Written by: Kat Niewiadomska, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You all know this person who was a star employee, worked brilliantly, produced endlessly, and managed to burn through deliverables, projects and assignment like they were driven by the purest octane out there. Then one day, poof, they submit their resignation, and they’re gone.
High performers burn out in very different ways than other people. They don’t slowly fizzle out like a match, they explode and disappear like a firework. Nine times out of ten it’s because their leadership made assumptions that weren’t true, had expectations that weren’t realistic and exhibited behavior that simply was discouraging.
If you’re in a leadership position, here are five unwitting ways you may be burning out your best people:
You expect more of them than of their peers and colleagues because you know they can produce.
You don’t provide specific and detailed feedback to them because you know they are resourceful and intelligent. You’re helping those who need it.
You withhold praise and acknowledgment because they are confident and know how good they are.
You consistently hand them the most difficult challenges because you depend on them to do the hard things.
You focus conversations and discussions strictly on work and small talk because you assume they are efficient and want to get back to work.
Remember, high performers give their all to a job and want to do their best no matter what. They will keep saying yes to the added responsibility until they break. The constant drive to produce and the willingness to give up activities that help them recover is of course on the employee. They need to prioritize self-care. As their leader, it’s your job to help them learn how to manage their energy spend by getting to know them and coaching them to recognize where they are on the sizzle spectrum; the blaze of motivation or the smolder of burnout? Time and time again, the best people leave because they are managed poorly, not because they don’t like the work or because they’re not paid enough. If your best people are willing to make the effort to hunt for a new job, interview endlessly and start over in a new place, it’s because that’s less painful that staying where they are, being managed by you.
With some employees, your job is to keep your foot on the gas. With high performers, your job is to keep your eyes open and hit the brakes as often as needed.
Kat Niewiadomska, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kat Niewiadomska, PhD is an award winning executive, leadership and life coach helping high performing women achieve the goals that bring them the most purpose, passion and prosperity. She is also a mind-body skills practitioner and an award winning author and artist, helping others step fully into their power holistically.
Kat has always been curious about people and turned an Engineering Master’s degree at MIT into a research dissertation on how humans learn and while she worked on her PhD in Environmental Science she wrote a book that was a finalist in the international book awards.
When she realized that her education didn’t fit with her values, she made the leap from working with underwater robots and writing software to working with people and writing creatively. Watch her TEDx talk on The Power of Distraction to find out how.
As a coach, Kat helps high performers redesign their lives, unlock their creativity and become the heroes of their own story. She is a mother of three and believes that success in life is having freedom, love and creativity.
