Three strategies to lead your team through burnout & overwhelm

Burnout, overwhelm and increasing stress: the statistics are shocking. A new study recently revealed that one in four workers today is suffering from a mental health crisis. One in four! As a leader,  you need to ask yourself if you are doing enough to manage your team through burnout and overwhelm, challenge yourself as to whether you are actively doing what you can to help them manage the constant disruptions, increased demands, and pressure that todays work and personal lives are demanding. Because chances are you aren’t.

Why are today’s employees on the verge of burnout & overwhelm

Burnout and overwhelm is not isolated to one industry or even one generation of worker. Another study, which researched employees in a variety of industries, positions, and age ranges, found that more than 65% of full-time employees are experiencing burnout, despite being satisfied with their jobs and working environment.

In the last few years, burnout rates and overwhelm have increased dramatically. The constant disruptions, the inability to unplug, remote work and extreme social tensions have all increased the pressure team members feel in their lives.

On top of  that there seems to be no end in site. Change and the rate of it are predicted to increase rather than decline in the next few years – leaving employees feeling hopeless, out of control and scared.

What is the impact of employee burnout on credit unions

Only a percentage of the pressure employees are feeling is not the result of workplace changes. Things like inflation, interest rates, geopolitical tensions, the economy, family issues – those are all out of your control as a leader. But if you do not help your employees manage the stress of their work and everyday lives, the impact will be negative for your credit union.

Let’s look at the facts. The impact of burnout and overwhelm on organizations today is resulting in lack of engagement, increased absenteeism, and a 46% decrease in productivity. And while you may not be able to do much about the increased level of stress in your team’s personal lives, just improving their work environment will drive productivity.

The number one cause of burnout and overwhelm at work is you, the leader. Employees site lack of communication, no strategic direction, lack of succession planning, unmanageable workload, unreachable goals and lack of performance reviews and feedback as ways leaders are increasing employees’ level of pressure and stress.

The warning signs of employee burnout

Now that’s the good news, in my opinion. Because if you know the reason employees are stressed out, and you realize the reason is you, then you know the more you enhance your leadership skills and ability, the more you can do to help your team. And if you help your team, you will drive results.

So how do you know if your team is on the edge? Here are a few things to look for:

1. Working overtime, holidays or weekends
2. Lack of engagement in meetings or one-to-ones
3. Decrease in quality of work
4. Lack of innovation and creativity – no new ideas or strategies for improvement
5. Decrease in desire for training or career advancement
6. Inability to prioritize or meet deadlines
7. Uptick in absenteeism
8. High-turnover
9. Difficulty finding staff

Three strategies to lead your team through burnout & overwhelm

Now that you understand what the challenges are, the more important question is – how do you as the leader help your team solve those problems? There is so much you can do as a leader, and we have spent the last six years researching and studying how the most successful organizations in history have built cultures that thrived in uncertainty.

Here are three strategies to get you started

Relentless vision: What you focus on and what your team focuses on will expand, so you need to focus your team on what is possible. In other words, create a relentless vision. Not just a vision, but a relentless vision – one that everyone is so focused on that when obstacles and disruption happen, their mind finds a way around those obstacles.

Uncertainty causes fear and anxiety in team members because it is all they are focused on. When you, the leader, show them what is possible, and consistently communicate what will happen if they push through the challenges, you spark intrinsic motivation and hope. Two powerful emotions that keep your team engaged.

Control change: One of the reasons your team hates change is because they feel like it is “done’ to them. They feel out of control. Think about it, right now you are reading this, and they are sitting at their offices or their remote workspace now, wondering what is going to happen next and feeling like they have no say or input.

Change happens much more effectively and much more easily if employees are a part of it. Give your employees the tools to predict change, engage it, and start controlling it rather than allowing change to control them. It is also one of the most effective ways to attract talent, retain talent, and build leadership depth.

Turn busy to productive: Last but not least, it helps your team be productive rather than busy. Because just being busy is exhausting, but being productive is about getting results. And when your team is getting results, it is motivating, satisfying, and drives performance. As a leader, you need to help your team focus on what is moving the company forward, and let go of what is no longer effective.

The world we are living in today is changing fast, and as leaders you need to build a team that understands how to succeed in this environment. If you can help your team embrace uncertainty, you will drive innovation and creativity, drive engagement, and drive results. But the biggest reward is that you will build a workforce that is mentally and physically healthy, and ready to take on any challenge to help your members.

If you want to learn more, check out our THRIVE System for Turning Uncertainty To Competitive Advantage. You’ll learn more about our research, programs and gain our 9 Step Proven Formula for Thriving In Uncertainty.