WEBVTT

1
00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:06.879
<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

2
00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:10.919
<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building and goala GV.

3
00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:14.839
<v Speaker 1>This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host

4
00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:16.280
<v Speaker 1>Paul Fellavledo.

5
00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:25.559
<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

6
00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:30.760
<v Speaker 2>It's episode seven to seventy three. Today's episode is called

7
00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:36.799
<v Speaker 2>Emotional fatigue is not Burnout. I think leaders have started

8
00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:41.000
<v Speaker 2>using the word burnout far too often. Someone has a

9
00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:45.159
<v Speaker 2>difficult week, They're burned out. A project takes longer than expected,

10
00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:49.119
<v Speaker 2>They're burned out. One difficult employee shows up every day

11
00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:53.640
<v Speaker 2>with a new problem. They're burned out. And sometimes that's true.

12
00:00:54.119 --> 00:01:00.240
<v Speaker 2>Many times it isn't. Many people are experiencing emotional fittig,

13
00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:03.600
<v Speaker 2>not burnout, and those are two very different things, and

14
00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:06.560
<v Speaker 2>if you don't know the difference, you'll end up trying

15
00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:11.439
<v Speaker 2>to solve the wrong problem. Burnout is usually the result

16
00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:16.400
<v Speaker 2>of long term, unresolved stress. It builds over time. It

17
00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:22.239
<v Speaker 2>slowly drains motivation, energy, and purpose until someone begins feeling

18
00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:27.079
<v Speaker 2>detached from their work. Burnout doesn't usually happen because of

19
00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:32.599
<v Speaker 2>one difficult meeting or one rough shift. It develops after

20
00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:37.680
<v Speaker 2>months of carrying more than someone can reasonably handle. Emotional

21
00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:42.920
<v Speaker 2>fatigue is different. Emotional fatigue often shows up after carrying

22
00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:49.599
<v Speaker 2>everyone else's emotions. It happens when you're constantly listening to complaints,

23
00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:56.560
<v Speaker 2>constantly managing conflict and absorbing disappointment and delivering difficult news,

24
00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:01.359
<v Speaker 2>and constantly trying to keep everyone motivated while your own

25
00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:06.280
<v Speaker 2>emotional tank keeps getting lower. The work itself may not

26
00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:11.560
<v Speaker 2>even be exhausting people are. If you've ever driven home

27
00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:14.560
<v Speaker 2>after work and realized you weren't physically tired at all,

28
00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:20.520
<v Speaker 2>you were emotionally drained, you've experienced emotional fatigue. As leaders,

29
00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:26.840
<v Speaker 2>we are emotional shock absorbers. Employees bring us frustration, Customers

30
00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:33.439
<v Speaker 2>bring us complaints, boards bring expectations, Families bring needs, communities

31
00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:38.120
<v Speaker 2>bring pressure, and eventually all of that weight has to

32
00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:44.520
<v Speaker 2>land somewhere. Many leaders quietly carry it, Nobody notices, nobody asks,

33
00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:48.159
<v Speaker 2>and then one day someone says you look burned out.

34
00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:53.479
<v Speaker 2>Maybe you're not. Maybe you've simply spent six straight weeks

35
00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.319
<v Speaker 2>carrying emotions that didn't belong to you. And here's another

36
00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:03.879
<v Speaker 2>important difference. Burnout often makes people want to quit. Emotional

37
00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:10.039
<v Speaker 2>fatigue usually makes people want silence. You don't necessarily want

38
00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.360
<v Speaker 2>another job. You simply want thirty minutes where nobody needs

39
00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:18.000
<v Speaker 2>anything from you. Think about that. If your first instinct

40
00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:21.560
<v Speaker 2>after work is to sit quietly in your car before

41
00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:25.400
<v Speaker 2>walking inside your house, you might not be burned out.

42
00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:30.800
<v Speaker 2>You might be emotionally overloaded. That distinction matters because the

43
00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:36.199
<v Speaker 2>solutions are completely different. If you're burned out, you may

44
00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:40.960
<v Speaker 2>need major changes. You may need staffing adjustments, a different workload,

45
00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:46.800
<v Speaker 2>better boundaries, time away, or even a redesigned role. If

46
00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:52.120
<v Speaker 2>you're emotionally fatigued, you may need emotional recovery. You need

47
00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:57.240
<v Speaker 2>moments where you're not solving problems, where you're not making decisions,

48
00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:03.759
<v Speaker 2>where you're not carrying everyone else's expectations. One mistake I

49
00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:07.680
<v Speaker 2>see leaders make is believing every conversation deserves the same

50
00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:13.599
<v Speaker 2>emotional investment. It doesn't. Every complaint doesn't deserve an hour,

51
00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:20.079
<v Speaker 2>Every disagreement doesn't deserve your peace, Every crisis doesn't deserve

52
00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:25.199
<v Speaker 2>your entire emotional reserve. One of the greatest leadership skills

53
00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:30.279
<v Speaker 2>you'll ever develop is deciding how much emotional energy each

54
00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:36.720
<v Speaker 2>situation deserves. Some conversations deserve your heart, others deserve five

55
00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:41.240
<v Speaker 2>minutes in a decision. The most effective leaders I've met

56
00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:47.160
<v Speaker 2>are not emotionally cold. They're emotionally disciplined. They know where

57
00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:51.720
<v Speaker 2>to invest themselves. Think about emergency services for a moment.

58
00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:56.319
<v Speaker 2>As a paramedic, I've responded to thousands of emergencies. If

59
00:04:56.319 --> 00:05:01.079
<v Speaker 2>I carried every tragedy home with me, wouldn't have survived

60
00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:07.120
<v Speaker 2>this career. You learn that empathy is essential. Emotional ownership

61
00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:12.199
<v Speaker 2>is dangerous. You care deeply while recognizing that not every

62
00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:17.040
<v Speaker 2>burden belongs on your shoulders. That lesson applies whether you're

63
00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:21.279
<v Speaker 2>running an ambulance service, a manufacturing company, a school district,

64
00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:27.600
<v Speaker 2>or even a small business. Leadership requires compassion. Leadership also

65
00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:34.639
<v Speaker 2>requires emotional boundaries. Those two ideas can exist together. So

66
00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:37.920
<v Speaker 2>here's a simple question to ask yourself this week. Am

67
00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:41.759
<v Speaker 2>I burned out? Or am I emotionally tired? If you're

68
00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:46.079
<v Speaker 2>emotionally tired, ask yourself one more question. What am I

69
00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:50.680
<v Speaker 2>carrying that was never mine to carry? That one question

70
00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:57.439
<v Speaker 2>may change everything. Maybe you're carrying someone's attitude, someone else's

71
00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:03.000
<v Speaker 2>poor planning, someone else's lack of accountability, someone else's unwillingness

72
00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:09.279
<v Speaker 2>to grow. Leaders often become emotional storage units for problems

73
00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:14.079
<v Speaker 2>that belong somewhere else. You have to empty that storage room,

74
00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:19.920
<v Speaker 2>hand responsibility back where it belongs. You'll probably discover you

75
00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:23.800
<v Speaker 2>have far more energy than you thought, because leadership isn't

76
00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:29.639
<v Speaker 2>about carrying everything. It's about carrying the right things. And

77
00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:35.959
<v Speaker 2>that's a lesson every leader needs to hear. So as

78
00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:40.720
<v Speaker 2>you move through your week, pay attention to your emotional dashboard.

79
00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:44.040
<v Speaker 2>Before you tell yourself you're burned out, take an honest

80
00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:48.800
<v Speaker 2>look at what's really draining. You may not need a

81
00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:53.040
<v Speaker 2>new job, you may not need a vacation. You may

82
00:06:53.120 --> 00:07:01.839
<v Speaker 2>simply need healthier emotional boundaries. Leadership is demanding, but it

83
00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:05.079
<v Speaker 2>should never require you to carry the weight of every

84
00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:09.720
<v Speaker 2>person around you. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast,

85
00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:11.040
<v Speaker 2>and I thank you for listening.

86
00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:16.279
<v Speaker 1>For more, Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.