How to stop burnout
Burnout is on my mind. One of my long time clients is an amazing writer, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Recently she started coaching programs on burnout, and quickly learned that it is not her thing. Her insight… “Burnout happens in part because of bad managers. Management is more art than science.”
I think that is absolutely true. Smart leaders know that developing new and mid-level managers is critical to the success of the business. I remember years ago, when I was in a leadership role at Working Mother which published an annual list of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers. Renowned companies like Deloitte, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Unilever were on the list. However, women at these very same companies made it crystal clear to me that even their companies had bad managers.
As leaders, invest in your new and mid-level managers and weed out the bad ones. Not everyone is cut out for management!
#WiseWords
“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them. “
Worth the Share
Burnout is a real issue, as is sheer exhaustion from all that is happening in the world. This well-researched article “Joy as Antidote to Burnout” includes a variety of stats and quotes to support the power of joy and the importance of connecting with others.
Shawn Achor, who is known for his work in happiness, “found that when our brains are in a positive state, we’re 31% more productive than when we’re negative or stressed.” That is an impressive stat.
Plus, the impact on work is real. This quote by Toby Haug from SAP brings to life the importance of living a whole life. “Many people still think we have work on one hand and life on the other. Yet we have one life, where work is a major part. If we’re not well and happy, that will affect both home and work.”
Take a few minutes and read this article from Thrive, then find some joy and share it with others.
And Finally...
Years back, a friend from grammar school was cleaning up her mom’s bedroom after she had passed on to the next life. My friend “Catherine” found a slip of paper between the mattress and the box-spring. Written in her mother’s beautiful penmanship were three simple words, “LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY”.
This women, like most of us, faced hardship in her lifetime, and yet, her guiding light was to be joyful. I love her intentionality around the choice she made to be joyful… and that slip of paper demonstrated it’s importance in her daily life. I will always remember Mrs. L’s smiling her big Irish smile in spite of so many challenges. Can you make the choice to “Live Life Joyfully”? .
Have a great couple of weeks,
Mary Jo