Applying a Leadership Lens to Staff Burnout
As the year winds down, some of us may find ourselves (or our staff) counting the days until the office closes, feeling drained and dare we say it quietly contemplating a career change. Maybe we have noticed an uptick in accessing sick leave simply because of tiredness. Listening in more closely, we may hear narratives of feeling overworked and undervalued.
Alarmingly, 61% of Australian workers report experiencing burnout, far exceeding the global average of 48%. Burnout now accounts for 40% of employee resignations and costs the Australian economy an estimated $14 billion annually in stress-related absenteeism. Read those last statistics again! They are pretty significant numbers.
While burnout is more commonly described as the experience of work-related stress marked by physical and emotional exhaustion – we would suggest it is also tied to feeling trapped in a role or job with no prospect of things changing. I’m sure I’m not alone in having experienced the almost unshakeable weight of stress and burnout, only to be surprised by a shift towards relief, hope, or even energy the moment a potential change is signalled or agreed upon? It’s as if simply knowing that a situation isn’t set in stone opens the door to renewed vitality.
What’s at play here? Is it the change itself, or something deeper?
At Oasis, we believe this renewed sense of energy comes from rediscovering alignment – the reconnection between what we do and who we most want to be in the world. It can’t be overstated, there is something inherently energising about finding greater meaning in our work.
If that’s true, how can this insight help leaders, especially when supporting people teetering on the edge of burnout? One of the powerful leadership development tools used by clients working with Oasis, The Leadership Circle Profile, offers practical approaches that are within reach:
Connect People To Strategic Focus
Help your team connect with a more strategic focus by reframing their roles and responsibilities, fostering a deeper connection to the organisation’s mission and values. Support them in authentically answering this question: “How does my contribution make a difference?”
Take it a step further and strategically-minded leaders understand that they are not the only one with a well-developed strategic capability and so they find genuine ways to involve others in the codesign of strategic initiatives.
Our energy depletes the more disconnected we are from making a meaningful contribution - of course the opposite is also true!
Develop Effective Collaborative Engagement
Leadership isn’t superficially directing people to “do the work” – though it is about coordinating effective action for high performance. High quality leadership considers what is happening developmentally and relationally, especially when the phenomenon of burnout is in view.
Burnout commonly thrives in environments where people feel isolated, stuck in unproductive or conflicted relationships, or if they feel boxed in by limited opportunities.
Real collaboration starts with curiosity. How often do you take time to sit with your team and explore their individual and collective development needs? These developmental needs may be technical, augmenting the skills needed to perform the work. We may also need to develop relational capacity - equipping teams to have high-stakes conversations, building self-awareness and strengthening emotional mastery.
Trust that as you develop collaborative engagement with your team, you exponentially increase the likelihood of healthier collaboration within your team - leading to higher levels of retention and performance.
Facilitate A Compelling Vision
Great leaders inspire not by dictating the future but by helping others imagine it. They bring passion, optimism, and clarity to the table, painting a vision that’s both ambitious and inclusive.
When individual and shared visions align, teams find direction, commitment, and creativity. And let’s face it, organisations don’t fail overnight. They fail when people lose hope… one resignation (or one disengaged employee) at a time.
The antidote to emotional spaces marked by resignation is ambition—helping people understand and emotionally connect with the bigger picture while cultivating the courage, determination and patience needed to face the challenges that inevitably come.
Taking The Work Forward
Burnout isn’t just about exhaustion—it’s about misalignment. When who we are and what we do feel disconnected, coupled with there being no sense that things will change, burnout thrives.
As leaders, we have the power to rewrite that story. By creating environments where alignment, purpose, and possibility thrive, we can spark not just relief but real, sustainable engagement even beyond Xmas.
Need some additional support to help you to take action on this? Why not consider:
The full-day workshop “Making the Move From Manager to Leader”
Oasis’ signature “Leader as Coach” program - helping leaders to move beyond being merely the problem solver and fixer
Having a complementary coaching conversation with one of our specialist consultants about your leadership effectiveness