Breaking the Cycle of Overwhelm

Some of us are lucky enough to love our careers. Going to work is something to look forward to, and something deeply fulfilling. For others, getting up to face another work day is difficult, with no motivations or driving forces to even try to be productive. Likely everyone has experienced this at some point in our lives. Psychologists and professional coaches alike can attest that falling into this rut happens from entry level positions all the way up to the C-suite, and everywhere in between.

There are many schools of thought on how to break this cycle of overwhelm and exhaustion. Daily meditation or mindfulness practices, vigorous exercise, or taking time off for self care are just some of the common recommendations to get a bit of a spark back in your work life. Two Harvard researchers, however, have found a step-by-step method to revive your motivation and happiness in the workplace. They affectionately call it the DEAR Method, and it was featured in one of the recent HBR Ideacast episodes.

DEAR stands for: Detach, Empathy, Action, and Reframing. To detach, one might go through the list mentioned above: meditate, get outside, or take a long weekend to step away and get your thoughts off of the drudgery. Interestingly, the authors of the research recommend talking about oneself in the third person in order to gain perspective “(Insert name here) is struggling at work and feeling bored. What should (he/she/they) do?” Empathy in this context is a very deep concept. Not only do we need to practice self-compassion and grace, but those who are exhausted and unmotivated at work also tend to lose empathy for their co-workers. Feeling burnt out at work can make people run on autopilot when at the office, and this can in turn take away some of the humanity of fellow employees.

Action, here, refers to specific tasks that can help organize your thoughts about work in a different light. Making to-do lists just for the dopamine hit every time an item gets crossed off, for instance, is a good way to feel better quickly. Developing a hobby outside of work is another way to feel motivated about the world in general. And lastly, reframing. This is done last in order to really see if a change in perspective is possible. Of course, once the previous three steps have been taken, what might come to light is that the job needs to be changed more drastically than is possible, and that’s okay. These steps are guaranteed to at least shed some light on what should be done.

Give the Inc.com article a read for a quick synopsis, and listen to the HBR podcast episode here for a bit more information on the research behind these action items.

Avoiding Burnout While Growing as a Leader

It’s safe to say that one of the only traits common to all leaders is a lifelong love of learning and growth. No matter what myriad of differences separates them, everyone in leadership wants to learn more and be a better leader. One of the reasons why groups such as Vistage exist is that our members are so committed to this growth, both as individuals and as leaders. Unfortunately, another trait that some leaders have is enthusiasm that can lead to being spread too thin (and that’s why it’s so important to have a great coach!). Kellogg’s own Senior Fellow and coach Sanjay Khosla has published a fantastic and coach-approved article on how to strive for this growth without coming to the end of one’s proverbial rope.

According to Khosla, it’s as simple as strategic thinking and a quick, five-step process. First and foremost; know yourself. Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses, ask for feedback from colleagues (and be willing to accept constructive criticism), and be ready to work on areas where growth is needed. Second, manage your energy. Sit down and examine the calendar from the past few months. If more time is being spent in meetings or managing tasks than is warranted, think strategically about how that time could be better spent. Could things be delegated? Could scheduled meetings actually be resolved over a few simple emails? Khosla calls this an “energy audit”, and it is vital in reclaiming time.

Third on this list; pick focus areas. Khosla recommends listing priorities, and interestingly he insists that the first priority of his coaching clients be non-work related. Family or a hobby should come first in order to maintain a work-life balance. Fourth, build a circle of influence. Think about areas that need strengthening and who might best help along the way. Stay in touch with these individuals and be willing to be that person as well. And lastly, choose how you show up. Khosla advises his coaching clients to examine how they present themselves and their information to others. Whether during a meeting or at a big event, he says to think about the information from the audience’s point of view, and how they may want to digest the topic. Keeping the audience engaged is vital to remaining passionate about the subject one wants to learn. If an audience is bored to tears, the presenter may not be inspired to return to that subject, even though it may be an important one. Read the full article here for Khosla’s tips on continued growth while not burning out.

Preventing Burnout

“Burnout”, although currently a hot topic, is by no means a new concept. Even in our pre-pandemic lives this was a very real danger, especially in the workforce (although it can also happen in our personal lives as well). Luckily, Wharton’s own Adam Grant has come up with one of their simple yet highly effective nano-tools for leaders. His new article highlights his approach to preventing burnout, using a model he dubs “Demand-Control-Support”.

In this model, he highlights the strategy in the following ways:

• Demand: Make structural changes that lighten the load on the person doing the job or redistribute tasks.

• Control: When you can’t eliminate demands, you can at least give people the autonomy and skills they need to handle them.

• Support: Create cultures that make it easy to request and receive help.

It is interesting to see how differently these changes are exemplified in different industries. In some, for instance, tasks forces were created to identify where time-consuming tasks were holding people up, and new systems were put in place to correct them. At a Cleveland hospital, it was discovered that doctors were spending an inordinate amount of time charting in an outdated electronic health record system. Once this “demand” was identified, new management software was put into place and doctors were able to spend more time with patients.

While some companies may be able to address these issues immediately, others are more reticent, especially in the face of a predicted economic downturn. Many companies are already facing lay-offs, which, if not handled properly, will only increase burnout, not decrease it. Should a company find itself here, it is important that leadership take into account the “Support” aspect of Mr. Grant’s model. This step is able to really highlight top-down changes, as leadership must sometimes make the shift to the idea that asking for help is a sign of strength, not one of weakness. When leadership opens up about personal struggles, this culture is normalized, and employees generally are less prone to burnout, even if their workloads increase.

With “quiet quitting” coming into the modern lexicon, burnout has been blamed for this drawback from work life. Ideally, using these nano tools will prevent burnout, and thus embolden employees to set these healthy boundaries without taking away from what they are able to offer in their jobs. Take a look at Mr. Grant’s newest piece and see how your company can integrate these measures. Economic fluctuations and workload shifts are inevitable, but burnout is not.