BEAT
BURNOUT
How to
We all have bad days at the office. But what if
you’re the boss, the one the company relies on to
keep it together? What do you do when it all
starts falling apart? You start investing in you.WORDS • WENDY KAYB
urnout, defined originally as the reduction of fuel to nothing through
use or combustion, applied more to engines than people. Today,
however, ‘burnout’ conjures up a very human mental meltdown.
While stress is arguably a positive motivator, burnout is caused by
relentless stress triggering constant depletion of mental, physical and
emotional energy, disengagement, negativity and resentment.
The symptoms are broadly similar across the chasm from factory to
boardroom, but are dealt with differently. Employees can vent in the
lunchroom, go to HR, or use in-house health and wellness programs,
whereas CEOs are committed to a more private world.
As high achievers, the journey to the top is driven by adrenaline and team
support; however, once feet are firmly planted under the corner office desk,
the view is different. Working largely in isolation, the responsibility to make
revenue, please the board, troubleshoot and sign off on unpopular decisions
can be overwhelming and stall the ability to move the company forward.
Often, the boss is exposed to brutal public scrutiny, with mistakes catapulted
virally within minutes and, at any glimpse of fatigue, vulnerable to attack.
Nan Dow, the head of Executive Practice at Sageco, an Australian
RiseSmart company providing transition services, has spent more than
15 years getting inside the heads of CEOs to declutter and reconfigure
their negative thoughts. She recalls one pivotal moment when she asked
a high-profile CEO what more she could do to ease him through
a very rough and public ordeal. »132 | theceomagazine.com
INVEST | Money well spent