A few episodes ago, we talked about the Great Resignation, and today we’re going to address how we got to this point. Our guest, Carolon Donnally, is a burnout coach who works with organizations and leaders to help them understand burnout symptoms on a deeper level, how to prevent burnout, and recognize when you’re towing that line.
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Burnout Symptoms
The World Health Organization classifies burnout as the emotional and physical exhaustion resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Burnout has become somewhat of a cliched buzzword and lost some of its credibility because everybody says they’re burned out (and they are), or we dismiss it or perceive those people as weak.
Burnout feels like you are on a treadmill going at full speed, and you’re looking at the people on either side of you thinking, Oh this is just the way things are. But burnout symptoms will stop you whether you want to stop or not. Chronic pain, digestive issues, insomnia; you can’t even come down enough to relax and fall asleep and then you’re even more exhausted the next day.
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How Burnout Created the Great Resignation
We tend to form cultures that are rooted in identity. I am a perfectionist is a lot more confining than I have perfectionist tendencies, and that is where leadership can make an impact. Part of Carolon’s work is to help leaders identify their burnout symptoms and move into a place where they can manage themselves. We’ve all had that thought that goes, well, if I had to pay my dues and struggle and work myself to the bone, so should you. The cycle reinforces itself. The likelihood of recognizing someone is struggling is very slim if you can’t even see that in your behavior, especially for a leader.
Giving your team the ability to lean into their humanity and say, “I’m burned out – I’m crispy,” that’s an incredibly gracious gift. Then you create the opportunity for yourself to admit those moments you feel burnout symptoms coming on and create a dialogue around it to seek solutions to this problem rather than ignoring it or even speaking about it like a right of passage. If you get it out of you, other people have permission to address their burnout too.
Visit www.carolon-donnally.com to set up a discovery call with Carolon.
