The announcement recently that Jacinda Ardern was resigning as Prime Minister for New Zealand has been met with both positive and negative responses.
Citing her reasons for resigning as being due to having no fuel left in her tank, some of the online responses to this have been disappointing. Like with any politician, some people love her, and some people hate her, but some of what has been said would not have been said if she was a man.
This highlights the systemic issues that still exist around gender stereotypes. Due to public outcry, as pointed out by Snopes, one news headline by a major media company that illustrates this, has been changed from ‘Jacinda Ardern resigns: Can women really have it all?’ to ‘Jacinda Ardern resigns: Departure reveals unique pressures on PM’.
When Boris Johnson the former Prime Minister for the UK resigned last year there were no such comments mentioned about whether he can have it all. Even though he is the father of young children. Not only do women leaders have the pressures of demanding roles and other commitments, but they also have to contend with the systemic gender biases that exist that add additional pressure.
Whatever your political persuasion or your views about Jacinda Ardern, burnout is on the rise and Future Forum’s most recent survey shows that women and younger workers are more likely to report it.
As leaders, there are lessons that you can take from Jacinda Ardern’s resignation to avoid experiencing burning out yourself.
Step off the treadmill
The fast paced, busyiness of your job, alongside your life outside of work may be very demanding work life. You may find that it feels as if you are on a treadmill, unable to get off. When you are operating in this way, it may not give you the headspace to think logically and rationally.
Continuing like this will only make you stressed, and if you continue to do so, could eventually lead to burnout so make sure you step off the treadmill
Have regular check-ins with yourself
It's important that you regularly check in with yourself and assess your overall well-being. It can be easy to go from back-to-back meetings, to other work pressures without giving yourself that space that is needed for you to recharge. As introverts, many of your work activities may place you in environments that are overstimulating.
Make regular time to take a step back, reflect and check in with yourself. Whether it is first thing in the morning, whether it is last thing at night, or wherever it is in the middle of the day, just pause for a moment. Reflect on how things have been, how things are going, what you're going to be focusing on next, and how you will do this.
Schedule time in your calendar on a consistent basis to have thinking and planning time and protect that time like you would any other appointment. You may think that you don't have the time to do so, but as Jacinda Ardern found, if your tank is not full, you can't perform at the level that is required.
Get the right support
Many women do not like to ask for help. They think it will be viewed as a sign of weakness, or that they are unable to cope. Over the years I have had many a client who has told me that prior to getting the support they needed, they were of the view that asking for help would make people think of them as less capable.
There is nothing wrong with asking for help if it is needed. Identifying the right type of support that you need and who will provide it means that you can offload some of the ‘burdens’ that you are carrying. Also, develop a support network of trusted individuals.
Manage your energy levels
Develop self-awareness and become aware of what energises you and what depletes your energy. A lot of the activities that you carry out as a leader may involve energy draining activities. Or you may think that you need to put on an extroverted persona (known as counter-dispositional behaviour) because that is expected of you and is what is required.
The problem with this is that putting on a persona can be draining and stressful and could eventually take its toll.
Being self-aware enables you to see when your energy is depleted and that you need to take action before your tank is empty.
Know when to step away
Like Jacinda Ardern, knowing when to step away is important for your overall well-being. If things get to the stage where it is affecting you mentally and emotionally, and you are struggling to cope, get support.
If the situation cannot change or you cannot change things, consider whether you should do like Jacinda Ardern and walk away.
What are you doing to practice self-care so that you don’t end up burning out?
First published on LinkedIn.
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