A Manager’s Guide to Preventing Your Team from Burning Out

If you know you know. That feeling of consistent dread and lack of interest in your work. As a person we hate that feeling, so why as managers do we fail to be alert to our team's level of burnout?

More than half of employees in the United States say they’re burned out, and two-thirds say the pandemic is making their symptoms worse. That’s according to a recent survey by the job search site Indeed.

Burnout is a big concern for any manager. It lowers performance and morale and interferes with job satisfaction. The World Health Organization has deemed it an occupational hazard, and many experts believe it costs the economy as much as $190 billion a year.

How can you keep your team energized and engaged? Learn how to recognize and respond to signs of burnout in yourself and in the employees you manage.

Preventing Burnout on Your Team

You've probably read headlines about the Great Resignation, as millions of employees volunta...

How to Answer Interview Questions About Handling Stress

Unless you have been on many many interviews, they can be stressful. I love going on interviews. I find it fascinating how managers select talent and what they find important to ask. 

Whether you want to be an air traffic controller or a gardener, you’ll probably run into interview questions about how you handle stress. It’s an important issue for just about any workplace.

Almost 60% of U.S. workers report feeling stressed on a daily basis, according to Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace survey. An alarming 14% say it’s gotten so bad they want to hit their coworkers.

Naturally, employers are concerned about this situation. Hiring managers may ask you about how you juggle demanding workloads and unhappy customers. They may even try to find out what’s going on in your personal life and how that could affect your behavior.

You’ll probably make a more favorable impression if you think about your answers in advance. Try...

Recently been speaking with a few start up founders in my course of coaching executives and Founders. I love being around Founders because the are usually very clear about what they are tackling in the world. 

My go to question when meeting Founders, "How many Start Ups have you lead before?". For almost all, the response is "My first". The conversation usually starts off with all the positive aspects of being a Founder. The go after your dreams mentality, the change the world mantras, and how their team is the best and will outwork everyone. 

I then turn the conversation and ask, "What is not working?" The pause follows the question. The response tends to be...Well, the product is not working just like we thought, it is taking way longer than we modeled, customers are not responding the way we planned, money is going fast, hard to find the right team, and feeling burned at both ends. All wrapped in the feeling of Doubt. These are the things we should expect when you are trying to ch...

The pandemic that has engulfed the globe is unprecedented. It has taken the lives of thousands of people and severely affected many more. There is also a heavy burden on the global economy.

The current issues bring to light the importance of great leaders. However, instead of panicking, it’s important for leaders to think and consider the long-term. They can take advantage of this moment to rally together.

How can you lead with impact at this critical time? Consider these tips:

1. Lead by your example. It's essential to be a good listener and role model because your employees want to follow your actions. Your rank-and-file employees watch what you do, how you act, and how you react. If you lead with conviction, they are more likely to follow you.

● Remember that good leaders model good behavior. You set a strong example for your fellow employees by leading with conviction.

● You may not know how powerful your example is to those under your leadership during difficult times. But re...

Worrying about the future is unavoidable. Sometimes, worrying can help us prepare for what may come.

However, when worry becomes a persistent issue or an uncontrollable habit, it can impair our ability to function as we usually would and make us less happy overall. It also hurts our chances of success, because it prevents us from living in the present moment and focusing on remaining fully present.

On the other hand, living in the moment involves remaining fully aware and focused on what is happening around us at any given time. It also includes feeling mentally strong enough to drive the present moment.

Living in the moment means we have little to no concern about the future, nor do we worry about the past. We just stay highly concentrated on the present.

That is a great art and challenging practice, but it results in a happier, more rewarding, and fulfilling life.

Many people know how important it is to live in the moment. They may even talk about how to do so.

How can you stop...

Did you ever have dreams of a project that you really wanted to do, but you just never got around to it?

For example, what if you always wanted to write a book? But then life always got in the way and you kept putting it off and putting it off and putting it off again. Every time you thought about it, you found a reason not to get started on it.

How might your life be different now if you had just taken action - taken that first step - gotten started on your masterpiece?

Do you see something familiar in projects you always wanted to do? Even with the best plans, nothing happens until you actually get started!

Consider these reasons why being able to get started is a critical life skill:

1. Nothing actually happens until you get started. All the planning, scheming, and visualizing in the world won’t move the needle. At some point, you have to start doing something that will actually produce results. You don’t receive any results until you finally take action and begin.

2. Momentum...

It's a bad day. You know the kind: no matter how hard you try, nothing seems to work out the way you want. Yes, we've all been there, and we know how it feels.

There are many things large and small that we can't control, but there are ways to make peace with even the worst turn of events.

The first step is to change how you think—see things as they are, not as you want them. When you're in a funk, try to focus on the things that are going well: your family, health, career.

The chances are that what's going wrong won't matter as much as we think.

The second step is to change your attitude. Tilt the scales in favor of what you can control, such as what you think and speak. Begin by taking a step back and looking at things objectively. Take a deep breath and count to ten. Then ask yourself what you can do to make things better—and then do it.

What else can you do to turn a bad day around and recover?

Consider these tips:

1. Clarify the issue. The feeling a bad day offers becomes un...

People tend to wonder if their life is headed in the right direction when things aren't going well for them. That presupposes that people enjoy a sense of ease when life goes well for them. They don't feel the need to question their life when things are going well.

They flow with events and don't hesitate because things work.

A life without direction is like a ship without a rudder. If rudderless ships can go in circles, then who's to say people won't follow the same journey?

But whether you're steering a little or a lot in life, some key indicators tell you without a doubt that you have the right direction.

How can you tell your life is in the right direction? Here are five signs:

1. Things fall in place for you. When you're going in the right direction, it seems as if the universe is sending you everything you need to get to your destination.

● People come into your life at just the right moment, opportunities come your way, and you get accepted to programs or schools that you ...