For example, I had an executive client named Steve (name changed to protect identity) who I had worked with for some time. He had not used a coach and wanted to see if I would add value to his business. Steve worked in an office where he did not feel supported by the regional executive and wasn’t sure what he really wanted with the outcome of executive coaching. We started with Steve sharing his experiences as a financial advisor and the pressures to perform on a daily basis. He was in this business for over twenty years at the time when he came on as my client. Due to the fluctuating markets, I noticed Steve’s good and bad days were dependent on how the financial market was doing for the day. If the stock market was up, it was a good day for him. If the market was down, it was a bad day for him. He confided that he was feeling burned out with his job. I asked him if he could envision a day when the markets would not rule his day and asked him what that might look like. At first, it was incomprehensible for him to imagine that could be a part of his world in the financial markets. He was lead to believe that this was just another part of his job. It was expected to be reactive to the markets. I then asked him to share with me those in his business that he respected and why he thought highly of them. We talked about what he felt they did that made them successful. Interestingly, it was that they did not overreact to the markets. He seemed unsure of how these highly successful individuals obtained their nonreactive approach. He started on a journey to interview those that he respected within and around his business. Steve began to reconsider his prior belief that it was standard to react to the fluctuating markets. Also, he envisioned how this new belief would benefit his clients and create a positive outcome. In his area of expertise, he’s often counseled his clients to look at the bigger picture when it came to fluctuations in the stock market. Reminding himself that his own advice was sound advice, he came up with a plan on how to react to the market fluctuations. Therefore, his relationship with his clients became closer as they began to see that he was less reactive and more thoughtful about the bigger picture.
Interestingly, the biggest unexpected change I found was with Steve’s spouse. After working with him for some time, I met his wife at an event. Her first words to me were a heartfelt “thank you.” I was very surprised at her comment, but said little and moved on with the conversation. Later, I asked my client what he thought contributed to her comment and he said in his words
I don’t bring home the work-related stress anymore.
After getting to know the family a bit more, we all concluded that Steve was heading for burnout. Executive coaching gave him the outlet to share his feelings on the business. He was able to leave it behind at the office with the assistance of executive coaching.
In another example, Russ (name changed to protect identity) was referred to me by a friend of his. A close friend had noticed that Russ seemed overwhelmed at times and that his family wasn’t sure on how to help him. He wasn’t sleeping well, he was consistently angry with his boss, and his coworkers were noticing some inconsistencies in his work. His wife and children were reacting to his burnout by staying out of the way when he came home from work. Realizing that he was affecting his family in a negative way caused him to seek assistance.
We started out with several sessions of Russ just sharing what’s been happening at work. He is a hard worker and was very loyal to the firm. He gave it his all every day and he is a key person in the organization. Many around him looked up to him as the go to person when they needed the right answer. When a new CEO came into the firm, they did not agree on many key ideas. Eventually, the CEO began to see Russ as a rival and not as a team player. He became reactionary to most of Russ’s ideas and suggestions. Both thought they were doing what was best for the firm. Unfortunately, they disagreed on the way to get there. It was beginning to have an impact on the firm as a whole and several employees were considering finding other positions outside the firm.
Russ’s loyalty and belief in what the firm did for the community was so strong that he was considering if it would be best for him to leave the organization. He felt that the new CEO was moving the company in the wrong direction. My approach in this case was to spend time listening with very few questions because of the pent-up stress and anxiety. I noticed just by talking about his work environment helped him to get a better perspective. After he shared most of what was going on, I asked him if he ever had a boss similar to the one he had now. Russ said no and he wasn’t sure how to best deal with him. I asked how his boss reacted to his ideas and he noticed that he often was skeptical of them from the start. He realized that his boss was threatened by his popularity amongst other employees. His boss seemed to feel that “ruling with an iron fist” would gain the respect he needed to change the power structure of the organization.
I asked Russ his thoughts regarding his boss. I began to go a bit deeper and through careful questioning, Russ began to realize that the truth was, he really thought he knew better than the CEO and hadn’t realized that how much it was affecting the company. I asked him how it would feel if he were to work side by side with his boss using his strengths. Eventually, Russ’s boss began to see the value of becoming partners with Russ. Together, Russ and his boss could be a very powerful team in helping the company to succeed. A different approach to his boss helped them to move forward that also positively affected other co-workers in the office environment. Russ began to see that he was burned out because of the conflict with his boss. By transitioning his thinking on seeing his boss in a new way, he was able to avoid changing jobs and started enjoying work again.
In closing, by using an executive coach in the early stages of burnout, much of the stress and anxiety associated with burnout can be avoided. By providing a positive work environment and support using professional coaches, a company will be able to maintain valuable executives by providing a favorable work place.
References
Collins, . "Collins Website." . Collinswebsite, 2013. Web. 28 Oct 2013. <http://www.collinsdictionary.com>
Linda, Andrews. "Avoiding HR Burnout." SHRM. HR Magazine , 7/1/2003. Web. 28 Oct 2013. <http://www.shrm.org/Publications/hrmagazine/EditorialContent/Pages/0703covstory.aspx>.
Taylor, Debra . "Executive Burnout Costing Billions ." new.com.au. N.p., 11/02/2012. Web. 28 Oct 2013. <http://www.news.com.au/business/executive-lounge/meltdown-exec-burnout-costing-billions/story-fng3e17m-1226508470134>.
"Employ Burnout, depression costing companies billions." TorontoSun. QMI Agency, 6/19/13. Web. 28 Oct 2013. <http://www.torontosun.com/2013/06/19/employee-burnout-depression-costing-companies-billions-report>.