Sparking Leadership #6: Why burnout feels different when you're leading

When you're the one people count on, there's no room to fall apart. So you power through, show up every day and pretend that everything is fine. Until one day it finally catches up with you.

That’s what burnout often looks like in leadership.

Why is it different? Because you’re not just managing work. You're holding the emotional and strategic weight of the whole team. You feel responsible for performance, for people, for keeping it together and for being a role-model of productivity. And unlike others, you often have no manager to lean on.

If you think that you might be part of the 82% of leaders who struggle with feelings of #burnout (according to Harvard Business Review), start your path to recovery right here:

Step 1️⃣: Recognize the symptoms

❌ Snapping at things you’d normally brush off

❌ Losing the ability to plan ahead strategically

❌ Struggling to focus or make thoughtful decisions

❌ Feeling emotionally disconnected from the team

❌ Losing empathy, not because you don’t care, but because you’re too depleted to show it.

Step 2️⃣: Understand why this is happening

While burnout is often associated with overwork, leadership burnout tends to stem from emotional and cognitive overload.

Some of the most common causes include:

🔸Chronic decision fatigue

🔸Constant context-switching

🔸Emotional suppression (having to “hold it together” all the time)

🔸Responsibility without support

🔸Isolation at the top

🔸Unrealistic expectations, both from yourself and others

Step 3️⃣: Strategies for coping without falling apart

✅ Micro-recovery: Short, regular breaks can help restore mental energy.

→ Block 30 minutes a day for non-negotiable solo time

→ Protect evenings and weekends from creeping obligations

→ Take walking 1:1s or solo thinking breaks (movement + space matters)

✅ Delegation: Let go of things that your team can handle for you.

→ Identify tasks that drain you but grow others

→ Set clear outcomes and let go of the how

✅ Support: Build the support mechanisms that will help you cope.

→ Leadership coaching, therapy, peer forums where you can be not okay without consequence

→ Use tools like journaling or voice memos to “offload” and decompress privately

Hopefully, you don't need me to tell you that it's wiser to "put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping others" and that you recognize how unaddressed burnout is more harmful in the long-term, not just to yourself but your entire team (that you are trying to protect). So, if you notice the signs, don't wait for a breakdown to take a break.

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🌟Sparking Leadership is a weekly series on human-centered, sustainable #leadership. Follow for real talk and practical tools. In the meantime, lead with spark!