How do you prevent burnout at Crunchtime?

Thanks Nexttech Learning for pointing me to this great study of how great Army leaders prevent burnout during Crunchtime !

And we all know how “Crunch Episodes” often shapes your organisations culture -  results and behaviours during these times dwarfs the effects of other, “steady” times .

It’s well known that “cadets” and “professionals” of Firms, Consultancies and Armies work gruelling hours required in the final weeks before deadlines.

 “we call this Crunch Time”

If the success of the project comes at the cost of your teams mental or physical health and burn out -  is it worth it?

What is burnout?

Burnout is a bone tired , soul tired, heart tired kind of exhaustion 

Flavio Serapiao Andrew Hill and Boris Groysberg write a great article in the HBR about a research study identifying three interconnected behaviours that characterise effective leaders in the Army (link below) .

1. Be approachable and open,
2. Know the system and mission. 
3. Managing the risk between 1 and 2 - is the X factor that makes a good leader a great leader!!

1. What is Approachable and Open?

• Showing that you care - being empathetic
• Minimizing barriers between the leader and the team.
• Let the team know (through words and actions) that their voices matter.
• Effective listening 
• Be open to new ideas

2. Knowing the system and mission

• Be Crystal clear of the Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
• Understand the operations and tasks that are essential to mission success.
• Be technically competent to a high standard. 
• Know what they don’t know - and be able to fill the gaps 
• Get out to see what’s happening on the “factory floor”
• Understand the costs and consequences of operational decisions.
• Being able to see the big picture 

3. Balancing the risks between the mission and the people. 

A leader who never takes risks will never achieve victory - however if he is reckless with the lives under his or her command it will diminished effectiveness, decreased morale and discipline, and a higher risk of outright disobedience…… and potentially create “burnout”

How do you manage this risk and get your team to outperform at Crunch Time and more importantly prevent “Burnout”?

This is where the rubber hits the road, and what makes a good leader a great leader!!

Here are some cool tips

Before Crunchtime

1. Build loyalty and trust - invest in your people , building  commitment, loyalty, and ownership 
2. Align the team with the mission, vision and values . Look after the people - they will look after the mission 
3. Have activities to maintain morale and confidence during crunch. 
4. Have open lines of communication so that team members could signal problems.
5. Set clear goals, so teams can understand the bigger picture when a mission involves a significant potential sacrifice, creating shared understanding. 
6. Be prepared to put the team before their personal interest
7. Be obsessed with your team’s professional development. Continually upskill and reskill your team
8. Make mental health a priority. Make it clear that seeking mental health support is not a sign of weakness.

During Crunchtime

1. Set aggressive but achievable goals. Learn from your team’s failures, and provide feedback to address their development gaps.
2. Share the burden and be a part in the team’s sacrifice.
3. Keep open lines of communication. Be transparent and keep them updated 
4. Don’t put your personal interests over the team’s.

A leader’s ability to balance the risks of mission and to people is key to success

Here is the link to the article 

https://hbr-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/hbr.org/amp/2021/09/managing-through-crunch-time-without-burning-out-your-team