“A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure.”
This quote is sometimes attributed to Henry Kissinger but its actual source remains unknown. As leaders, we face immense pressure daily, and how we handle it defines our success. This article explores how to stay motivated and avoid burnout, ensuring you can lead your team effectively and thrive under any circumstances.
Yes, there is pressure in being a leader but, to stay motivated, the first ingredient that needs to be present is having fun and loving your position. It is almost impossible to love all parts of your job but you have to be excited to get out of the bed, every morning, to tackle new challenges and help your team grow.
Your mood will greatly impact the work atmosphere and the mindset of your team members. You are a leader by your actions but also by your attitude and the way you interact with others. A motivated leader inspires, injects energy, support and shows the way to reach the team’s goals.
With this in mind, it becomes clear that it is important for every leader to stay motivated and avoid burnout. You cannot be a good leader and help your team members reach their goals if you are burned out.
What can be the reasons for a burnout?
Before discussing the actions that should be taken to stay motivated and avoid burnout, let’s start by exposing causes and effects of burnouts. This way, you will be able to identify if your workplace is improper for your well-being and if you are on the track that leads to a burnout.
There are multiple causes that can lead you to burnout:
- Work overload
- No recognition
- Unclear objectives
- Unattainable objectives
- Oppressive work space
- Lack of support
If you live with some of these potential causes in your current position (leadership role or not) you have to be vigilant to identify the signs that you are getting close to being burned out. Some of these are
- Fear of going to work
- Cynicism at work
- Irritability or anger at work
- Lack of interest or motivation
- Discouragement
- Anxiety
- Exhaustion
- Chronic stress
- Trouble sleeping
Now that we know the causes and effects, what do we need to do to avoid a burnout?
Start by caring for yourself
It is the same guidelines that are given by flight attendants in airplanes: ensure your safety before assisting others. It is impossible to save others if you are incapacitated.
Although, as a leader, you have the responsibility to make sure your followers are supported and safe, it is important for you to find balance between duty and your personal wellbeing to remain efficient in your role and help your team members achieve their objectives. When we talk about your wellbeing, it is the rare moment when it is acceptable for your needs to surpass the needs of others.
You are part of the team…
As a leader you ensure that all team members (including yourself) will cross the finish line.
Workload
Generally, the list of responsibilities that comes with a leadership position is massive. The first mistake that we often make as a leader is to think that we need to complete all these responsibilities by ourselves or that we need to verify the execution of all these tasks.
No!
You have to make sure all these tasks are performed and that your team reaches its objectives.
You have to ensure the workplace is safe and the level of quality of the service or finished products is respecting internal and customers’ expectations.
You have to manage the growth and behaviour of your team members when needed.
But you are not alone.
You have to find team members that are already in a supportive position (team leader, line leader, foreman) and ensure they know what they need to do to help you lead the group.
If the current structure does not have anybody in a supportive position, rapidly identify team members with initiative, leadership, capable of taking decisions, loved by others and efficient. These team members will help share the load and the pressure that comes with it.
Once these employees are identified, you have to learn to delegate. This is a powerful tool that will allow you to focus your energy on value-added activities (strategy, team development, coaching, team management) and that will empower the employees in charge of the other tasks that you have delegated.
If you need help understanding the power of delegation and ways to start using this tool, you can refer to one of my previous articles named Knowing How to Delegate to Help You Breathe.
How to be recognized
We all want to shine and be seen as an important member of the team. When we are performing our tasks with excellence, within the time allowed and making the company look good, we would like, rightfully so, to receive a little pat in the back. However, positive feedback and recognition are often forgotten in a lot of industries.
When we make a mistake, we hear about it.
When we do well, since this is what’s expected of us, nothing.
Personally, when I was in a leadership positions, not receiving recognition from my bosses was not something that bothered me. I was focusing on my relationship with my team members and the way they perceived my body of work. I was working hard for them which made them more motivated and engaged leading to good team results.
When these were mentioned, they were my team’s achievements not mine (I helped and guided but…) so I gave them the spotlight. After a while, it made me shine too and gave me new opportunities.
If praise and recognition are vital for you, make sure that your achievements are known and that you are transparent with your boss and keep him in the loop of the challenges, solutions and actions taken by your team to reach the objectives.
Asking for feedback from your management group is also a good way, if you do well, to receive recognition. You kind of lead them to praise if your team is performing well.
A good two-way communication between every level in a company is fundamental to create a positive workplace and improve employees’ morale and performance.
Clarify the objectives
Like everything in life, the chances of success increase when facing a new challenge if properly prepared. It needs to be the case when you are accepting a leadership position. Prior to accepting the responsibility that goes with the new role, it will be important to know:
1- Your roles and responsibilities
2- The expectations of the management group or your boss
3- The structure of the team
4- If possible, the challenges that you will face with the team
It is important to ask questions to have as much knowledge as possible of the position prior to accepting it. Then, you will know if these challenges and the tasks part of this position will allow you to thrive and be happy at work. Happiness in a leadership position will optimize the chances for you to stay motivated and succeed.
Does preparation prevent all surprises?
Of course no.
For sure, there will be surprises and the actual job will not be exactly the same in reality than through the eyes of the management group or the HR department. However, your preparation will minimize these bumps in the road and prevent them from stopping your progress.
What to do with unattainable objectives
In the first few weeks and months in your new position, it will be very hard to identify the objectives that are unattainable because you will be lacking knowledge.
This is why you need to surround yourself with team members that have a better idea of the capacity of the team and who can rapidly inform you if a certain objective seems very hard to complete.
Make sure to take notes and challenge them with open-ended questions to see if solutions can be found within the team. If impossible, it is urgent to transfer this feedback up the ladder.
These discussions with your team need to be performed rapidly so you can go back to your boss and discuss with him if you are lacking resources, knowledge or time to complete an assignment. You need to bring facts and not hearsay or guess.
If the management group maintains the original request and you believe it to be the wrong decision, you can, if possible, go over your boss’s head and see if you can find somebody that will support your conclusion. Be very careful and transparent if you decide to do this, you do not want to insult your boss. However, it is an acceptable practice.
After all this effort, if you are stuck with an impossible objective, try your best with your team and make sure that all the actions are properly documented to have the full story at the completion or last date of the project. These facts will be your evidence that the established parameters for the project were not possible to achieve and that you pushed your team as much as possible to try to get the closest you can to the request.
How to eliminate an oppressive work space
If this is a cultural thing, it will be very hard, near impossible, for a single person to resolve this issue.
The first step is always to talk about it to HR or your boss. Focus on the effects this climate has on you and your team. Again, bring facts and potential solutions to the discussion. If you are convincing, resources might be added or projects created to resolve the issues.
If there is no reaction and no commitment to change, the next step depends on the severity of the problem and how it affects your capacity of being the one representing the management group when working and guiding your team members.
If it is something you can correct with the help of your team or if you can create a pocket, within your company, where you and your team work and where the problem is resolved, do it.
If it is impossible to resolve by yourself, I am sorry to say but this is a really big red flag that should trigger the reflex to look for something different elsewhere. It is too bad for your team members that will stay behind but everybody is in charge of their own wellbeing. If this is the way you prevent burnout or other health and personal issues, it is your responsibility to act on it.
Ensure you are supported
As mentioned previously, learning to delegate can help you get support from your team members. This will decrease the pressure on your shoulders and help your followers grow. It is a win-win situation.
You will also need support from the management group. It is impossible for them to do so if they do not know that you need help and support.
Asking for help is not weakness
A lot of us (mostly men I think) are really afraid to look weak and incompetent if they ask for help. We should not. Nobody has all the answers, all the knowledge to figure everything out by themselves.
Asking for help is a sign of strength and courage
If your boss and the employees in HR have the best interest of the company at heart, they will take the time to listen to you and identify what can be done to help you.
As a leader, you need to find solutions and take decisions but you are not invincible. It is ok to put a knee down, feeling vulnerable and ask for help.
If you ask for help and it is not available, then you need to have an emergency discussion with these people and explain the impact of this struggle on you and your team. If this does not work
Decision time
Hope these tips will help you stay motivated and avoid burnout.
Discover the 5 Must-Ask Questions for Happy Teams
Do you want to better understand what motivates your team members and improve their engagement? My practical guide, 5 Must-Ask Questions for Happy Teams, is designed to provide you with simple and effective tools to:
- Create a climate of trust within your team
- Identify the true needs and aspirations of your employees
- Encourage meaningful conversations that foster collaboration
- Boost engagement and collective performance
- Anticipate and resolve challenges before they become obstacles
Carl-Michael Tessier
Coach in high-performance team development and tailor-made support
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