How to manage burnout as a business leader

Rebecca Kelley at VenueScanner offers advice on tackling excessive stress in the workplace

You often think there’s just not enough time in the day. You feel guilty if you’re not available for work 24/7. Being a leader means you take on more and more responsibilities.

Does any of that sound familiar?

For many of us, the price of today’s always-on, all-encompassing work culture is that it can feel like you never get a chance to pause or rest. And the worse things get, the harder it can be to accept you need to step back.

Very quickly, that can lead to burnout. Far from excelling or finding just that extra bit of energy to up your productivity levels, you’re more likely to end up with symptoms ranging from random pains and dizzy spells to full panic attacks and blackouts.

I speak from experience, when I was juggling a full-time corporate job with a busy side hustle. Knowing I needed to make a change, I decided to quit my 9-5 and go all-in on the side hustle. That became my full-time focus.

In some ways, this might have been the perfect storm for things to get even worse. After all, nowhere is the ‘rise and grind’ ethos more prevalent than when you’re managing your own start-up.

Suddenly, you don’t have that dependable monthly pay slip to rely on. You’re desperate to make your passion project a success (and very aware of how high start-up failure rates are). And every second you aren’t devoting to your work can feel like wasted time.

But what the burnout had taught me was that I needed to prioritise both my mental and physical health.

First, I concentrated on getting regular exercise and getting enough sleep. This might seem like nothing more than common sense, but when you’re burning out these can seem like luxuries rather than necessities.

Then there was a bigger move. I cut down on what I call the “quiet killer” – screen time. Of course, this isn’t for everyone. But if the thought of being without your phone makes you anxious, it could be a warning sign.  

These specific actions were part of a more philosophical, ‘big picture’ mindshift. I was re-orienteering what success looked like for me. Apart from the usual benchmarks - sales figures, career milestones and the like – finding space for myself became just as important.

At this point, you might be thinking: that sounds good in theory, but can it work in practice?

So, I’ll quickly mention that my start-up is the UK’s largest venue booking platform and growing 100% YoY. I say this to emphasise avoiding burnout is not a distraction, but a key component to achieving your goals.

Of course, I also appreciate that not everyone is in a position to scale back their stress levels and workloads. Managers bear a real responsibility in this area, since in most corporate hierarchies, stress rolls downhill.

That’s why I try to practice what I preach and try to ensure my employees also have the space and resources to look after themselves. I don’t want there to be even the slimmest chance they have to experience what I did.

Here are five tips for tackling stress to support you and your team:

Acknowledge the issue. If you’re feeling stressed, work out if the cause is immediate or longstanding. If the former, deep breathing can help in the moment. If the latter, identifying the causes is the first step to tackling them.

Cover the basics. All the (potentially obvious) things you know you should be doing: eat well, sleep well, and exercise in whatever way works for you. You don’t need to be a gym bunny; even going for a walk outside everyday will work wonders.

Take time off. You can have too much of a good thing, and work falls into that category. So have holidays. Eat during your lunch break. And log off during evenings and weekends.

Set boundaries. Established what’s important to you? Make sure others know it’s important too. As an example, if you should only be contacted during an emergency, protect that principle.

Lead by example. If you’re high up the food chain, create an environment where it’s not just acceptable but expected that others in your organisation are able to do all of the above.

If you care about yourself, your staff and your company, taking the time to make sure no one has to go through burnout will ultimately lead to better morale, team culture, employee relationships and allow you to achieve the very best for your business.

Rebecca Kelley is CEO at VenueScanner

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com