The leader of a team bears the ultimate responsibility when one of their members experiences burnout. Acknowledging this can be tough, but it’s a reality. That’s why being an effective leader is crucial to prevent others from going through the same ordeal—a state that is difficult to recover from.
For this reason, among many others, people invest time in learning how to be better leaders. The positive outcome is that we avoid actions that would negatively impact our perception as good leaders (e.g., giving negative feedback to a team member in front of others). However, this doesn’t necessarily mean doing everything we know we should do to be effective leaders (e.g., not dedicating enough quality time to the team consistently). This becomes a double-edged sword, as we either overcompensate or fail to be assertive when things go awry.
Why does this happen? The answer is simple: we lack one of the fundamental bases for good leadership—mastering our schedules and time sufficiently to engage in behaviors, practices, routines, or habits that lead to balanced leadership. Balance involves mobilizing our team to achieve desired results while also considering how to care for them by addressing their various motivations and needs. A leader who is not well-organized will not set an example for their team and will lack the necessary time to devote to them, either individually or as a group. We need time to think about each of them, observe their well-being, and then dedicate quality time to them. Otherwise, much of what is illustrated in this fantastic explanatory chart on how to prevent burnout in your team remains theoretical. Leaders have a far greater influence on preventing team burnout than they might imagine.
Everything proposed in this blueprint (by Tamara Beckford MD, MS) requires two things. First, a genuine desire to help our team. Second, being organized enough to have sufficient time to carry out all these actions.
Leadership involves a prior exercise in self-leadership, which includes assessing our level of effectiveness and organization, as well as our willingness to improve in these areas. Self-awareness is the key foundation for any change process.
