As
a CEO, and the top leadership interface between your organization’s members,
customers and staff, have you experienced burnout? Do you know CEOs who have gone through
burnout? If you are an existing CEO,
then chances are you have faced burnout.
And if you’re an aspiring CEO, you should understand how burnout may
take place. It’s no surprise that
leaders, with the large challenge of being responsible for planning and
performance of their organizations, can become victims of burnout. The continuous, never-ending burden of top
leadership can wear anyone down.
Are
there some ways to reduce or avoid burnout?
A
Internet article from LeaderPoint noted that while the weight of being in
charge can overcome the most successful leaders, burnout is often a function of
not delegating and working through others effectively. Harvard Business Review blogger John Baldoni
is quoted as stating that the “best way to overcome the drive than made (CEOs)
successful in the first place—the relentless pursuit of perfection—is to shift
focus from one’s own success to the success of the executive team.”
Here
are some suggestions from the article to help avoid burnout:
--Lead through
others: Being a CEO widens the scope and increases the
magnitude of the results to be achieved.
Assign others the significant outcomes so that the CEO is not the
bottleneck, consumed with personal problem-solving.
--Knowing
everything: No CEO can do everything well. Accepting that no one can possibly know
everything allows one to ask more questions, learn more and allows the work to
remain with those show should be doing it.
--Enabling
others: Motivating
others is a challenge. Sometimes it
works and sometimes it doesn’t. Instead,
focus on the work to be done, the desired outcome and assign these to key
staff. Big jobs with significant
outcomes tend to motivate people.
The
bottom line is about getting results, consistently over time. It’s hard to do that without the support and
assistance from others. One of the best ways for CEOs to achieve success is to
drop their invincibility posture.
Successful leadership and successful organizations are not a solo act.
To
read the article “Avoid Burnout by Focusing on Your Team”, by John Baldoni, go
here: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/11/avoid_burnout_by_focusing_on_y.html#
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