Good leadership can be demanding and exhausting, and Sonia McDonald* says the very best leaders never try to carry the burden alone.
Are we exhausted leaders? I think I am. However, determination and perseverance are two critical skills that every great leader must possess.
Sometimes, no matter how much willpower and drive they have, the most dedicated leader will be tempted to just give in and give up.
Unless you learn how to cope with the stress that comes along with the constant change and unending demands, leadership fatigue, and eventual failure, is a genuine threat.
You may be close to your personal breaking point if you’ve experienced any of these dangerous signals:
Avoiding responsibilities and those who hold you accountable, losing your vision, losing focus of the big picture and getting bogged down by minor details.
Or losing control and becoming annoyed and angry over insignificant things.
Left unchecked, leadership fatigue might even lead to self-destructive behaviour such as subconsciously sabotaging important relationships or neglecting personal self-care.
The key to maintaining our ability to make sound decisions, and act upon them, is to learn how to manage those things that drain us of our energy and enthusiasm.
In order to avoid leadership fatigue, we must learn how to eliminate or minimise these power drainers before they reach a critical mass.
Observing how highly visible, and extremely effective leaders from around the world avoid fatigue can be helpful.
One way that great leaders manage their stress and energy levels, while increasing the productivity and creativity of their team, is through delegation.
While it’s tempting to try to do it all as the leader, you must accept that your energy is not limitless.
Learning to let go and delegate will not only help you to reduce your leadership fatigue, it will also allow your team to put their talents and energy to the best use.
Former President of the United States, Barack Obama is a world leader that practices delegation to get more done and reduce his stress by reducing his workload.
According to one article, as President he had more than 100 assistants that helped to keep him on task, briefed and informed so that his time was free to devote to more critical tasks.
This is a sharp increase in delegation from 75 years ago when President Harry S. Truman needed only 12 assistants to get the job done.
President Obama did not stop at delegation to help him manage stress and keep leadership exhaustion at bay.
In addition to delegation, he managed stress and warded off fatigue by setting aside time at the end of each evening to get a head start on the next day’s work.
He practices good self-care by making time to exercise each day.
Other successful leaders in the public eye use techniques that are similar to what President Obama does to manage stress and energy levels.
In an online article, billionaire media personality, Oprah Winfrey wrote about how important it was to manage her stress and conserve her energy.
She makes healthy food choices, surrounds herself with people who build, rather than sap her energy, and takes time off to recharge and rejuvenate by doing something she enjoys.
As a leader, what are you doing to manage your stress levels and avoid leadership exhaustion?
Are you setting yourself up for success by getting an early start to your day and practicing good self-care habits?
Have you examined your daily schedule and looked for ways to delegate tasks and eliminate or minimise unnecessary decisions that drain you of your time and energy?
While you might have done a good job so far juggling all of your tasks and responsibilities, pushing yourself will only get you so far.
You might be a good manager, but you will never be a great leader unless you take the time to create the support structure that you need to help you manage your stress and ward off fatigue.
If you truly want to succeed and excel at leadership, you will need to take a moment to stop and take a critical look at your daily life.
You will need to make decisions about how it is organised, and who and what you allow into your life and what you devote your time to.
You will need to do this in order to achieve your goals and dreams.
*Sonia McDonald is the Chief Executive and founder of Brisbane-based LeadershipHQ and McDonald Inc. She can be contacted at soniamcdonald.com.au
This article first appeared on LinkedIn.
