As a new leader or business owner, you might finally be at the point in your life where you’ve allowed yourself to build the team you always wanted. You’re no longer alone. Maybe you’ve hired some people or maybe you’ve moved into a leadership position and you have direct reports. 

With team-building comes the promise of less hard work and less of the daily grind. 

But you might have discovered that even with the dream team behind you, you’re still burnt out. It’s just not working. It’s not the dream you planned for in the first place. 

Let’s talk about three reasons why you might still be experiencing burnout in your leadership role. 

1. Are You Leading or Managing? 

When I work with clients who are having this burnout experience, I ask them to notice whether they are leading their team or managing their team. 

Is there a difference between those two definitions?  

I would assert that there is. Managers need to say on top of people. Managers need to be the linchpin in operations. There’s a power dynamic, with managers, which includes needing to know everything that’s going on and constantly following up with people to make sure their tasks are happening. 

You see this in traditional project management roles. 

I want to be clear that being a manager isn’t a bad thing. But I do think it requires you to be “in the field” more directly than someone who is a leader. 

I define a leader as someone who is willing to not be indispensable. They are actually willing to train a team to bring out the best in each person and allow them to be self-starters. 

Of course, you still want to check in on your team, because what they’re working on is probably for you, but they have a level of ownership and responsibility to get the job done. They don’t need you up their asses all the time to follow up with their work. 

So, start with this question: Are you being a manager with your team or are you being a leader? 

2. Look at Your Self-Sabotage Patterns

If you’re feeling burnt out, the second place to look (and I hate to break it to you) is within. You likely have some type of self-sabotage patterns when it comes to leading a team – especially if this is the first team you’ve ever led. 

But even if you’re a seasoned pro who has worked with teams for 20-30 years, your self-sabotage patterns still exist. 

These look different for everyone, which is why I really recommend taking my free Leadership Gremlin quiz. I’ve uncovered the four different types of “gremlins” that show up in leadership that can help you start identifying and dealing with those patterns.

Here are a couple of examples.

1. You might be someone who hires a team but then doesn’t actually delegate anything. That’s your self-sabotage. 

2. On the flip side, you might hire a team and then be a people pleaser. Your version of self-sabotage is that you don't follow up with people enough, you're willing to let things slide, or you're scared to ask for what you need. 

3. Or maybe you’re the type of leader who is in total tyrant mode. You belittle people, you micromanage people, and then you don't actually give them the space to get things done. You’re self-sabotaging your results, in this scenario.

So, if you're burnt out, consider the self-sabotage patterns that you’re bringing to your team that are causing you to feel burnt out. 

3. Have You Hired the Right People?

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Christina, I’ve done this, I’ve done that. I’m way ahead of you. I know my leadership gremlin and I know how to be a leader vs. a manager. And I’m still feeling burnt out.”

Now, there’s the possibility that you haven't actually hired the right people, or you're not leaning on your people in the right way. 

In other words, you haven't delegated and outsourced appropriately to maximize their inherent skills and talents. 

And if you find yourself in that camp, then it brings me to a new partnership that I’m so excited about.

I am thrilled to announce that I’m teaming up with Melissa Swink of Melissa Swink & Co. She’s a total badass and a time and productivity expert. I always joke that she's like the consultant “yin” into my coaching “yang” because where Melissa really shines and expresses her genius is in supporting entrepreneurs – especially female entrepreneurs – in knowing and figuring out what you should be doing yourself in your business versus what you should be outsourcing, as well as who you should be hiring and where you can find them. 

We’re teaming up on Wednesday, April 28 at 1:00 p.m. EST. to offer a free lunchtime workshop: “The “D” Word That’s Holding You Back – Delegation.” 

Melissa is bringing her expertise around knowing how to outsource and I'm going to bring my own knowledge in being a little more specific and identifying your self-sabotage patterns that may be impacting who it is you are and aren't hiring. It’s going to be an amazing hour of advice, experience, and war stories. Feel free to bring your questions – registration is open now at this link. 

If you’ve felt like the burnt-out leader that I’ve described in this video, make some time to be there.

Missed the workshop?

I’d still love to discuss delegation with you. Click here to set-up a complimentary, 60-minute discovery session with me. We will use that time to explore what your needs are, sample my coaching style, and most importantly see if we have great working chemistry together.