27th November 2024
Burnout & Threat State Brain Checklist
By Sonya Hughes and Justin Miles.
A 10 Point Checklist to identify the signs
It happens slowly, then all of a sudden.
Our recent articles on burnout and threat state brain, ‘The Double Whammy’ and ‘Why Organisations Should Care’ have generated so much interest that we want to share a resource to identify if the conditions for burnout and threat state brain are prevalent in your organisation.
Like a fish swimming in water, it can be hard to recognise what you are immersed in every day.
The danger signs of Threat Sate Brain and Burnout might be hiding in plain sight so here’s a 10 Point Checklist to identify your risk:
1. Disconnection from Strategy: Do you feel disconnected from your organisation’s strategy?
Losing sight of the bigger picture and not being able to link your work to a higher purpose is the first step in the path.
2. Lack of Direction: Does your team feel unclear about the direction and next steps? Uncertainty breeds anxiety, stopping us from acting, making decisions, moving forward, etc.
3. Unclear Priorities: Is your team struggling to determine what’s most important? Everything being a priority and constant firefighting is a major red flag.
4. Constant Change, Minimal Support: Are changes happening faster than the support and planning needed to implement them? This can overwhelm your team and lead to threat state brain.
5. Freeze State: Are you or your team feeling stuck, unable to move forward? A freeze response can indicate a deeper issue with burnout.
6. Back-to-Back Meetings: Are your days filled with endless Teams Meetings or Zoom calls, with no breaks in between? A non-stop pace can lead to mental exhaustion, not an environment for our best thinking and problem solving.
7. Immediate Response Expectation: Is there a culture of needing to respond to everything right away? The pressure to treat everything as an emergency pressure contributes to a threat state brain.
8. Lack of Civility: Are your emails and meetings becoming increasingly tense or negative? If you find yourself preparing for conflict before meetings, it’s time to take a closer look.
9. Low Engagement Results: Are your engagement surveys showing low morale and disengagement? This often correlates with burnout and feeling stuck.
10. Exhaustion in Water Cooler Chats: Is the most common topic of conversation about how tired everyone is? This is a clear sign that burnout is taking hold.
What to do if you recognise the signs:
There’s a quote about bankruptcy. It happens slowly, then all of a sudden. The same principle applies to Burnout and Threat State Brain. Yes there can be serious flash points but mostly we become so immersed in environments that facilitate burnout and threat state that we don’t recognise the impact it’s having on us. If any of the signs in the checklist resonate, now is the moment to step back and address the underlying causes.
The impact to organisations of not addressing these challenges is profound. We can assist you to create positive performance environments that generate better problem solving, decision making, greater creativity, more innovation as well as better connection and collaboration.
About the Authors:
Sonya Hughes, Founder of People Innovation Consulting, is passionate about unlocking the full potential of visionary leaders, enabling them to think better, perform better, and innovate to overcome challenges. With over 20 years partnering with Fortune 500 and ASX100 companies, Sonya brings expertise in culture, strategy, and leadership development underpinned by the latest research in Neuroscience of Leadership and Harvard’s Art and Practice of Leadership.
Justin Miles, is a Partner and Director of Generator Talent, a firm focused on supporting organisations with leadership succession challenges. With more than 25 years in corporate life and now more than 10 years in consulting he works with leaders and teams to optimise performance and engagement.
Generator Talent Group
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