Every time I’m in a room full of CEOs and other senior leaders who are getting things done and accomplishing great things in the world, I have to stop and remind myself that 96% of them are burnt out, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Yes, these titans of innovation are burning out and you would never know it? Turns out Harvard Medical School knew.
That’s the thing about burnout. Most people are really good at masking it.
I’ve seen this everywhere I’ve worked. The CEO (managing partner, COO, CFO, VP, etc.) starts off fresh and full of energy. Then somewhere between the never ending emails, the day long meetings and continual crises they start to look haggard. They start to get a paunch. They get cranky and maybe start acting like a tyrant. They make decisions that aren’t as clear, edgy and visionary as before. Burn out is creeping in. But no one sees it.
Face it, we want to have our sh*t together or at least look like we do. To appear burnt out, stressed, fatigued or overwhelmed is viewed as a sign of weakness. We can’t appear unfit for duty. If we let others see us sweat, it is often as a badge of honor – “I’m more important than you.”
In our desire to have it all and be it all we are masking the warning signs of burnout. It’s a myth that burnout means going up in a burst of flames, unable to work any more, full out exhausted. While that can happen, it never happens overnight. It can take years and even decades to get there. Whether you’re the C-suite or a cubicle, burnout has warning signs. The key is to identify how you’re masking the symptoms before it’s too late.
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