# Recommendation 1 — Reflect on your behaviour as a leader

- **Episode:** [21](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/21.md) (2023-01-13)
- **Type:** other
- **Tags:** burnout, leadership, self-reflection
- **Time:** 27:15–31:32 (start 1635s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/21?t=1635](https://truthliesandwork.com/21?t=1635)

---

[27:15] Leanne Elliott: So let's go through some practical things you can do as a business leader, as a, as a business owner to nurture wellbeing and prevent burnout within your team
[27:23] Al Elliott: So the first thing So firstly, you should reflect on your behavior as a leader. So just be honest about your own experiences in your earlier career. Deal with any sort of lingering psychological consequences. Just because you went through it doesn't mean others have to. But on the contrary, don't hide it. Just be honest about it. So you probably started your business to change, like, your life, the status quo. So you have the power to change change your teams and change your workplace environment. Let's hear from Will
[27:55] Leanne Elliott: I think sometimes when people have struggled to get to a certain place in their career and maybe have had to put up with an abusive boss and put in the long hours, there's this, well, I did it, you know, why can't you? You know, um, maybe even a, a sort of defensiveness on their part of, uh, you know, maybe they don't want to acknowledge how damaging that was for them and have to rationalize it as Yeah. Oh, it was good for me. It helped me become the person I am now. I actually think this is a big problem right now in the US among law firms because lawyers, very demanding, intense job. I think a lot of the people at the partner level have had to climb a very vicious, difficult, competitive ladder to get to that point in their career, and then they see these younger lawyers coming in and they're just sort of like, well, yeah, I went through all that. Why can't you? At some level, I wonder too if it's— I think that can happen with leaders who have a kind of perhaps domineering streak to their personality and authoritarian approach to management that they Maybe don't recognize yet within themselves. I think if you find yourself shaming and blaming employees, it's probably a moment to step back and ask what's going on there, because that's never worked as a management strategy. I mean, if you're going to try to shame people into following you, good luck, but that's not going to work
[29:49] Al Elliott: Right
[29:51] Leanne Elliott: I definitely encourage anyone who's having that kind of response to talk to a coach or therapist and really kind of look at what's coming up within themselves that's making them feel that, that disgust toward, toward the people that, you know, frankly are keeping their company going. Building your own self-awareness as a leader is one of the most powerful things you can do to better manage yourself, your behaviors, and support your team in the most positive way. Think about engaging a coach, think about going through some psychometrics to really understand and reflect on your own behaviour. Equally, understanding your own relationship with burnout may also prove really important to reducing your own risk, especially if you've been burnt out in the past. Let's hear from Kate. I think so, yes. So, I think that once you've burnt out, you're— it's kind of like being an addict or an alcoholic. Like, you, you always have to be on the lookout for it. The fact of the matter is, my stress management system doesn't necessarily work as well as other people's. So if I don't meditate and exercise and eat well, I'm going to be at risk. So I have to— my basic self-care has to be a little bit higher probably than your average person's because of my previous burnout
[31:05] Al Elliott: So this is point number 1, is to reflect on your behavior as a leader. And these are like the ways we can prevent burnout. Number 2 is to invest in your own So you need to think carefully about your own psychological state or your own feelings of burnout. Like Leanne always says, you need to put your mask on before you can help others. Now, Kate has worked with leaders as a burnout coach and an expert, and she has one key emotion to look out for that may mean you're at risk of burnout