Beth Benatti Kennedy has more than twenty-five years of experience as a leadership coach, resiliency-training expert, and speaker.
As a leadership coach, Beth guides leaders to develop resilience habits to support peak performance, maximise their professional and personal impact, positively influence the people they work with, and build their brand. Her training programs focus on giving employees the tools to stay resilient, make sense of organisation changes, and manage transition while continuing to be productive and engaged. Beth is the author of Career ReCharge: Five Strategies to Boost Resilience and Beat Burnout and the co-author of the best-selling ReThink Resilience: 99 Ways to ReCharge your Life and Career.
Building resilience is essential to prevent burnout.
Not only does it help you effectively manage stress, and recover from challenges, it also reduces the risk of emotional and physical exhaustion, a hallmark of burnout.
In this article, I share four key strategies to build resilience to prevent burnout.
Put your own oxygen mask on first.
When uncertainty or change leads to anxiety or an inability to cope, it may be tempting to first help those you care for, especially if you have a role as an advisor, manager, or team leader. However, it is critically important to first take care of yourself before you can take care of others, in order to support your team with quality guidance and support. This requires you to ensure that you have the necessary fuel for physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Besides ensuring sufficient time for nutrition, sleep, and exercise for physical well-being, asking for help and connecting to people beyond your immediate circle of professional relationships can actively nurture mental and emotional well-being. Reciprocal empathy experienced in connection with others facing similar situations or challenges will not only diffuse the stress but also help identify constructive solutions and enable a refreshed mind so you can more effectively help others for whom you are responsible.
Begin your day with morning intentions.
Positive affirmations can unleash your creativity, open your mind, and energize you for the day. Some people do this when they first wake up; others find it’s easier to do with their first cup of coffee or before an important meeting. Think about what you would like your day to look like and how you want to feel. Examples include “calm and confident,” “patient and focused,” or “energized and strategic.”
Define your professional brand.
You may wonder what defining your professional brand has to do with resilience. My clients tell me that clarifying their brand gives them the energy to be more visible and proactive in their careers.
You have unique strengths and skills that make you stand out, characteristics that go beyond your job title—characteristics like problem-solver, teambuilder, or detail-oriented. Your task is to figure out what they are and communicate them in an authentic way. Your brand should align with having the career reputation you want to have. If someone were talking about you when you were not in the room, what would you like them to say? Try inserting those words in the following: “(Your name) is ________________, ________________, and _______________. That is why I want them involved in this project.”
Set aside approximately 10 percent of your work time for innovation.
You can often feel buried in seemingly endless routine tasks, with no flexibility or freedom to innovate within the scope of your work. The danger of being swallowed up by such repetitive activities is that you lose sight of opportunities that can propel you toward the next frontier.
Once you understand your core working tasks and priorities based on organisational goals and objectives, take time to ask questions and explore how to set aside time for the “above-and-beyond” type of challenge. It is never too bold to inquire about what is on the horizon and what is important for the next three to five years, no matter what your position is. The exact percentages to be allocated to such innovations will vary over time, and should be agreed upon with key stake-holders so that there is not only room for innovation, but also the platform to demonstrate the impact of these innovations. Ultimately, investing time and energy in these activities can rejuvenate your passion for work and help prevent burnout.
To build resilience, put your own oxygen mask on first, begin your day with morning intentions, define your professional brand, and set aside time for innovation. By implementing these strategies, you can proactively address stressors and avoid burnout in the long run.
