I hope that you are enjoying this series as much as I am. What a feeling of empowerment we have when we learn how to take control of our lives, our emotions, and our future.
At this point, we have spent time defining burnout, and understanding why it happens, and last week we did some internal reflection to ensure we start to see the reality of the situations we are in so we can best cope and navigate them.
Last week we talked about "giving the extra." Is part of your brand giving that little extra push? Where are you right now when it comes to sprint, marathon, or typical work?
This was your homework from last week. If you didn't tackle it, I would encourage you to do it.
Now, I heard from some of you that you think you look for the signs as to what is a sprint vs. a marathon but you would like a little clarity on that. So with that, we are going to dive into today’s topic, which is "Look for the Clues."
That’s right. Look for the clues.
What are the signs of a marathon vs. a sprint?
Remember in the first episode we called those marathon days the "Groundhog Day Perfect Storm?"
How do we know the difference between an exception vs. a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm situation?
Let me give you 3 clues to look out for:
The company, leadership, the industry, the world, or a combination of those entities are telling you there is no end in sight.
When you hear industry experts, internal company leadership, or others with knowledge and authority telling you you are in the middle of a situation that they cannot control nor can they predict when it will end, that’s your clue! Do not ignore it. That is the sign of a marathon/Groundhog Day Perfect Storm.
When the tools or resources are not available to solve a problem.
You are responsible for a portion of the business. You have been given performance targets, financial targets, etc. However, the resources/support promised to you and your team is no longer available. Without these resources, the likelihood of achieving the result is slim to none.
If resources were promised that were necessary to achieve a result and those resources have been delayed or removed, accept that your results will also be delayed or unachievable.
That doesn’t make you a bad leader, recognize the limitations of the situation.
When work hours exceed your typical weekly time investment for longer than 2 weeks.
This is a big one.
We all have an internal number of hours we are willing to work each week. If not hours, we at least have times throughout the week and weekend that we expect to have downtime.
When those downtime moments are sacrificed for more than 2 weeks, that’s a clue.
Remember, most sprints or Perfect Storms last a week or two. So to have two weeks of insanity could be a normal exception in the workplace.
But going into week 3 without a defined end date by the organization, that’s a clue.
The way we avoid burnout is to replenish ourselves. This is done with rest, exercise, family time, mental breaks, healthy food, etc.
We cannot expect to get out of a state of exhaustion if we stay in a space that perpetuates it.
That’s a recipe for burnout.
So if you are entering into week 3 or more of a Perfect Storm, realize it’s probably a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm (i.e., a marathon not a sprint) and you need to stop sacrificing and start taking care of yourself to prevent the burnout and last through this demanding time.
These are the big 3 clues to look out for.
Are there more? Of course but these are the most common. You may not see all 3 in a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm, but you will see one of them and one is enough to help you see the truth of the matter and prevent burnout.
Your homework is to look at either past situations where you felt burnt out or your current situation and determine if one or more of these 3 clues existed then or now.
As always, if you want support for you and your team, send me an email, and let’s jump on a call (info@legendleaders.com).
Be Legendary!
