How To Prevent Burnout (for you and your team) in a Virtual Leadership Role : Part 2 January 4, 2022 by Belinda EganThis is part 2 of a 5-part series on the challenges of being a strong and effective leader in a virtual setting. The first part of this series was focused on developing and fostering psychological safety for yourself and your team. If you’ve done this effectively, the lines of communication between yourself and your team will flow freely, so having a frank discussion about burnout will be much easier – which is today’s topic. Have you experienced burnout at any point in your career? Maybe you’re currently working through some professional burnout, but you haven’t quite put your finger on why you feel like it’s a struggle to show up as a strong leader for your team. First, Let’s Talk About the Symptoms of Burnout: Decreased sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in your role Lack of motivation or aspiration to try new things Feeling stuck in your current position, helpless to make changes, and a consistent feeling of defeat Lack of sleep, letting nutrition and exercise slip, or falling into a cycle of unhealthy habits Professional burnout happens so frequently that most just assume these types of feelings and symptoms are just “part of the job” – but they’re really not meant to be. A recent Gallup poll of employees showed that 76% of them felt burnt out in their jobs “at least sometimes.” In that same study, Gallup discovered the top five reasons for employee burnout, and unsurprisingly, all of them can be directly correlated to a lack of proper leadership. Unfair treatment at work Unmanageable workload Unclear communication from leaders Lack of support by leadership and unreasonable time pressure Suffice to say; if you, as the leader, are currently suffering from burnout in your role, it’s guaranteed that you’re also contributing to increased risk of team member burnout in all of these areas. You will struggle to show compassion, empathy, and a high-level awareness of the needs of your team simply because you’re trying to “rally” the energy and motivation to uplift yourself daily. So how do you stop the vicious cycle of burnout causing burnout, specifically in a virtual leadership environment where it’s much tougher to identify the symptoms through a screen? Here are some practical ways to prevent or address current burnout on your virtual team: Model healthy behaviors at work as often as possible Turn off notifications to Slack, emails, Teams, etc., after 5 pm every day, and do not respond to requests after this timeframe. Modeling strong time boundaries with your team will show them that you value your personal time. Offer your employees this same respect by not sending emails or notifications after 5 pm to anyone on your team. Respect their time, and they’ll respect yours. Go to bat for your team during particularly stressful times There will be times when your boss is coming down hard on you to present results. During times of acute stress, it can feel natural to put added pressure on your team to produce these results. However, as often as possible, shelter your team from the stress laid on you from upper management, and be willing to take responsibility for delayed results or things that have gone wrong. Do not throw any team members under the bus for mistakes – instead, reframe it as something you will manage differently in the future. While this can add extra pressure to you in your role, your team will be grateful and try their best to produce the results you seek when they know you respect and care about them. Talk openly and honestly about your own experience with burnout and how you take care of yourself to prevent it. Before or after virtual meetings have ended, take an extra minute with your team to check in. Ask them individually (privately) how they’re feeling about their role and if they’re coming up against problems you’re not aware of. Get a feel for their overall sense of wellbeing. Offer up your experience with feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated and how you practice self-care to mitigate burnout during times of stress. Show your team your human side: how and when you’ve fallen, and how you’ve managed to pick yourself back up. Look out for less obvious signs of impending/current burnout in your team members Burnout can show itself in many ways – sometimes surprising ones. If you notice team members beginning to “tune out,” show up late, call in sick often…these are more obvious possible burnout signs. Sometimes, however, burnout can show up as bickering, passive-aggressive attitudes and comments, or becoming more defensive than usual during feedback sessions. Watch for less obvious signs, and be sure to check in with teammates that are acting differently than usual. Above all, approach your team members with constant compassion and empathy. Your team members may feel ashamed of feeling burnt out, so it’s your responsibility to recognize early signs as a courageous virtual leader. Speak from the heart, show you care and be a good example of establishing strong, healthy boundaries at work and lots of self-care. Tune in next week when I’ll be sharing part 3 of this series: Tune in next week when I’ll be sharing part 3 of this series: refreshing your team’s focus on a shared vision and mission Belinda