Three strategies to tackle leader burnout
“Sometimes I hate my job.” I’ve heard that from business leaders many times. I know what they mean because when I was a CEO, there were days I hated my job.
But that feeling can still be turned into fuel for something positive.
It’s even worse when you’re exhausted.
When gravity feels too strong—and you can’t get out of bed in the morning.
When Groundhog Day stops feeling like a comedy.
Executive coaching isn’t my day job. But I often discuss these problems with the business leaders I work with. And my long-standing interest in psychology and my coaching certification let me give them advice.
I recommend three strategies to regain their emotional balance.
This is the condensed, high-level edition for free Club members. The full deep dive is for paid subscribers and Founding Members to my newsletter.
Strategy 1: Forget about big goals
Big goals make a handful successful and thousands miserable. They rarely lead to success; more often, they end in failure.
Failure is the gap between what you planned and what you achieved. Often, you simply plan too much.
You set goals in your imagination, but you achieve them in the real world. And imagination often runs ahead of reality.
Strategy 2: Focus on processes
Happiness and peace of mind aren’t about how much you achieve. They’re about how many hours you spend doing what you love.
Otherwise, the only happy people on Earth would be business owners, athletes, and actors—not schoolteachers or doctors.
What do you love doing at work?
Organize your work so that you can spend more hours doing it.
Strategy 3: Focus on the value you deliver to others
Even if your business is in the red, you still have customers. Some of them are genuinely happy with your work.
Talk to them. Nothing restores your motivation like positive customer feedback.
We’re wired to help each other. But when you sit at your desk and all you see is red ink, you don’t feel your work is meaningful to your customers. Bring that feeling back.
Conclusion
Stress and burnout occur when results fall short of your plan. But there are two sides to this equation—manage both.
Take care of yourself. If you don’t, who will?
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