Reverse the Burnout Trend

Cathie Leimbach • October 11, 2022

The World Health Organization now considers “burnout syndrome” to be an official medical diagnosis! Over 50% of employees report feeling mentally exhausted and drained at the end of the day. 40% say they are functioning on autopilot at work. 

These realities lead to employee disengagement, dissatisfaction, and low productivity. Such stress leads to increased mental and physical health problems and an overall lower quality of life. What can workplace leaders do to create healthier organizations?

Let’s look at 3 leadership practices that can decrease employee stress, increasing their engagement, satisfaction, and productivity.

Work-life Flexibility

If your staff members aren’t customer-facing, working as part of a production process, or doing tasks that must be done at a certain hour or place, do they all have to have the same start and stop time or work in a specific location? If an office worker is regularly 20-minutes late due to the starting time of their affordable child care center, could they still fulfill their duties if their start and end times were delayed by 20 to 30 minutes?  If some employees spend two days per week at their desk, on computers and the phone all day, could they do that work just as well remotely rather than spending an hour each day commuting?

Recognizing People and Their Achievements

A common reason for leaving a job is not feeling valued and appreciated. Turnover is cut in half when employees feel recognized at least five times per year. In some studies the majority of respondents reported not feeling appreciated even once in the past year. Many supervisors feel that the pay check is thanks enough until employees are doing everything in their job description and more. Yet, employees want to know if they are doing their work well and if they are noticed and valued as a human being. Expressions of gratitude build relationships and trust, which reduces stress and increases workplace productivity and retention.

Listen

Loneliness is an epidemic in our society. Lots of people don’t have friends at work or outside work. When managers don’t take time to have conversations with their employees, workplace isolation can lead to poor productivity. When managers have regular one-on-ones with each staff member, individuals have a chance to share their successes, their workplace and personal trials, and ask for help when they are struggling. When managers ask open-ended questions to learn more about their team members and truly listen to their employees, understanding, rapport, and trust are built. Employees feel they belong; they matter to the organization and their leader. They are less likely to look for a different job and more likely to be engaged and productive at work.

What can you do to reduce workplace burnout in your organization? Are there opportunities to provide more work-life balance for your employees, to recognize their contributions, or to listen to and better understand your team members as valuable human beings? 

The Power of Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters

By Cathie Leimbach • November 10, 2025
In most organizations, the instinct is to add —more goals, more projects, more meetings. But as Juliet Funt, founder of the Juliet Funt Group, teaches in her Strategic Choice process, real leadership strength lies in deciding what to stop doing . Strategic Choice is the intentional narrowing of priorities—cutting away the clutter so teams can focus on what truly drives results. It’s a disciplined act of letting go: saying no to good ideas so there’s room for the great ones. Funt’s approach challenges leaders to pause, think, and create the mental and operational space their people need to perform at their best. By removing unnecessary tasks and misplaced effort, leaders make room for precision, innovation, and real thinking time. This isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most. When businesses adopt this mindset, they replace overwhelm with clarity and regain control of their time, energy, and outcomes. For small to mid-sized companies, embracing Strategic Choice can transform busyness into focus—and that focus is where sustainable growth begins. Want a quick visual overview? View Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters to see how this process helps leaders focus on what truly drives results.

Unlock Your Team's Potential: Fix Dysfunction, Boost the Bottom Line!

By Cathie Leimbach • November 4, 2025
Hey team leaders! Ever wonder why some companies soar while others stumble? Patrick Lencioni's bestseller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , nails it: workplace dysfunctions such as no trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding accountability, and ignoring results lead to mediocre performance at best. But here's the good news—smart leadership development changes the game! Start with building trust . Train leaders to open up and be vulnerable. Teams bond, ideas flow, and costly mistakes drop. Next, embrace healthy conflict . Teach team leaders to make it safe for team members to share the pros and cons of current or new ways of doing things. This helps everyone understand different perspectives. Then, drive commitment . Leaders who clarify goals, ask everyone to share their level of buy-in, and address their concerns get everyone bought in. People focus on high value work and get more done. . Hold folks accountable through coaching. Leaders learn to give kind, direct feedback by praising good work and calmly providing more training as needed. Turnover plummets and the quality and quantity of work improves. Finally, focus on results . Be clear on expectations. Keep score by monitoring progress weekly or daily. Acknowledge team wins when the goals are met. Winning sports teams pay attention to these Five Behaviors of a Team. How would a World Series winner have been determined this week without trust among the players and coaches, openness to tough coaching, the whole team working together, players focusing on their specific positions, and getting players around the bases to get the top score? Every workplace can benefit from these team behaviors as well. Lencioni's research proves it: Companies who prepare their leaders to overcome these 5 common workplace dysfunctions, improve the culture and see huge financial gains. Invest in your leaders today. Your bottom line will thank you! Click here to learn more about the painful cost of team dysfunction.