Burnout affects more than just leaders. It has an impact on the entire organisation. Burnout can have a ripple effect on teams and workplace culture. Understanding the consequences of burnout, from diminished confidence to fragmented team, is crucial to building healthier and more resilient organisations.
Charlene Gisele is a former attorney who has transitioned into a Burnout Consultant and Clinical Hypnotherapist. She has spent many years helping law offices, universities and private clients to combat burnout. Her expertise as one of the 10 top corporate wellness influencers in the world provides valuable insight on how to navigate leadership burnout and its impact on organisational health.
Confidence erosion: When leaders lose their spark
Burnout can affect more than the physical energy of leaders. It can also undermine their self-confidence. Even experienced executives may begin to doubt their decisions, feel insecure or experience imposter syndrome. This confidence erosion doesn’t end at the top. This reverberates throughout the organisation and creates confusion and hesitation. The collective spirit also suffers when leadership fails, resulting in stagnation and a decline in morale.
The Loneliness of Leadership
Leadership can feel lonely at times. Leaders can feel isolated by the weight of making high-stakes choices, resolving constant conflicts, and managing crises. Many leaders, in an effort to appear strong and confident, withdraw from their team, not being able to get the support they require. This isolation leads to burnout, diminishes performance and disconnects the organization. As trust diminishes, the sense of shared purpose that motivates collaboration also decreases.
Burnout and Cultural Change: A Stalling of Progress
Leaders who are burnt out will also have a negative impact on the culture that they want to create. Leaders who are depleted lack the energy needed to inspire transformation and meaningful change. This leads to stagnation. Seeing their leaders struggle may cause employees to lose confidence in the direction of the organization. Disillusionment can lead to disengagement and issues such as quiet quitting. Staff may disengage, believing that the vision of the company is not important.
Anger and Frustration: How they undermine psychological safety
Burnout is often manifested as frustration which can quickly become anger. Stressed out leaders can become irritable or critical, resulting in a stressful work environment. This can undermine psychological safety, which is the foundation for innovation and collaboration. Employees who are afraid of negative reactions withhold their ideas and pull back from team efforts. This fear can stifle creativity and undermine trust over time. Teams will feel unsupported and undervalued.
Spreading yourself too thin: The trap of overcommitment
Many leaders overcommit themselves in an effort to remain involved. In an effort to stay involved, many leaders take on more than they can handle. It not only exhausts a leader, but also sets an unrealistic standard for their employees. Workers who see their leaders being overworked often feel the need to emulate them, creating a culture where they are constantly stretched. This may increase productivity in the short term, but it can also harm morale and compromise long-term success.
Toxic tenacity: the dangerous pursuit of perfection
Toxic tenacity, the refusal to delegate or adjust, may initially push teams to work harder. Over time, however, this unwavering attitude can become a burden. The employees begin to imitate their leaders’ pace and put output before their own wellbeing. This leads to burnout and stifles creativity, which ultimately weakens an organisation’s adaptability. The organisation is less able to meet new challenges when resilience, trust and creativity start to diminish.
Building High Performance
Leadership burnout affects not only the individual, but also the whole organisation. Leaders must be resilient, prioritize their own well-being and seek help when needed to maintain high performance.
Charlene Gisele’s work with law offices, universities, as well as private clients, highlights the importance of burnout prevention and recovery. Organisations can empower leaders and teams to thrive by prioritising sustainable working practices and cultivating a culture that promotes well-being.
The original version of this article Leadership Burnout and its Hidden Cost: Impact on Teams and Culture, by Charlene Gisele appeared first on Human Resources News.