Managing Burnout in the Great Recession

By Carmen Voilleque, author of Evolutionaries: Transformational Leadership

Carmen will be presenting ‘Evolutionary Entrepreneurs: Maximize Your Change-Readiness, Innovation & Development’ on Monday, February 27th 9am-12pm, SIGN UP HERE

Recessions can be a good thing – they force us to “cut the fat” in our budgets, hone our focus on the most important business goals, and re-evaluate what matters most in our lives. It is no surprise then we witness a rebirth of entrepreneurship during recessions.  As traditional job options shrink and as a collective we become more aware of what we really want to achieve, many people take the risk they would otherwise avoid – pursuing their dream.

But along with this great pursuit comes a downside – burnout, anxiety and stress.  We ask ourselves: “What have I done?” “What was I thinking?” and our friends and loved ones question our risk, wondering if we can weather the storm of building something new.

Why Stress About Stress?

Robert Sopolsky, PhD is the leading authority on the study of Stress and its impact on the human body, and the Chair of Neuroscience at Stanford University. In his book, “Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers” he explains why humans suffer more severely from stress than any other species on Earth.

The problem, he tells us, is our human capacity to worry.  “If you are a zebra running for your life, or a lion sprinting for your meal, your body’s physiological response mechanisms are superbly adapted for dealing with such short-term physical emergencies. But when we consider ourselves and our human propensity to worry, we see the critical difference between us and the zebra or the lion.”

In other words, we are capable of “anticipatory” stress – or the unique ability to worry about things that might happen well in advance of the possible occurrence.  Unfortunately, just like the lion or the zebra, we have a similar response to all types of stress – no matter how big or how small. Our nervous system responds to making an upcoming tax payment the same way it responds to being chase by a lion. What’s more, this physiological response happens when we worry about anticipated events, regardless of how they eventually come to pass.

So, while our bodies are designed to respond to stress in the moment, giving us the short spurts of energy we need to outrun, say, a lion, instead we prolong this same level of stress over months or even years. And this is bad.  Because when we prolong our very simplistic stress responses we make ourselves sick. Just some of the damage we can do includes:

Slowing our metabolism

Raising our blood pressure

Bursting white blood cells

Poor digestion

Decreased sex drive

Brain damage

Change Your Response

So, the real question is… how can we change the way we perceive our situation?

First, we need to listen to our bodies and recognize what we feel.  In my line of work, people often come and ask me if I can help with their public speaking skills.  They inevitably say the same thing: “It’s not my content I need help with, the problem is that I get nervous – I am afraid.”  I can tell you now, that is not the problem. After 20 years of public speaking, I still get nervous.  The nerves will always be there. That’s the way my body tells me that I care, that I think this is important. So the real problem is in how you respond – instead of with paralysis & dread – you view the nerves as a way to fuel your excitement and engagement. You don’t have control over feeling nervous, but you do have control over how you respond.

Avoiding burnout is not about making stress go away.  You are going to feel stress.  Period.  It’s how you respond to stress that counts the most.  The real question is when your body tells you that you need to rest, you need a vacation, you need to rejuvenate…  do you listen? How do you respond?

Know Your Why!

One of the easiest ways to make this shift in perception is to remind ourselves of why we do the work we do. I recently had the pleasure of attending lunch with a nationally respected author.  At the time, I had just finished my book, ‘Evolutionaries: Transformational Leadership’, and met her at a cocktail party where authors gathered. She is a professor at an Ivy League university and closely connected to Washington politics, etc. She is also an international traveler with homes in several countries and from my perspective, simply “way out of my league!”  I was nervous to introduce myself and had only a few seconds to give her my card before she had to leave for another engagement.  I took the risk of e-mailing her for a follow up meeting and she invited me to lunch.  I was thrilled!

When the lunch finally happened, it did not go as I had envisioned.  I wanted to share my book with her and possible build out my network.  Instead she arrived looking tired, stressed and fed up.  It turns out she had a few coffee meetings before lunch and in her words, “everyone wants something!”  She then told me that it was more than that, she woke up that morning and realized that she was experiencing all of the classic signs of “burnout”.  She was no longer passionate about her work, and she was tired of running, running, running.

It amazed me that someone I admired, who seemed to be “living the dream” could feel this way too. I understood in that moment, that no matter who we are, or how successful we may seem, stress and burnout can jump out and grab us when we least expect it. 

Why does this happen?

In Evolutionaries, we talk about the concept of finding your “Why” in life and in work. The concept comes from a process developed by Simon Sinek called the Golden Circle, and it refers to knowing Why you do what you do.

It sounds incredibly simple, but in our experience, most people don’t know their “Why” in life. (Hint: It’s not just making money!) Once you know Why you are pursuing the dream you are pursuing – why you chose this goal, why you want to achieve it, and why it will matter on a larger scale to your family, your community, and your world, you are in a stronger position to fight burnout.

See the Bigger Picture

Once you know your Why, you can become truly Evolutionary – not just in your own business, but in your community and the world. This is your commitment to the “Big Picture” – and when the worst in life brings you down, it is this work – with social collectives that believe in the same cause – that can keep you afloat.

Social collectives are in the DNA of the human race.  We are hardwired to seek a campfire – the people we want to affect, and who most affect us in return.  Our civilization and our values are built on resilient and powerful social collectives. 

When we leave this precious life, this is what will matter the most – how well did we foster our social collectives?  What impact did we have in our communities of choice?  How did we tie people together and build the bridges it takes to make our communities stronger?  If we get to the end and we can say – I did that well – then we have probably had a very good life.

Look at the people around you.  How will you better connect?  How will you strengthen your social collective?  What purpose will you bring?  This is your life’s ultimate pursuit.  It is the opposite of burnout.  It’s your legacy.

An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship

By Jacen Greene, Ames Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship at Portland State University

Jacen will be presenting on Social Entrepreneurship on Monday, February 6th from 6-9pm. Sign up here.

As a preview to my upcoming social entrepreneurship seminar at Mercy Corps NW, covering funding, impact measurement, and resources for social entrepreneurs, I was asked to provide a brief introduction to the concept. Social entrepreneurship has become a major topic in the past few years, seen as a complementary approach to nonprofit, business, and governmental contributions to society (or as a substitute for failures in those areas)—but what is it, exactly?

First, what it isn’t: a business based around social media (like Twitter) or a socially responsible business (like Starbucks).

What is is: any organization that uses business methods to address a social or environmental problem in an innovative way.

Greg Dees, co-founder of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University and a member of the Impact Entrepreneurs advisory board, wrote the definitive definition:

Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector by:
• Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value)
• Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission
• Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning
• Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand
• Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created

In Portland, a vibrant social enterprise sector has recently emerged. New Avenues for Youth, a local nonprofit, owns Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops that provide job training and employment to formerly homeless teens. Fork in the Road Market makes healthy, affordable food available in “food deserts,” neighborhoods without grocery stores. Sustainable Harvest, an importer of organic and Fair Trade coffee, develops iPad apps for use by coffee cooperatives in Africa and Latin America. Each of these organizations applies innovative, business-based solutions to social problems.

The field has developed so quickly, and social entrepreneurs often find themselves so far ahead of existing funding or legal entity models, that support organizations have had little time to emerge. Only in the last few years have investors, universities, and networks formed to support the first wave of social entrepreneurs and train the next.

Ashoka, Echoing Green, the Schwab Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, and the Unreasonable Institute, among others, support social entrepreneurs worldwide with fellowships and funding. The Benefit Corporation, a new business type created to protect the mission of social enterprises and socially responsible businesses, has been recognized in seven states (but not yet in Oregon). Investor networks have been created to support social enterprises, graduate programs from India to the UK now teach social entrepreneurship, and magazines address the topic.

Here in Portland, Impact Entrepreneurs, part of Portland State University, provides field study opportunities for students and community members to work with social entrepreneurs overseas, an incubation program—including workshops, coaching, and networking—for both startup and established social enterprises, and leadership training for larger organizations.

The field of social entrepreneurship is quickly becoming established, and supporting organizations have emerged, but the true potential of the movement has hardly been tapped. When we combine the efficiency and innovation of business with the compassion and insight of charity, the result is a powerful new way to fight poverty, hunger, illness, and inequality.

We live at one of those rare times when a movement has emerged with the potential to transform the world. Whether as a social entrepreneur or by supporting social entrepreneurship, everyone has the opportunity to participate. One day, you may look back and say, “I was there at the beginning—and I made a difference.”

Steps to a Better Image

By Valerie Berset-Price, International Passport

http://valerie-antoinette.com/

See Valerie’s Seminar this Friday, January 13th from 8am-11am

In 1996, prestigious universities such as M.I.T. and Harvard Medical School started exploring in an empirical fashion how the psychological and biological foundations of our preference for beauty affect our decisions. Their results confirmed that it pays to look good. Indeed, studies have shown that men and women who look professional and project an air of confidence earn more money and go further in their career than those who do not pay attention to their image.

Interestingly, while parents do not hesitate to invest in their children’s education, they systematically fail to secure their success by neglecting one of its most vital components – how to dress appropriately.  When Katrina Machado from Human Resources firm Adecco asked me to work with her recruits, it was because while the economy was bringing her firm resumes of lots of highly qualified candidates to her inbox, in person very few looked the part her well-paying prestigious clients required. Yes, Portland is a casual place and we love to keep it weird, but this does not give us carte blanche to stop combing our hair and wear our camping attire to work. It is not because The North Face attire costs more than a suit that climbing clothes befit the office.  This is particularly important in a globalized world where casual wear is seen as distinctly American and inappropriate for a sophisticated business environment.

As an international image consultant, I deal with a vast array of people who, I find, are not as rebellious towards social norms as much as they are confused and unaware. In fact, I would say that generations X and Y are starved for sartorial guidance. Let me be clear about one other thing: attire is just one component of image. Posture, eating protocol, social etiquette, and ease of conversation are all part of a big mountain that many have chosen to ignore rather than climb because they don’t know how to start.  Knowing what topics are taboos in different cultures, how and not if to bestow gifts on business cultures, and which utensil to use when the place setting is foreign are just as important to know. Whether referred to me by employers and recruiters or motivated on their own, my clients want my help in creating a total image that matches their great intellectual and professional potential. And once they know how to match their image to their intellect and aspirations, they never go back because for the first time they embody, silently and powerfully, who they truly are.

For example, the President of Pyvotal Solutions used to work for a leading sports brand in Oregon. The dress code there is so casual that when he founded his own international company, he decided to start anew and get rid of all the clothes he owned. He knew he could not dress the way he used to anywhere else in the world, but he also did not know what to replace his clothes with. With his updated image, a Barcelona assignment on the spot became a month long assignment covering multiple European cities. The client told him his polished image was unexpected for an American and convinced him he would be good representation for them in Europe.

Last week, a woman financial adviser called with one quick question: “how would you define business casual for women?” I told her that business casual never included women. She said, “but I mean now, not a hundred years ago”. Business casual being a recent phenomenon that was brought on by the dot.com era , things haven’t had much time to evolve and no, business casual for women does not exist. Business casual for women is not chinos and a sweater, which is seen all over town. That’s confusion not business casual. As to men, a shirt and a tie coupled with a fleece jacket is still a no-no, even if it’s Patagonia. Business casual is made of structured clothing that are referred to as “separates”; they are made by Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Michael Kors – NEVER L.L. Bean.

Most of my local clients today are drawn to me because of our sluggish domestic economy; they are forced to enter the international arena. Some do it gingerly; some do it reluctantly. In doing so, employees realize that the world out there is no longer interested in just imitating the U.S. They realize that they have to join an international image culture if they are going to sell themselves and not just a product. They have to abide to rigid sartorial international standards set in stone by the Europeans. They have to compete with the Japanese and the Austrians who not only manufacture high precision products, but who are also walking encyclopedias on how to build long lasting relationships.  As such, Americans realize that they have to get out of their comfort zones and travel to build international relationships. The good part is that there is nothing a healthy mind can’t absorb and while it might be humbling at times, it is also empowering.

3 Things to do in the New Year

By Loren Guerriero