Burnout has been a pressing topic in the world of late. The stress of the COVID-19 pandemic and the world’s re-opening seem to accompany unprecedented levels of burnout. During a recent Platinum Rule Advisors partner coach meeting, we let the energy lead us into a deep conversation on burnout in ourselves and our clients.
I haven’t spoken to a single leader who isn’t battling burnout with herself or her team. For some, it’s the strain of the past year. For others, it’s realizing that as the world opens up, we can’t sustain the sheer number of meetings that Zoom allows. Everything feels topsy-turvey and upside down as we begin to move back into some form of normalcy.
As we dove into this important topic, we felt a shared need to invite others into our conversation. We recorded ourselves chatting about burnout, both how we’ve seen it in our clients and how we’re experiencing it ourselves. Tune in to hear PRA coaches Jackie Hodgins (PCC), Mark Robertson (PCC), Daniel Santos (MBA, ACC) and me discuss:
- Mood versus burnout: Mood is one of ontological coaching’s key distinctions and is comparable to an ocean, while “emotions” are the waves that ripple the ocean’s surface. The 4 core moods are resentment, resignation, acceptance and ambition.
- Corporate culture versus entrepreneurial culture: In the corporate world, working from home has caused an “always on” mode that requires employees to be present and respond quickly to managers that are constantly monitoring activity. Such micromanagement can become a short path to burnout.
- The reality of humanity and granting each other grace: By now we’ve met each other’s dogs and kids. Virtual meetings have given people the opportunity to view each other’s full humanity and give grace on interruptions or delays during the work day.
- Only about 15% of managers are truly “self aware”: This statistic comes from a fantastic TEDx talk on increasing your self-awareness by organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich. If a manager causes burnout in his/her employees, he/she likely doesn’t know.
While we may not be able to list every fix for lessening burnout, one thing is certain: professional coaches will play a greater role than ever in supporting leaders through turbulent times.