A dysfunctional work environment, if left unchecked, can deteriorate to the point of employee burnout. Burnout is a familiar term these days: it's the physical or emotional exhaustion that results from long-term stress or frustration. Chronic fatigue is a major symptom of burnout: one feels physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. Behaviorally, the burnout worker becomes cynical, indifferent and increasingly ineffective in the job.
According to Herbert J. Freudenberger, the New York psychologist who coined the term in 1972, burnout describes a specific condition. It is an emotional state characterized by an overwhelming and enduring feeling of exhaustion or aggravation. Burnout is a condition that develops gradually as the person's creativity and effectiveness erode into fatigue, skepticism and an inability to function productively.
Traditionally, the worker is the one who gets the blame but research shows that the cause of burnout lies mainly in current economic trends, the use of technology and management philosophy within organizations. As managers become de-energized and lose confidence in their abilities, these emotions are transferred to employees. Employee engagement and long-term improvements in corporate performance can't be accomplished with a burned out, low energy and low confidence leadership team.
Leaders can turnaround a failing work environment by helping employees move from the language of "blame" to the language of "personal responsibility.” The first step is to instill confidence in the employee’s ability to meet and overcome workplace challenges. Experience tells us that confidence precedes competence. A person must first believe they can succeed by developing a winning attitude reinforced by skill-building training.
As each person's talents are built into strengths and then merged with others in the team, a positive energy emerges. This energy force builds and reinforces each individual's confidence to create a critical mass which is often referred to as "momentum" or "being in the zone." It is the leader's job to keep the momentum going; so as not to lose the positive energy flow.
How this engagement process works on the basketball court
Basketball is an intricate, high-speed game filled with split-second, spontaneous decisions. But that spontaneity is possible only when everyone first engages in hours of highly repetitive and structured practice and agrees to play a carefully defined role on the court.
Basketball coaches, military commanders and business leaders know that practice of the rules of engagement coupled with split-second decisions in execution by their team can make the difference between winning and losing.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his bestseller, "blink" (Little Brown), tells us that leaders know that if you can create the right framework (by everyone knowing the rules and practicing them), when it comes time to perform, your players will engage in fluid, effortless, spur-of-the-moment dialogue and action. The leader provides the overall guidance and intent to the team, coaches them in mastering tools and general techniques through practice and then allows them to use their own initiative and be innovative as they move forward.
Placing a lot of trust in your team has an overwhelming advantage
Allowing people to operate without having to explain themselves within the rules of engagement, focuses their energy and opens the possibility for extraordinary leaps of insight and instinct in decision-making. When the team is "in the flow," split-second decisions are unconscious flashes of insight that drive extraordinary performance on the basketball court, battlefield or shop floor.
It is the leader's job to keep the momentum going; so as not to lose the flow. Insight is not a light bulb that goes off inside our heads. It is a flickering candle that can easily be snuffed out by external means. Know that these kinds of fluid, intuitive, nonverbal experiences are vulnerable...and...your players/employees can drop out of the "zone" or "flow" when you, as the leader, start to become reflective about this rapid cognition process.
A checklist of ten questions to help you evaluate how well your team is building a winning attitude and the practiced ability to succeed
1. As the coach of your team, how much have you spent in the past year on personal development to improve your management and leadership skills?
2. List what time and money was spent per employee over the last year in training and development activities to build on workplace talents.
3. Does each manager have a good relationship with each direct report and know what that person needs to move to the next level in the firm?
4. Does each employee have a clear understanding of what they can do to increase their value to the company?
5. In the last six months, has someone in the company talked to each employee about their progress in building skills and knowledge?
6. During the past year, how many employees believe they had an opportunity at work to learn and grow?
7. How many employees would say that their opinions at work count?
8. How many employees know the vision or purpose of the company? Of those who know, how many consider their job important in accomplishing this vision or purpose?
9. How many employees would say that they have a best friend at work?
10. Who would the employee go to with a suggestion, complaint or concern at work?
