Stay calm; project’s carry on - avoid Silent Burnout
One of the things that people notice about my program management approach is my calm - I very rarely seem frazzled, raise my voice, or appear “stressed out”. Most would describe me as laid-back and fun. I used to think that was a deficit; most people assume 1) I’m really not doing much, or, 2) what I do is rather easy. And given that on the inside I was secretly freaking out, working 60+ hours and obsessing on every milestone, the fact no one noticed the work I was putting in, and the impact it was having on my wellbeing was kinda soul destroying.
What I discovered? I had what I’ve come to refer to as serious “silent burnout”. It’s a type of “quiet quitting”, but not quite. Quiet quitting started trending in 2022, and described a state of passionless working where you do the bare minimum. But even though “silent burnout” has some of the same elements as “quiet quitting”; you DON’T do the bare minimum - to the contrary, you go nuts and over-egg it like you’re afraid there will never be eggs again. Since I had to suffer through it, hopefully I can get #SilentBurnout trending!
And the main reason you do this is because YOU WANT YOUR PROJECT TO SUCCEED. It’s in caps, because every project and programme professional stays up at night fearing all the work you’ve put into a successful go-live will fall down. All the tricky conversations, all the negotiations, all the meticulous planning will go to waste because of sudden disinterest or the fact that there are manically changing goalposts.
So you’re left so horrendously stressed you’re snapping at people in your team, you’re running on coffee, vapes, the odd cigarette and pure adrenaline … which has its place, but is not legitimate healthy energy. And so you may quietly quit. Or you may be silent about it - eating candy bars instead of lunch, avoiding your calendar, staying up until midnight to work, and completely losing your passion about work.
Whether it’s loud or silent - projects are stressful and can lead to burnout. Get in front of it!
Notice the signs. Feelings of self doubt, possessing a cynical outlook, feeling detached and alone, feeling helpless and trapped. These feelings aren’t normal, and more importantly; they are not healthy
Make the most important project plan of your life - your wellbeing plan.
It may sound a bit hippy-dippy, but being on tenterhooks is not making you a better project professional. To the contrary, your teams, stakeholders and projects are suffering because you’re not as clear thinking and balanced as you could be.
Ask for help. It doesn’t have to be counselling or professional coaching (though I personally have found this very useful). It can be a friend, a family member, your boss or a mentor - but get that life jacket around you.
And last but not least - Get some perspective! It’s a project - and what’s amazing about projects is they offer you the opportunity to learn and reflect within project delivery. Not many business units have that luxury, but lessons learnt and reflection can put a lot of things you thought were absolutely horrible into their proper light, lending perspective and inspiration that you’re doing the right things.
Click episode 2 on my “projects that spark” podcast for practical tips to avoid burnout.
