We all want high performers on our teams—the people who take initiative, see the big picture, collaborate with others, go the extra mile, and pour their heart and soul into their work.
But here's an unfortunate truth: high performers are the most likely to experience burnout.
The very things that make high-performers effective—their high standards, emotional investment, extra responsibilities, and reluctance to ask for help—are the same ones that can drive them straight into exhaustion.
Burnout scenarios not only hurt your best employees, but also hurt your entire business. Exhausted, overwhelmed employees are less productive, less innovative and more likely to leave, leading to high turnover rates.
And it's not just employees at risk. If you are a business owner or an entrepreneur, it's likely that you're also passionate, driven and creative with high standards for yourself. Leaders are just as susceptible to burnout as employees—and sometimes more so because they are shouldering the ultimate responsibility for their company's success.
In this article, we'll talk about how to protect yourself and your employees from burnout.
Use leverage to get the most out of your life
Everyone struggles with maintaining balance in their lives, especially high achievers. You have real career goals and aspirations, AND you want to spend time with the people you love, doing things you enjoy.
Here's the truth: you can have both. You can smash your career goals, enjoy your personal life and feel energized while doing it.
The key is leverage.
You can move the boulder with your bare hands, or use a lever to move it with far less effort.
Leveraging is not the same as delegating. When you delegate a task to another person, you give someone an action or a result you want and hope they follow through.
How often have you delegated a task, and as the due date approaches, you find that the job isn't done? Or it isn't done to the standards you want? You feel frustrated and even more overwhelmed than before. If this happens often enough, you might get frustrated, stop delegating, and add to your workload.
Leverage is different. If you have a giant boulder you want to move, you can use a lever, and with just a little effort, you can move a large weight. You are still a part of the process but not expending nearly as much energy.
