When it happened to me I had no idea what burnout was.
I was a pretty resilient senior leader or so I thought who 'bounced back and kept going'. I was a single mum and simply had to carry on; there was no option.
Burnout I discovered did not happen overnight it happened over many years. My first physical experience was 4 years before I was clinically diagnosed. I've since learnt that burnout is not extreme executive stress and resilience is not the ability to 'bounce back', that's persistence! To come back from burnout takes determination, self-belief and the support of others.
Burnout is described as an 'occupational phenomenon' by the WHO, however in my experience it does not appear in isolation. My research has shown that usually there are other factors at play notably imposter syndrome , perfectionism , lack of self-belief and self worth and menopause in women et al. I also found that the lack of a support network at work and at home was also likely to be a major factor.
When it happened to me I eventually went to see a specialist who diagnosed 'burnout' to which I responded "what's that?" I truly felt that a couple of weeks off work and I'd be 'right as rain', already a big acknowledgement, as in my 35 year career history I'd never been signed off sick.
How Burnout Presents
My symptoms were cognitive, high expectations of myself and huge responsibilities for family members, massive anxieties over the tiniest of events and the belief that I wasn't achieving expectations at work - for which there was simply no evidence, and physical - chest pains, difficulty to get my breath, lack of energy and exhaustion most of the time and panic attacks. I felt like a leaky bucket, and no matter what I did I was continually drained of energy.
For the first year during burnout I was exhausted, unable to 'bounce back' and living in a state of major anxiety most of the time. Slowly, gradually, I managed to keep going. I completed my studies at Henley Business School an MSc in Coaching and Behavioural Change in a state of high anxiety. I returned to work in my role as a senior leader in sustainability in a different sector and slowly but surely my self-belief returned as did my cognitive memory which had taken a massive blow.
So why am I sharing this story?
Now, I support other senior leaders with executive coaching who believe 'things have to change' but need to be able to explore their experience and what they may be able to do about it.
If you believe these symptoms resonate with you and you, or members of your team, might be experiencing the onset of burnout then reach out and connect with those who can help.
Coaching alone may not be the answer but it may be part of the solution, particularly when it comes to recognising that what you're experiencing is real and help is out there.
About the Author | LYNDA SIMMONS - AQUULA MANAGING DIRECTOR
AQUULA is a global executive leadership and systemic teams’ development agency. We specialise in C-suite, board, senior leadership, systemic team coaching and group dynamics with full consideration given to the wider organisational ecosystem.
Our interventions are evidence-based, using researched methods from leading institutional academics, business schools and coaching bodies on neuroscience, systems psychodynamics, behavioural change and humanistic psychology, personality profile assessments and team 360 diagnostics.
We bring personal leadership experience from international commercial and purpose-led organisations with a focus on delivering excellence and net positive impact on the world’s societies and their ecological footprint.
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