Burnt out? Maybe not.
Identifying how you're feeling accurately is the first step to addressing it properly. How do you feel right now?
Many founders are on the verge of feeling burnt out. This is hurting them and sucking up their energy. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent and alleviate burnout and its negative consequences.
We know founders have a certain “fire” inside of them. The source of their relentless energy, determination and enthusiasm. That fire, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, is burning out... It comes up in every conversation and even on panels where people sense authenticity and a safe space.
We are currently conducting research on Founder Burnout*.
As we are making progress with our research, I’d like to share a little bit about burnout and the different profiles and approaches to work. Because the first step of solving any problem is identifying and defining it properly. Perhaps you are not yet burnt out but about to be.
Three Components of Founder Burnout
There are three components of general burnout and below is my interpretation of founders.
Exhaustion: A founder may feel physical and/or emotional exhaustion due to constant pressure, limited resources, and high stakes involved in building and leading a startup. Feeling drained and fatigued, both due to long hours of work without proper breaks and the pressure to constantly be “on” to energize, lead and support others.
Depersonalization & Cynicism: The stress and pressure, not seeing the impact of their efforts cause a founder to become cynical about the work, questioning its significance and value. They also become cynical about the people involved and start to emotionally distance themselves from them, seeing these relationships more transactional than personal, including investors, customers, and even team members. They become cynical of themselves and their abilities too.
Sense of Personal Accomplishment: The nature of the entrepreneurial journey consists of continuous failure and iteration, not knowing the outcomes of one’s efforts and not seeing the results for a long period or at all. This can reduce the founder’s confidence in their abilities for the future as well as their view of their past achievements. Add to that the vision-reality gap and we got a founder who is likely to experience a lower sense of personal accomplishment.
How do you know if you are burnt out yet or not?
Burnout = High Exhaustion + High Depersonalization/Cynicism + Low sense of Personal Accomplishment
In the chart below, you will see all profiles from Engaged to Burnt-out. It’s important to accurately assess what is it that you are feeling so you can address it properly.
Quick Tips for the Profiles
Engaged > Keep doing what you’re doing! (And please share your practices and tips)
Ineffective > Take a moment to reflect on what you have achieved so far and the impact you made in the last year or so. Acknowledge the people who are on this journey with you, who believe in and support you and celebrate the progress you made together.
Overextended > I know you are going to say you don’t have time for both so take your pick: either start offloading some of your work (delegate, delete, delay) or start taking regular breaks. Incorporate regular breaks in your day (15-min walks and proper coffee breaks), throughout the week (unplug, play, walk aimlessly, read fiction, be absolutely lazy) and of course the year.
Disengaged > Well, it’s not great if you are doubting the significance and the impact of your work. Talk to customers, talk to employees, and listen to the impact your work (product, service, experience) had on their lives. Reflect on the moments where you felt you were on the right track, how did you feel, and remind yourself of your vision and why that’s important.
Overwhelmed > Apparently, this is how a lot of founders feel right now. So, you still believe you got this, you still feel excited when you contribute to the organization and there’s a lot more in you to give, but why should you? What does it matter anyway at this point, right? Nothing matters, you are tired. In fact, you are exhausted. Physically and mentally drained. First, pause! Take one deep and one short inhale in through the nose and release it all out with a sigh through the mouth. (This is called the physiological sigh that hopefully now got your mind-body in a better state.) Take a look at the practices in the profiles above. Reconnect with people and your vision for this company.
Burnt-out > Hello burnout my old friend! You’re exhausted, nothing matters, nobody cares, you can’t do anything anyways, you are letting everyone down. There is no quick tip for burnout. A very simple first step toward firing back up is by pausing, reflecting and connecting. Do you have a journal or just a piece of paper and pen? Here is a prompt to pause, reflect and connect: Think about the people who supported you and believed in you on this journey and in your life. Remember your interactions with them, what would they say to you in this moment? Please reach out to one or more of these people and muster up the courage to share with them what you’re feeling. Misery may love company but burnout hates it.
Founders Broke the Tool
What we have found so far in our research is that, founders are reporting a combination that is not a profile in the original Maslach Burnout Inventory tool that we are using. Of course, being disruptors and outliers they had to break this tool too. We appreciate you!
For now, we are calling this new combination: Overwhelmed. This is a founder who is physically and emotionally exhausted, who has become cynical about the work and it’s significance but somehow they still report a high sense of personal accomplishment. This is not to say they are being overly confident in their abilities, but it seems that they still try to do their best and contribute to the success of the company even when they doubt the significance of all of this. To say this is a confusing state to lead in would be an understatement.
Founder Burnout is such a deep and broad concept that I’ll leave this here for now and continue with our research. If you know a founder please share this 5-minute Survey to help our research.
If you are a founder, please be proud of yourself and celebrate your accomplishments, your progress and your impact so far. It takes a lot of courage, and energy, to go on such an unpredictable journey to build a different, better future for all of us.
Please join the conversation and share your experiences with us.