{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Preventing Leadership Fatigue and Burn Out","description":"Leaders often thrive with a challenge, however when the challenge is a prolonged one, such as this period of the Covid-19 crisis, leaders need to ensure that they are able to sustain the test of time. Prioritising mental wellbeing is just as essential for leaders in a time of crisis as it is for your employees. Failure to look after one\u2019s self can result in fatigue and burnout. Burnout characterised by \u201cemotional exhaustion\u201d and usually attributed to the professional role you have, therefore, maintaining work life balance is vital to prevent burnout. The difficulty though is that often fatigue and burn out happen because leader DO love their jobs, or feel a sense of responsibility or struggle to delegate \u2013 in fact there can be a host of differing factors.  Because everyone is different.  The important thing is to ensure that you know what affects you and, more helpfully that you\u2019re able to spot the signs in your leadership team too. There are things you can do to ensure that you implement a balance that supports your performance (so it isn\u2019t about working less necessarily) but working and living in way that supports your overall professional and personal wellbeing.   Spot the Signs There can be a number of signs \u2013 IBS and gastrointestinal disorders, headaches, sleep issues, problems with immune system and even just getting ill really frequently \u2013 more frequently than the next person. Admitting that there is a problem can be a tough one for the leaders I work with.  Often they come to me because they know they are struggling, they can\u2019t quite pinpoint a specific area where the struggle starts or the look for one key area.  They also come to me because they don\u2019t want to admit to their CEO or Board that they are struggling.  The thing is that often it\u2019s not just one thing.  It also doesn\u2019t mean that you have to stop work or do less \u2013 as we\u2019ll discuss \u2013 it\u2019s often about doing things differently. The key is to acknowledge that there is an issue and once you\u2019ve spotted the signs then you\u2019re half way to solving the problem (as long as you do something about it). Do Away with Decision Fatigue Decision fatigue happens when there is a prolonged situation that is stressful and demanding.  The thinking part of your brain, the prefrontal cortex can become overloaded and worn out \u2013 essentially.  What that means is that basic functions and decisions, judgements and strategic thinking are clouded and it\u2019s really difficult to make a decision.  A leader who is under pressure to make difficult or severe decisions each and every day can find they have increased difficulty doing so.  Even simple decisions such a what to wear, what to eat can become a problem.  Barack Obama apparently only wore blue and black suits so that he reduced the decisions he had to make there and keep his brain free for the bigger decisions.  Have you ever found you get the best ideas or decisions in the shower or when you\u2019re out for a walk?  That\u2019s because you\u2019ve taken that mental step back and given your brain chance to rest, recover and then it\u2019s able to decide.  This is why I teach all my client\u2019s ways to take those brain breaks, with breathing techniques or relaxation or even just adding in healthy restorative time as I\u2019ll talk about in a moment.   By creating a brain break, you\u2019re better able to make decisions.   Address the Stress Making a plan to address the stress and looking at any underlying cause for the stress is key.  Leaders usually like this idea because they are goal and action focussed.  However the tough stuff starts when they have to look at themselves!! Looking at personal and professional activities and areas where there is struggle, things that are missing, what needs more, what needs less enables you to make a plan. This is where we look at adding in healthy restorative aspects and for this we are talking about looking at different areas of your life.  Physical, emotional, mental, sometimes spiritual.  This includes, social aspects \u2013 where is there fun in your life?  What support do you have \u2013 is there one friend or a group of friends where you can be totally honest and say today was a nightmare? Are you eating well or grabbing stuff on the go and skipping meals? What\u2019s your sleep pattern like \u2013 or are you awake at 4 in the morning? Do you take time off \u2013 properly? One chap I worked with got told by his family that they knew he wasn\u2019t listening to their conversations to they used to add in random crazy sentences, like there\u2019s a pink elephant coming now and see if he noticed.  They got lots of fun and hilarity from it \u2013 he missed it all.   When you\u2019ve assessed all this, you need to establish some goals and address the gaps and blocks.  I really would advise here, that you have some accountability strategies to help make the plan really effective and get the results you want much more quickly.   Master Your Mindset I always say, you can\u2019t control what happens on the outside, but you can control what happens on the inside.  By that, I mean that you are in control of what you think, how you think and that impacts how you respond.  So working on your mindset means you can make the changes that help you work on any fatigue and prevent burnout. Do you need to rethink delegation?  Sometimes in coaching we look at what\u2019s stopping someone from delegating \u2013 it can be personal for everyone, but it might things like lack of trust, not wanting to be let down, thinking it\u2019s easier to do it myself.  You don\u2019t need to a superhero.  I often ask \u2018 what\u2019s the best thing you can do to develop your team\u201d and the answer is often \u201cgive them responsibility\u201d  So then I ask when are you going to do that. It might be that you need to look at boundaries.  My favourite subject and need to say no to things instead of yes\u2026 or yes instead of no (particularly if someone says, shall I look at this). What will happen if you\u2019re not there?  If you\u2019re doing everything yourself then things will fail anyway.  If you allow others in to support and work with you then you\u2019re setting yourself up for wins. There\u2019s a million ways we can change our mindset \u2013 and exploring what\u2019s going on with yours is the first step.  One client is never the same as the next, that\u2019s why I LOVE working with leaders.   The combination of the above has wide reaching effects on their team and often the entire company, because it changes their approaches and they are more likely to promote a good work life balance across the organisation too.  Because they see the value in how work life balance enhances productivity and performance, rather than being something that is about working less.   I've been working with a number of organisations to successfully deliver virtual trainings on stress management, work life balance, boundaries and resilience - so contact me to discuss the needs of your organisation now or book direct into my diary for a complementary discussion with this link     If you haven\u2019t yet left a review, please do go and find the little button to leave a review and let me know your thoughts, key take-aways and what you value from the podcast.     ","author_name":"Lessons for Leaders","author_url":"http:\/\/www.emmalangton.com\/","html":"