Yesterday we began our two-part series on how leaders can avoid burnout.
It began with a Forbes article that discussed 10 tips on the very topic.
We started with the first five in yesterday's post. Today we'll explore the second five.
The support team isn't an internal team. Some people call it an advisory board and others call it coffee with friends. Think about who you know and what types of things they do really well. Then devise a list of questions and invite them to coffee. If you want something a little more formal, consider an executive group such as Vistage.
You are the only one who can set those boundaries...and your team members will follow suit. There is a CEO in Canada who has a rule that no emails are to be sent or received after 5 p.m. He says it took about six weeks for people to get used to it, and now there is a flurry of activity at 4:45 each day, but his team members are much more productive because of it.
While routine can make you productive, if you only sit at your desk all day, every day, you'll easily bore. Take meetings outside of the office. Do a walk-around every morning and talk to team members. Get out of your chair.
It's easy to focus and work all day and suddenly 12 hours have gone by. But all work and no play makes for a very boring leader. Even if you have to break up your day by watching a funny video or two, it's a welcome brain break that will make you even more productive.
Some leaders don't work weekends. Others wait and take two week vacations. Whatever works for you, make sure you have scheduled time off that does not include meetings, phone calls, or emails.
Do you agree with these 10 tips? What works for you?
Leaders in their quest to move the business forward, get to the point where they exhaust themselves. The business they started with passion is eating all their time, they work more hours and days without taking time off.
This article in Forbes talks about how leaders can avoid burnout.
We're certainly in a position to be doing more with less...and have been for a few years now. So what are we to do about it?
Well, the article's author suggested 10 tips:
Today and tomorrow we'll explore each.
Leading, and growing, a business is a marathon. Just like training for such a race, you need to have strong and long weeks with taper weeks and rest days in between. During the next 30 days, choose three days that you aren't going to take any meetings, phone calls, or interruptions. You're at your desk solely to get things accomplished. Those can be considered your long runs.
By now you're accustomed to forecasting and re-forecasting and re-forecasting again. Be fair in your expectations, both of yourself and of your team members. Be aggressive, but not unrealistic.
There are business leaders who set aside one day a week to work on the business, instead of in it. The appointment is on their calendars and nothing gets in the way of it. It may take a little bit longer to accomplish things this way, but some entrepreneurs have been able to launch a second business using their one day a week mantra.
It's easy to be distracted by the economy, the shiny newest tool in social media, or the latest customer fire. If you know what your goals are for leading the business, you'll make more informed decisions when under pressure.
It's sometimes easier to just do things yourself, but does that mean you're the best person for the job? It may be as tactical as sitting at your desk, outlining everything on your to-do list, and determining who is the best person in your office to do the job. If you don't have someone to do something, such as administrative work, consider outsourcing.
Tomorrow we'll explore the last five tips. In the meantime, are there tips you have that work well for you, as a leader?
