Chapel Hill, NC

Thursday, June 11, 2009

 The risk of manager burn-out is at an all-time high. There has been little reward in being in a leadership role lately; top executives have been under attack for poor-performance and high-compensation and middle-managers have been left to execute lay-offs and pick up the remaining pieces. Between navigating through so much uncertainty and dealing with everyone else's emergencies, managers have been spending no time on themselves.

"Most managers have been working around the clock, dealing with serious work-related issues, while worrying about their own personal situation or perhaps a family member's or close friend's, and the stress can be enormous," confirms Nancy McGuire, president of McGuire Consulting Group, who has 20 years experience in leading and consulting with corporations. "The stress can affect their management performance. Manager's interpersonal skills and self-control are especially likely to suffer. They may be perceived as exceedingly critical and demanding or prone to moodiness and angry out-bursts. These behaviors can negatively impact their working relationships and can derail their future success."

McGuire recommends that now is the time for managers to put their own needs back on the priority list. "We need our good managers to keep leading. They can't do that if they fall of the management track." She recommends the following six steps:

1. Re-channel your moods into something constructive: It isn't realistic to continually repress emotions and reactions to a high-stress environment. It is constructive, however, to find ways of channeling that energy into positive action. Fear and anxiety can be used to create urgency and creativity (provided that the anxiety isn't overwhelming). Necessity is the mother of invention -- capitalize on this.

2. Eliminate the energy vampires: You know who they are; they are the negative people in your circle of friends who manage to suck the joy out of every situation. They see the downside to everything. You may not be able to eliminate all of these negative people from your life, but for every one "negative" person in your circle of friends, try to have four "positive." These positive people tend to see the "possibilities" instead of the "adversity." They should also be people who balance reality with empathy and who can offer pragmatic ideas for solutions. Stick with the people who say "let's find a way to do it" instead of those who say "it can't be done." The energy vampires will just drain you of your energy.

3. Get selfish with your time: Re-institute (or create for the first time) time limits on how much you're going to work. I know this is almost sacrilege to consider, particularly in an environment where every position may be a candidate for elimination. But chances are you've been working many more hours recently. This is a good time to start cutting back a little. Even if it's only one day a week, find a reason why you HAVE to leave the office on time. Start making it a habit. A physically and mentally well-rested person is more productive than one who keeps "working" even when emotionally drained and physically exhausted. "Hours" are not the same as "productive hours."

4. Move restorative activities to the TOP OF YOUR PRIORITY LIST: Now that you're making time for yourself, restoration can be a priority once again. Read fiction, golf, hike, play a musical instrument -- you name it. Whatever activity allows you to feel re-energized, ensure that it is on the top of your to-do list. Look back at the last few months. Have you stopped doing these activities? Now is the time to start doing them again.

5. Get off your chair and exercise: I mean this literally. You don't have to start training for a triathlon. But many of you are doing work where you don't get up from your chair for hours at a stretch. The human body isn't made for that. (Ever sit in an airplane seat for 3 hours?) Research shows that endorphins are released when we exercise, and with high endorphin levels, we feel fewer negative effects from stress. So get out and walk for at least 20 minutes. During these stressful times, we can use all the endorphins we can get (naturally, of course)!

6. Develop yourself: Getting away from the office for self-improvement can help rejuvenate your mind. It can also bring a fresh perspective to a problem you face. It could help you succeed in your current job or envision a future opportunity. Maybe it's a course on giving better presentations or a course on how to drive innovation. Anything to get you using a different set of skills that are currently weak from under-use.

McGuire concludes: "Give yourself permission to be a little selfish right now. You've probably been giving a lot to others over the past months and will likely need to give more as long as times remain uncertain. Race-horses are given time to eat, sleep, and be pampered so that they perform their best on the track. Treat yourself the same."

Nancy McGuire

President

McGuire Consulting Group, Inc

Chapel Hill, NC

919-967-3446

919 942 7202