Are you experiencing burn-out and exhaustion from the changes you’re trying to make at work?  Feel like you’re giving 120%, and frustrated with the amount of progress that has been made?  If you answered yes to either of these questions, it’s time to take a step back and reconsider your approach.  

Many leaders and change agents think the more I get done, the more productive I will be.  Unfortunately this isn’t necessarily true.  Just look at the doctors and nurses on the front lines.  They can put in a lot of effort and still lose several patients with Covid-19.  This loss takes a mental, emotional, and physical toll on the front lines as it’s very disheartening to put in so much energy and have little to show for it.  Now this is an extreme example that includes loss of life.  The premise is the same though for leaders and change agents.  Lack of progress on a change effort after putting in a lot of effort, takes a mental, emotional, and physical toll that can lead to burn-out and exhaustion.  Here are five things you can do as a leader and change agent to start to pull yourself out of the burn-out / exhaustion cycle:

1. Incorporate self-care into your routine.  To borrow a line from the airlines, you have to put your own oxygen mask on, before you can help others.  Self-care means different things to different people so identify what self-care is for you.  Maybe it’s taking 15 minutes each morning before work to meditate, going for a run after work, or socializing with friends over Zoom to relax.  Whatever it is, carve out time in your schedule for it and then consistently do it.

2. Assess boundaries by asking yourself, is everything I’m working on right now, really my responsibility?  Or have I taken on work that someone else is actually responsible for?  If you answered yes to these questions, unless your boss specifically asked you to take on someone else’s work, you’re potentially enabling a coworker from not having to do a part of their job, while at the same time draining your energy doing someone else’s work.  It’s time to focus on the work you’re responsible for, and return the work that doesn’t belong to you.

3. See if you can accomplish more by doing less.  Take a look at all the actions you’re working on in relation to the change effort.  Say for example you’re working on eight different actions.  How much more progress could you make if you dropped 3-4 of the actions and focused your energy on the remaining 4-5 actions that will produce the most progress on your change effort?  Or how can you delegate the 3-4 actions so you can then focus all of your energy on the remaining 4-5 actions? 

4. Celebrate what you have been able to achieve.  Have you been so busy working towards the next milestone that you completely forgot to celebrate what you have been able to achieve so far?  Celebrating achievements is important as it helps motivate you to achieve the next milestone, helps honor the work everyone has put in so far, and helps create a more positive working environment.  

5. Find balance between work and your personal life as no one ever says they wish they would have worked more when they’re on their deathbed.  As you’re reading this you may be thinking, “yes, but this issue going on at work right now absolutely needs my attention.” If you’re thinking that, ask yourself this, “6 months from now, how much will I care about this issue?”  Many times the answer is, not much.  If that’s the answer, then it’s time to pull back, find some balance, and come at the issue refreshed.  You may even find you have a new perspective on how to solve the issue.

The more you can find balance, practice self-care, set appropriate boundaries, celebrate your achievements, prioritize, and delegate, the lower your risk of burn-out and exhaustion.  After all, what kind of leader and change agent is more inspiring, an energized leader / change agent, or an exhausted leader / change agent?

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About the Author: Rosanne Essiambre helps change agents and departments in one-on-one and group settings to be seen, be heard, and be effective in bringing about change in the organization and/or in their personal lives. She provides consulting and facilitation to organizations to improve communications and collaboration, smooth out the change / transformation journey, get to the root cause of an issue so it can be solved for good, improve processes, and implement successful lessons learned. And she conducts workshops, trains, and speaks on Energy Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Being a Change Agent and more. If you or your organization could use support with your change effort or some inspiration, contact Rosanne for a complimentary consultation. Rosanne is a Change Agent Coach, Facilitator, Six Sigma Black Belt, Change Management / Continuous Improvement Consultant, Speaker, and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner with more than 20 years experience working on a variety of transformations across a diverse set of industries both domestically and internationally, while continuously improving herself.