How to Lead When Exhausted

McKinsey summed it up: “The world is undergoing increasingly rapid, unpredictable, and unprecedented change” — how’s that make you feel if you’re exhausted already?

Did that just wear you out reading it?

The word “resilience” has to be one of the most over-used words published or uttered in the past 12-plus months. It’s served up as a solution to just about everything.

At least McKinsey acknowledges this. “’Develop resilience’ is easy to say, but hard to define, and yet harder to do.”

Why? Because a lot of us are exhausted, especially those in a leadership role, which basically means all of us.

The good news is that you can lead positively with energy, even if you’re feeling depleted or fatigued (physically and/or emotionally).

Take stock

If you want your team, your company, your cause to succeed, you will be leading, even if you are exhausted.

Feel like you’ve been in combat? That’s because you have.

During the past two years of COVID-19 variants, economic rollercoasters, and more, we’ve all either been an active warfighter or collateral damage, both of which take their tolls.

The pre-recession ice was crunching under our feet even before any of this began. Then, everybody took a rake in the face. And then, whether we wanted it or not, we all became veterans of change management.

And what do change management experts warn about? Too much change in too short a time, which produces initiative-defeating “change fatigue.”

The expensively and massively produced “we’re all in this together” messaging quickly devolved to sardonic humor (see one of many YouTube parodies here and here). Despite well-meaning intentions, people wondered if they were watching, listening or reading spots designed by algorithms.

So as a leader, they look to you.

What do you do?

Leadership makes a difference

Regardless of how old it is or how many times it’s quoted, the phrase “leaders lead by example” is still true. “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it,” once said legendary leader Winston Churchill.

Positive, emphatic leadership gives people hope. Why? Because for whatever reason, expressed leadership qualities are contagious.

That goes both ways. If you’re sharing negative energy, resentfully reflecting bad things, your whole team can catch that.

But if you make a choice – even if it’s internally forced – to go the other way and smile and put an empathic  smile on your face and in your voice, there’s a truckload of research that says you’ll change the mood – both in yourself and of those around you.

Want proof? Google the phrase “smiling can make you happy” (among others, you’ll probably find this link and this link and several more).

Practice empathy

A few years ago, the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic found out just how powerful empathy is, specially when times are tough. They found out that too often just a handful of seconds lapsed between when a doctor asked “what brings you here today?” and the doctor interrupting and cutting short the patient’s answer (little or no emphatic listening). So, they designed and instituted sweeping cultural change – even among those who drug their feet – throughout their physicians, medical professionals and staff. The positive uplift was nearly miraculous. If you haven’t already, watch this four-minute video.

Empathy builds critical positive human connections. The Cleveland Clinic leadership asks: “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” If someone’s productivity is down, make a positive effort to understand how they may feel and be compassionate. Everyone has been impacted. Some people need permission to get over it.

Empathy is a powerful gift.

Don’t feel like being positive or empathic? Act your way into it. Ask how people are going. Go an extra step and compliment/recognize them genuinely on something they’ve achieved.

Take care of yourself

Not in a good place emotionally or physically ? Recognize that it’s hard to practice positive leadership when resources are depleted. As the saying goes, you can’t fill up somebody else’s cup if yours is empty.

Coming to work rested and ready to go is optimal. But when one is stressed out, getting good sleep can be tough – coming to work tired makes things harder.

The good news is that moderate exercise – simply walking at a reasonably brisk pace for a total of at least 90 minutes a week – can make an enormous difference.

What else do you like to do? Building in rejuvenating down-time is critically important, even though it can be tough to do.

Over the past 24 months, many people found adopting mindfulness techniques – especially focused breathing exercises – to be of high value. Might be worth a look.

On to Victory

Words are powerful. Very powerful. Want an example from long ago? Shakespeare caught the vision of Henry V arousing his exhausted troops to successfully win victory in the face of daunting odds. Here’s an excerpt of this legendary inspiring passage:

“This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here…
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

Henry V, Act IV, Scene III (read the entire inspiring speech here)

Change your focus

Being honest with yourself, developing awareness of what you personally are going through and accepting where you are without judgment, can reap serious positive benefits.

Been too negative among your team or co-workers? Call yourself out. Showing a little vulnerability makes you believable, especially if it demonstrates that you’re accepting responsibility.

Leaders are often leaders long before they receive a formal title. The truth? People value positive leadership, and you can provide it. When you demonstrate resilience, your company will be resilient. Intentionally fill your leadership cup – even when you don’t feel like it – and fill the depleted cups of those you lead.

By Michael Snyder, MEK.