The Hidden Struggles of Leadership: Understanding and Addressing Leader Burnout

Leadership is a challenging and rewarding role, but it can come at a cost. Leader burnout is a real and often underestimated issue. In this post, we'll explore what leader burnout is, its causes, signs, and most importantly, how to prevent and address it.

What is Leader Burnout?

Leader burnout, often referred to as executive burnout, is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged and excessive stress. Burnout is the result of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. As leaders are exposed to chronic workplace stressors, they begin to feel depleted. Perhaps they have difficulty sleeping, or have little energy for their families after work. As this emotional exhaustion sets in, our brains will do what they can to deploy a defense strategy to protect us from stress. Depersonalization is a psychological barrier that our brain deploys to limit our exposure to stress. It feels like a loss of empathy for others and a disconnection from our passion for the work. The lasting combination of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization leads to a decreased sense of accomplishment. We begin to feel like we aren’t capable. Things that used to feel like a win now feel almost pointless, or meaningless. Burnout takes away our spark and leaves us questioning why we are making these sacrifices in the first place.

It’s important to note that burnout is not the fault of the individual. It is not because you have not cared for yourself, and certainly not because you aren’t resilient. Burnout is the result of chronic exposure to workplace stress —it’s caused by the environments we inhabit.

Causes of Leader Burnout

1. Excessive Workload: Leaders often juggle multiple responsibilities, tight deadlines, and high expectations are all sources of chronic workplace stress for leaders.

2. Interpersonal Conflict: Navigating highly political relationships at work, or constantly dealign with conflict at all levels creates tremendous strain on leaders.

3. Constant Pressure: Leaders are under constant pressure to deliver results, meet targets, and make difficult decisions, which can take a toll on their mental and emotional well-being.

4. Uncertainty and Change: Rapid changes in the organizational environment, economic fluctuations, and global events can increase stress levels for leaders.

5. Isolation: Leaders may feel isolated, as they often can't openly discuss their struggles with their teams or colleagues.

Signs and Symptoms of Leader Burnout

Recognizing the signs of leader burnout is crucial to prevent it from becoming a more severe problem. Some common indicators include:

1. Chronic Fatigue: You may feel physically and emotionally drained, even after a good night's sleep.

2. Decreased Performance: You may be missing deadlines, having difficulty making decisions, or questioning if what you do matters..

3. Increased Irritability: You may become more irritable, short-tempered, or experience mood swings.

4. Cynicism: You may find yourself with a negative or cynical attitude towards work, colleagues, and the organization.

5. Physical Symptoms: You may experience physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach issues, or sleep disturbances.

Addressing Leader Burnout

Being burnout is not your fault, but where you go from here is up to you. If you can find your path forward to recover from burnout, you can work to transform your work environment to prevent yourself and others from becoming burnout.

1. Identify Your Core Needs: We have underlying psychological needs that need to be met. We need belonging, autonomy, growth, play, trust, and respect among many others. Identifying the needs that are going unmet for you can help you make powerful behavior changes. For example, your need for relationships may not be met at work because you feel like you can’t authentically share yourself. Identifying people who you can be authentic with, and scheduling time to connect with them can help meet your underlying needs at work.

2. Connect with Your Purpose: Indetify your core purpose —the vehicle that helps you to make the world a better place. Often, burnout can result from engaging in work that doesn't connect to our core purpose. Use your purpose as a way to filter out or delegate tasks that are not serving you. We will always have activities we don’t love, but helping to see how they are an extension of our purpose works to increase our sense of accomplishment.

3. Build Community: Relationships are critical for recovering and preventing burnout from the future. We need people that we can share our experiences with and who can guid us back to our purpose. Consider who your people are, and where you can find them. Be intentional about finding time to connect with these people.

4. Embrace Autonomy: As a leader, you likely have a degree of control over your work. Find as many opportunities as you can to shape your work environment in a way that reduces your stress, as well as others.

By acknowledging the signs, taking proactive steps to prevent it, and seeking support when needed, leaders can maintain their well-being, enhance their performance, and contribute to the long-term success of their organizations. Leader burnout is not a sign of weakness but an indicator that it's time to prioritize self-care and mental health. Burnout is a real concern, but the path forward may not always be clear. Leadership coaching can help you find the path forward that’s right for you.