Burnout Recovery Plan – Danna Korn
burnout recovery plan
SUMMARY
Burnout is natural and can happen to anyone and so having a burnout recovery plan is crucial for us to be able to ramp up the wellbeing of our work-life.
On this episode, we are here with Danna Korn. She’s the co-founder and CEO aka Chief Energizing Officer of Sonic Boom Wellness, a health-tech company that specializes in corporate wellness.
Danna talks about the reason why leaders experience burnouts and how we can improve our wellbeing so we can function at our full potential.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Exercise is a good outlet for stress since it generates adrenaline and endorphins.
As a leader, you should be more honest with yourself, your employees, and your colleagues when you’re getting burned out.
Having not enough transparency is one of the things that causes burn out.
When we’re burned out, one of the first things to do is to identify you have that.
Taking time away from your workplace can make you become more productive.
Too much uncertainty and processes and undefined roles cause burnouts in team members.
TRANSCRIPTION: BURNOUT RECOVERY PLAN – DANNA KORN
Luis Congdon
Hey, Thriving Launchers, have you experienced exhaustion or being tired and not capable to really maximize your work and your creativity? If yes, have you started building your burn ou recovery plan?
On this episode, we’re going to talk about how to avoid burn out and how to avoid those warning signs that make you not productive at work, or as an entrepreneur, a creative parent, or whatever you’re not experiencing the full potential in.
Today we have Danna Korn. She’s the co-founder and CEO aka Chief Energizing Officer of Sonic Boom Wellness. It’s a company that’s been on the Inc. 500 five times in a row, something that only around 5% of companies achieve. So it’s incredible to have her on the show.
Company That Specializes In Burnout Recovery Plan
Luis Congdon
Danna specializes in helping companies create holistic comprehensive worksite well-being solutions that bring them together in a fun and socially engaging way. She joins us today to talk about her specialty and how you can ramp up the well-being in your work-life using a burnout recovery plan.
All right, Thriving Launchers, let’s talk about burn out and managing your energy and your stress through a burnout recovery plan. It’s something all of us needs, especially if you’re running a business or company, or in management, or you have kids and you just are employed and your taxed and maxed out.
Without further ado, let’s welcome Danna. Are you ready to launch?
Danna Korn
I am ready! Thanks for having me on the show today!
Luis Congdon
We’re honored.
I love your energy and it’s funny right before the show, you were gone laughing a little bit about how I’m going to learn about this subject on burnout recovery plan also.
Create A Burnout Recovery Plan Since Burn out Is Natural
Luis Congdon
One of the things that I loved was you were already saying “Hey, burn out is natural. It’s probably going to happen. It’s something that happens to me.” And as experts, we don’t tend to admit that the thing that we teach or help others happens to us but that’s something that you’re pretty open about.
Danna Korn
Yeah. It took me a while to actually become open about it since there’s like a stigma associated with burn out.
Even right now, if I find myself a little bit wanting to tap dance around the real issue. You’re worried that your employees, your clients, your friends who hear it are going to think that we’re weak or incapable to run this company.
I think I’m typically perceived as being ever effervescent and highly optimistic poly Danna type of a thing but it’s not always that way. Unfortunately, I think we all hit a wall from time to time.
Kamala Chambers
Yeah. It’s just so true that that really happens. I find that I love what I do so much and sometimes I just push myself to do it until I just hit the wall hard.
What are some burnout recovery plan that we can do to avoid that process of just putting everything you have into something and tell you reached the end and then, you’re maxed out?
Burnout Recovery Plan – Know Your Limits
Danna Korn
I think the first part of our burnout recovery plan is to realize where our limits are.
As leaders, we tend to push ourselves so hard. As you just said, Kamala, you pushed yourself so hard and your bar and expectations are so high that we think as a leader, we can’t possibly suffer from burn out or any other sign of “weakness.”
When you picture someone on the edge of burn out, you kind of picture them as being visibly frazzled. Yet as a leader, you can’t be visibly frazzled. If your employees see you like that, they’re going to crumble so you got to keep it together all the time.
I think the first step of the burnout recovery plan is identifying where your real limits are, not those high bar limits that you were just talking about but realistically.
Burnout Recovery Plan – Have Realistic Expectations
Danna Korn
We’re making unrealistic demands of ourselves every single day so maybe we just start to say “I’m human and I’m going to put my demands in line with realistic expectations.”
Recognize that we all have individual triggers and individual ways of expressing our stress and it’s okay to hit a wall from time to time but then once you do, I think you just have to look at a lot of different outlets.
Burnout Recovery Plan – Do Exercise and Take A Vacation
Danna Korn
For some people, their burnout recovery plan could be exercising.
Leaders tend to be adrenaline junkies. Go out and generate some adrenaline and endorphins. My husband and I raced cars and there’s nothing that is a better cure for burn out than to go out and race cars.
Take a vacation if you can. It’s easier said than done at least personally.
Burnout Recovery Plan – Share Your Burdens With Others
Danna Korn
Lean on people in and out of your place.
As a leader, we tend not to want to burden our employees or our family or our friends with the things going on but it gets very lonely. I hate that term lonely at the top because it makes it sounds so superior but really, it gets very lonely when you can’t share your burdens with others. So go ahead and do it.
Luis Congdon
I’m not sure if this will completely make sense but it somehow does in my head so I’ll just say as it came.
I remember when I was a married facilitator working with couples and the classes were all in Spanish and I was still in the process of learning a lot more Spanish.
My Spanish isn’t always up to par with the classes and for quite a while, I just kind of pretended like I understood people when I didn’t. I remember when this light came on like “Wait, being a professional, it would actually be better if I just said ‘Excuse me, I want to need you to slow down. I didn’t understand that one word’ or kind of admitting when I didn’t know something.”
Burnout Recovery Plan For Leaders
Luis Congdon
When I hear you talk, this tension came up for me is as a leader, when you get burned out, how do you bring that sense of honesty to yourself or to your team? Who do you talk to? What is your burnout recovery plan?
I’m sure you weren’t saying what I thought because I just thought “Well, I guess you can’t tell anybody,” or you have to hide it. So what do we do?
Danna Korn
Yeah. That’s the big question right there.
We do tend to hide it and I think that’s the point. Maybe, we should be more honest with ourselves, with our employees, and our colleagues.
Burnout Recovery Plan – Be Transparent
Danna Korn
Sometimes, one of the things that actually cause burn out is that there’s not enough transparency. We have this whisper culture. We try to keep and hide the difficult and the stressful things from everybody.
The transparency can actually help relieve your own stress but it can also help relieve the stress of your employees and your colleagues because they know what’s going on. Things aren’t always rainbows and roses and Golden retriever puppies but we can deal with it. That’s just real life.
Danna Korn
I think that transparency as hard as it is for those of us who want to always just set this great cheerful example for everybody, we’ve got to be a little more transparent. That’s a big part of the burnout recovery plan.
Kamala Chambers
Most people that are listening to this episode right now, they probably already got to the point of burn out. Why else would you come over here? We don’t tend to go for things until we need them.
I would love to speak to that. What do we do when we’re burnt out? What burnout recovery plan do you recommend?
Burnout Recovery Plan – Identify The Feeling
Danna Korn
One of the first things of the burnout recovery plan is you have to identify that.
What does that feel like? It feels different for everybody. For me, it’s like hitting a wall. My passion and my energy wane, and that are hard for me to swallow because that’s sort of my identity.
I have to first identify “Why I am feeling this way. I don’t like feeling this way.” Then, say, “Oh my gosh, it maybe that I’m burned out.”
Burnout Recovery Plan – Take A Break And Stop Multitasking
Danna Korn
It’s hard to take a break, to stop multitasking, to put the phone down, to put your “out of office” on in your email and just walk away but there’s a way to do that. There is. It’s possible. Walk away and that’s really the most important thing you can do. That sounds so “Duh! I get it.”
However, I think the reason we don’t walk away early enough is that we’re not identifying it. We’re just hiding from the truth that “I couldn’t be possibly get burned out. I don’t have time to be burned out.”
Luis Congdon
I think that trying to create more time to relax or to slow down is I feel you’re hitting on something and I know as I’ve practiced creating time to work out, create time to take walks every day, to go to the gym almost every single day. Those kinds of activities even though they consume time away from work, they also somehow make me more efficient in the workplace. Those activities can be part of your burnout recovery plan.
Burnout Recovery Plan That Focuses On Wellness
Luis Congdon
That’s something that your company specializes in. It’s like helping people focus on wellness more and that somehow makes you more productive even though it sounds almost like counterintuitive.
Danna Korn
You’re exactly right, Luis.
It’s so important to take a break. Some people even do power naps. People do that and they feel great afterward. Get out and take a walk even if it means a walking meeting. Just that additional getting your heart rate elevated a little bit is going to help you feel better and be more productive.
Burnout Recovery Plan – Take Time Away From Work
Danna Korn
You’re exactly right, Luis.
It’s so important to take a break. Some people even do power naps. People do that and they feel great afterward. Get out and take a walk even if it means a walking meeting. Just that additional getting your heart rate elevated a little bit is going to help you feel better and be more productive.
Danna Korn
So you’re right. It seems like you’re being counterproductive because you’re taking time away from the workplace, maybe getting out for lunch instead of eating at your desk but when you come back, you’re so much more productive than you were before you left the office.
Kamala Chambers
What’s the number one burnout recovery plan that you would say that you should go out and apply today to avoid getting burned out?
Burnout Recovery Plan – Realize You’re Only Human
Danna Korn
Be honest with yourself I think and realize that you’re only human. Yes, you’re a leader. Yes, you’ve accomplished lots of things and people hold you to a very high standard but we’re all prone to burnouts especially when you’re a leader.
Again, I find myself uncomfortable talking about this because I don’t want my employees to ever be concerned that I’m burned out and that I’m not going to be there for them. The truth is we’re human. We all hit a wall from time to time.
When you’re going 100% or more all the time, you just can’t do it so I think the first thing, Kamala, to answer your question, is really just be honest with yourself.
Burnout Recovery Plan For Team Members
Luis Congdon
When I hear us talking about this topic of burn out, I see us focusing a lot on ourselves and us as the leaders, and then I’m also thinking about like movie scenes where someone else on some team is burned out. I remembered some shows like cop shows where the boss is really mean to the other person and says “That’s it. Your 2 weeks don’t have any pay. You need to take some time off.”
I’m thinking what is the kind way or how do we as leaders, notice in others that maybe they’re burned out and we ask them to take some time off or do the things necessary to assure that they’re optimal which can be uncomfortable especially we have team players that might take that personally.
Danna Korn
That’s some really good point, Luis, because I think sometimes, as leaders, we overcompensate. I know personally, I tend to take better care of my employees sometimes than I do myself when it comes to taking time off and work-life balance. I’m much more concerned about them than I am myself and that’s a mistake.
Burnout Recovery Plan – Identify What Things Cause Burnouts In The Worplace
Danna Korn
However, you’re right. You get in situations where the boss is actually causing employees to burn out. The leaders in the company are causing this and then, I think it’s important to look at why that is.
Is it that the person is just unpleasant or more difficult to diagnose? Is the person that’s actually quite pleasant but creating a culture of uncertainty?
That will create burn out in place really quickly.
Leaders Creating A Burnout Recovery Plan For The Team
Danna Korn
It’s too much uncertainty, processes and roles aren’t well defined. There’s too much change going on and again, not enough transparency. There’s this whisper culture and people are starting to talk and rumors are flowing. Then, people are starting to ride an emotional rollercoaster.
I think you made a really good point that it’s not just the leaders that are hitting the walls but a leader needs to make sure that they’re not creating a culture of high burn out through all of these different things you can do that, all of these different ways you can do that.
Kamala Chambers
Danna, thank you. We’ve been here talking about how to deal with and avoid burn out with a burnout recovery plan.
Burnout Recovery Plan – Back Away Before Getting To The Point Of Burn Out
Kamala Chambers
One thing that I’m really left with this conversation is how I push myself to a point of burn out on a daily basis sometimes and how I can back away before I even get to that point of just complete utter, working myself until I just can’t even function anymore.
And so, I’m finding that this conversation on burnout recovery plan is bringing more balance, how can we listen to ourselves more every day and every step of the way to give ourselves what we need instead of getting to the point of total exhaustion.
Thank you so much Thriving Launchers for being here with us and I encourage you to take what you’ve learned today and start to nourish yourself. Keep thriving everyone.
