Avoiding Burnout
Our hard work helps us achieve. Until it doesn’t.
Where are you focusing your time and energy – on performance and results or on learning and growth?
People tend to be in one mode or the other -- “perform mode” or “growth mode.” The executives and professionals I coach live primarily in perform mode, delivering results and getting things done. Yet they’re not learning or growing much.
If they allow themselves to go into growth mode, they’re able to explore and learn new things. Yet they’re concerned about letting their performance dip, that their ability to deliver results is at risk.
Many of us pride ourselves in our strong work ethic, and that often relentless work ethic is reinforced. We get kudos for a job well done, we get better assignments, we get promotions. As our jobs grow bigger, the workload becomes bottomless. We respond by working even harder.
We often feel exhausted and overwhelmed. We’re sliding toward burnout, yet don’t see the warning signs. We see doing things that would contribute to our well-being and help us grow as nice to do vs must do. We don’t think we have the time for them. We may see them as distractions.
We feel like we’re breaking down. We may grow more reactive or impatient or find ourselves not able to step up as needed. We feel like we’re in overload and may be losing sleep or engaging in less than healthy habits to soothe ourselves. We think we just need a break.
We step away for a long weekend or a week or even two away, only to return and restart the relentless work ethic – sometimes pushing even harder to catch up on what we missed. Still a step away from breakdown, sliding toward burnout, yet working harder to ignore the warning signs.
The reality: rest isn’t the solution to burnout. The actual solution to avoiding burnout is growth. In growth mode, as we explore and learn, we grow our capabilities for future enhanced performance. Performance and development aren’t mutually exclusive – the answer comes in learning to balance performance and development.
Nick Petrie’s “Vertical Development” global research shows that a different approach can change the burnout curve. While rest is important, we need to take the step of having different conversations with people who will ask us different questions. People who will challenge us to reframe, to give ourselves fresh ways to look at our situation. Conversations that will help us reflect on the past and on our vision for the future. Space to experiment and take action.
Through this different approach we expand who we are. We’re able to balance performing at very high levels with focusing on our personal transformational growth and development. We become more effective leaders and more fulfilled in our work and in our lives.
If this resonates, take the next step. Let’s talk and explore how working with a coach can help you balance performance and development.