they belong.

Let us know how it goes.