Dealing with Burnout at Christmas (or Anytime)

Leaders and professionals experience burnout. Dealing with burnout at Christmas can be especially discouraging. The world around you is happy. And you are sapped of emotional energy to enjoy it.

Start here. Ten steps to address burnout.

1. Rule out anything medical. Make sure what you are feeling doesn't have its roots in a physical problem.


2. Know that there is hope. This is not a hopeless situation without solutions. Just know that that is the case.


3. Take responsibility for change. Take ownership for turning this situation around.


4. Face the fear. Change will involve moving into new territory and leaving old. Be very clear about what it involves.


5. Develop a strategy. Clarity rules. Having a plan for letting things go or for adding new ways of working takes a lot of pressure off.


6. Name the one thing. One thing will make the biggest difference. One thing can probably unlock the road block to solutions. Name it clearly.


7. Have support. Don't run solo through this time of life. Have good people with you and behind you. Hire a personal coach if need be.


8. Take significant action. That's exactly what it will take. No playing around the fringes. Do what needs to be done to change what needs to be changed.


9. Know that burnout is not permanent. This will come to an end. Do it on your terms as far as possible.


10. Draw on your faith. God is available 24/7. There is no time you will catch Him off duty. Call out to Him for strength and solutions.

This is a turning moment in your life and work. And that should make Christmas look just a little bit brighter this year. Solutions are possible and with your intentional action are at hand.

Fast Response, the Small Business Entrepreneur's Advantage

The hallmark of a small business entrepreneur is that they can give a fast response.

We all have a sense that corporate and government wheels grind slowly as decision making winds its way through successive layers of bureaucracy. But the small business person can make a decision quickly. Do they? Often yes. But many times no.

Often hanging on to a dream, a method, a boast, an image or a feeling, the small business entrepreneur waits too long to respond quickly to reality and implement needed changes. The result is that they either run out of time or money and suffer the consequences.

Odd, isn't it that these business leaders can make a lightning fast decision and turn their small enterprise in a new direction. They have the ability to change quickly. All they need to do is say the word. But they hesitate.

Hesitation isn't because of outside influences so much as it is because of those internal 'struggles' to hang on to that dream, that way of doing things, the pride that made the boast, the image that has been put out into family and community and the feeling of control that the unfamiliar path would challenge.

Those who run successful small businesses make considered but quick decisions. They don't let internal self-talk and feelings get in the way of taking the actions that are needed to move successfully forward.

Don't wait too long to make needed adjustments. Be honest with yourself about what is holding you back from doing what you know needs to be done. Then decide and move fast.

Running a small business isn't for the faint of heart. But to those who can make the decisions that need to be made, it can be a very successful, lucrative and totally fulfilling enterprise.

The Bible on Leadership and Relationship

I sometimes present on personal effectiveness at conferences and training events. I enjoy doing it, but I will tell you that I am a Bible teacher at heart.

From time to time I am asked to speak to professional groups from the scriptures. Sometimes an entire audience will be made up of leaders who may be spending their day on topics of best practice and professional improvement.

The primary purpose of God’s Word is not to serve as a textbook to teach us about leadership and management. There is a wealth to be learned from the scriptures on those topics, to be sure and I’m happy to teach about it.

The primary purpose of God’s Word is to teach us God’s heart about relationship. God wants an intimate and growing relationship with people, including owners, entrepreneurs, executives and leaders. In giving his Son on the cross, God paid an unimaginable price to have you and me be in a right, intimate and growing relationship with Him. He wants our heart, not our professional curiosity.

If God has our heart, He can influence the way we manage people, advance vision and carry out our own personal work.  His transformative work challenges and changes our attitudes.

Out of understanding how valuable we are to God and how much he loves us and desires to form us and fellowship with us flow all sorts of implications for leaders and leadership.

You don’t have to wait until our paths intersect to hear me speaking about it. Seriously … crack open your own Bible and get reading. But if you haven’t done it for awhile, don’t first go looking for leadership principles. Go looking for relationship. It’s there you will find the heart of God.

Thumbs Up to the Everyday Executive

The everyday executive is the norm. The public image may not match.

It may be that in the public mind there is a skewed image of an executive now days. Since the economic meltdown a year ago the public has only heard about executives milking their companies and their clients for millions,  flying about in their fancy jets and rewarding themselves for getting the public purse to pay for their incompetence.

The public has seen the high and mighty fall from their ponzied perch and they are sick of the image.

But ... there is a much different world out there. It's a world of ordinary men and women who lead businesses and nonprofits, who go to work like everyone else, working hard to make the wheels of business go round or devoting themselves to see that people get services and assistance in times of greatest need.

Not every executive is a greedy man or woman. Yes, they may be paid well compared to many. It goes with the job and it's not right or wrong, good or bad. In the world of business it just is. Not every leader is self-absorbed and ready to sell their soul for money or power. No, the vast majority of men and women, executives and leaders, work from a position of integrity and ethic. They support their family and their community. They put in the hours to make things happen.

Let's give a thumbs up for these men and women who keep significant causes, projects and programs moving forward. These everyday executives are the unsung heroes who stand right alongside the everyday worker ... both significant in their different but necessary roles.

I know whereof I speak. I get to work with the everyday executive ... every day. And I can tell you they are made of the same stuff as you and me. They carry major responsibilities and heavy workloads. Contrary to popular belief, they do care about those who report to them. They care a lot.

So, as you meet the everyday executive today in the parking lot or in the grocery aisle or at the gas pump, nod and say hello. They've probably had one demanding day and they sure could use a smile.