While it’s common for women working at the C-suite level to acknowledge high levels of stress and challenges in time management, not many accept that they might have a burnout problem.
“In this state you do not have access to a broader way of thinking – you are more in survival mode,” said Karen McMullan, founder of the Discover Your Genius program. “And many women do not even realize that this is how they are operating.”
McMullan will be hosting From Burnout to Brilliance, a workshop for the eWomen Network, in Coquitlam this spring. She said that she meets many women who run on adrenaline and are in “fight or flight response all of the time.”
McMullan said that there are three common mistakes that lead to boardroom burnout: “The first is what I call ‘someday syndrome’ – not listening to your burned-out body and putting off ‘living life’ to some future day.
“People also get burned-out when there is an emotional drain at work, some sort of friction with a co-worker. You have to develop ways to communicate through this or change your work environment.
“The third mistake is spending the majority of your time doing things that you suck at,” she laughed. “My specialty is helping people find their genius. If someone does not know what their genius is, they burn out.”
Those who have a high degree of responsibility and a low degree of control over what happens during their workday are particularly susceptible, according to Susan Biali, medical doctor, life coach, speaker and author of Live a Life You Love.
“Burnout is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion which develops over time, usually as a result of prolonged exposure to significant stress,” she said.
Refusing to listen to your body is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make, according to Biali.
“Pushing too hard without giving your body and mind enough support to handle the stress is a big mistake,” she said. “One of my coaching clients used to be an executive in one of the biggest corporations in Canada. Her first week on the job, she worked 18-hour days, barely ate and only slept three hours a night. That’s setting yourself up for disaster.
“Think of your career as a slow, steady marathon, rather than a sprint. If you push too hard, too fast, you’ll flame out.”
Social media personal trainer, business design coach and Suitcase Entrepreneur Natalie Sisson had her own story of burnout.
“I experienced sleepless nights, a lack of energy, constant feelings of not being able to cope, withdrawals from socializing and bad mood swings during a particularly stressful period in a startup I co-founded,” said Sisson.
“When you’re burnt out, problems seem insurmountable, and it’s difficult to muster up the energy to care – let alone do something about your situation. I was fortunate enough to recognize the detriments to my health and start making changes, as well as leaning on my friends to hold me accountable to live a better lifestyle.”
Sisson also has a clear battle plan when it comes to the war against boardroom burnout. She set up her Suitcase Entrepreneur website to help entrepreneurs find ways to run their businesses from anywhere across the globe – a concept that could possibly reduce an executive’s chances of suffering from boardroom burnout.
“It’s all about finding that elusive balance in life by using online tools, social media and outsourcing to streamline your business so you can create more freedom.”
Natalie Sisson: The human mind: it doesn’t recognize its own limitations until it’s too late and it overrides all obvious messages the body sends to it as red flags. It ignores intuition at will.
Karen McMullan: Spending the majority of your time outside your “genius zone.”
Susan Biali: For women, I would say, in general, it’s our all-too-common tendency to take on too much responsibility and put the needs of others ahead of our needs.
Natalie Sisson: A mindset shift. We are not superhuman, so acknowledge this and make changes today to your current lifestyle and working habits. Exercise, get at least seven hours of sleep, take regular breaks, hire help, go on holiday.
Karen McMullan: Find out what your genius is – what you do that creates the maximum results with most ease. Then do it!
Susan Biali: Become acutely and aggressively aware of the factors that contribute to burnout, and take very deliberate steps in your life to protect yourself from it. Burnout has a way of creeping up on you, but if you know the signs and know what you can do to offset it, you can learn from this phenomenon rather than having it take down both you and your career.