Avoid Manager Burnout: Adjust Your Mask before helping Others

Anybody who has flown on a commercial airline has heard this advice about what to do if something begins to go wrong and all hell breaks loose on an airplane.

Managers should post this warning on their desks – or on a yellow sticky note on the corner of their computer monitor: Adjust Your Mask Before Helping Others.

The stress of managing teams causes burnout and drives good managers from their jobs. A lot of stress comes from the turbulent air of today’s business world:

• Rough air – constantly changing goals and demands from senior leadership or investors.

• Headwinds – Economic challenges, labor shortages

• Loss of altitude – Loss of funding, staff turnover

You get the idea. Managing is like flying on an airplane where upper management is in the cockpit with the door locked. Every once in a while — usually after something bad happens — they’ll make an announcement:

“Ladies and gentlemen, you may have umm noticed the dramatic loss of altitude as investors pummeled our stock today. No need to panic. Because of our loss of valuation, we won’t be serving drinks or snacks. Oh, and we turned off the WiFi to save more money. Please stay in your seats and continue to work.”

The result is that managers feel stressed and trapped. They also feel responsible for the people in the seats around them. 

So what can you do to survive the turmoil? 

The best way to manage stress and to be prepared to help your colleagues is to follow the advice from the safety briefing. Take care of yourself so you can help others.

It isn’t a matter of being self-centered or selfish. It is a matter of taking care of your mental and physical health so you can take care of your team members. Here is my recipe: 

1. Rest is a weapon – Get enough sleep. It helps you think more clearly and allows you to deal with unexpected stress.
2. Build Guardrails – Block time on the calendar to work on your top priorities. Do the same thing for important family events. For example, I never travel on my wife’s or my kids’ birthdays.
3. Exercise – This is the secret sauce for me. I work out first thing in the morning. Maybe you like to do that at lunch or after work. It doesn’t matter. Make that YOUR time. Do not let anyone take if from you.

These things are like the oxygen mask on the airplane. You’ve got to take care of yourself before you take care of others.

Remember, if your company or your manager won’t give you the time to take care of yourself, there are 6 exits on this airplane and the nearest one may be behind you.

In the meantime, pull the mask over your nose and mouth and breathe normally.