How To Use Your Clifton Strengths to Beat Burnout
Before the pandemic, I mostly taught yoga and led teacher trainings at a local studio. My days were split, with time neatly allocated to teaching classes, workshops, and trainings—all distinct from my family time. Then, almost overnight, everything shifted. The pandemic closed the studio, and suddenly, I was both homeschooling my two kids and trying to adapt professionally.
Initially, I saw this as a chance to blend my work and family life, and perhaps even reach more people online than I could in the studio.
So, I quickly pivoted and launched an online coaching business. I set up a makeshift office in my basement and desks in my kids' rooms. This new chapter mixed my work and personal life daily. My roles shifted rapidly: one moment I was a teacher, the next a mom, then a coach—this cycle went on all day.
Despite my hopes of managing everything smoothly, the reality was chaotic. Every day, tech issues and constant interruptions tested my patience. What I had imagined as a seamless integration of work and family life turned out to be a frantic, blurry mess.
The tipping point came one afternoon following a particularly tough day when my daughter interrupted an important coaching call because she couldn’t log on to Zoom for her class. After I helped her and finished the session, I shut down my computer and saw my reflection in the screen. I was struck by my own exhaustion—the dark circles under my eyes and the pallor of my complexion. I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I took a walk outside, attended a yoga class, had a conversation with my husband or read a book just for pleasure, without trying to multitask. In that moment, I knew I was burnt out. It wasn’t my first time feeling this way, but it was definitely the most intense.
Understanding Burnout
Burnout extends far beyond my personal story. It is a pervasive issue affecting many, particularly in the workplace. According to a Gallup poll, nearly a quarter of employees feel burned out very often or always, with another 44% feeling it sometimes.
Burnout differs from stress, which is a short-term response to pressure. Even daily stress can be manageable if you have the capacity to cope. Burnout, on the other hand, occurs when stress is not managed properly and becomes prolonged, leading to emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. This state can diminish a sense of personal accomplishment and leave individuals feeling helpless, cynical, and resentful.
The Role of Clifton Strengths in Addressing Burnout
The Clifton Strengths assessment identifies strengths, those productive ways in which a person naturally thinks, feels, and behaves. Understanding and leveraging these strengths can be a powerful strategy in combating burnout and building resilience. Using your strengths every day has been shown to increase engagement and reduce burnout. Additionally, Gallup research indicates that knowing your top strengths and the talent domain you lead with can hint at which coping strategies might work best for you.
Practical Steps to Utilize Your Strengths to Manage Burnout
Identify Contributing Factors: Gallup has studied and identified five root causes of burnout: unfair treatment, unmanageable workload, lack of support, unclear communication, and unreasonable time pressure. Additionally, your strengths can also be a contributing factor. Are you over-extending or misapplying a particular strength to the point of exhaustion? Are you spending a lot of time on activities that require you to use lesser talents? These factors can lead to burnout as well. It’s important to identify both the external and intrinsic contributing factors in order to develop an effective strategy.
Develop Coping Strategies: No matter what you do, your life is unlikely to become totally stress-free. In fact, some stress is good for you. Building resilience is about creating a toolbox of coping mechanisms to help you manage the stress of everyday life. Gallup has studied and now recommends specific coping strategies based on the talent domain you lead with:
If you lead with Executing: Take time to reflect on your situation and focus on the positives in your current work scenario.
If you lead with Influencing: Engage in intense physical activities and regularly reflect on strategies you’ve used in similar past situations.
If you lead with Relationship Building: Use relaxation or mindfulness exercises such as meditation, prayer, or yoga, and regularly reflect on how you’ve handled similar challenges before.
If you lead with Strategic Thinking: View your situation as a challenge to overcome and make an effort to spend more time with family and friends outside of work.
Get Support: One of the root causes of burnout is a lack of support, so build and leverage connections. Stay connected with others who share similar strengths to exchange ideas and strategies. Collaborate with colleagues who are strong where you are weak to help accomplish tasks that require your lesser talents. Communicate with those closest to you what burnout looks like in you so they can give you a heads up when the signs are there. A Gallup Certified Strengths Coach can be a valuable node in your network, helping you identify contributing factors, establish coping strategies, and build out your support system.
Wrap Up
My journey through burnout taught me the importance of self-awareness, self-care, and the need to apply one's strengths effectively. By recognizing the signs early and adjusting our approach to work and life, we can better manage stress before it escalates into burnout. This isn’t just crucial for personal health but is also essential for maintaining professional effectiveness and satisfaction. As we continue to navigate these challenging times, it’s important for all of us to leverage our strengths to foster resilience and thrive, not just survive.
If you're ready to take the next step in preventing and managing burnout in yourself or your team, sign up for a free 30-minute coaching discovery call. Learn how coaching can help leaders and individuals like you harness their strengths and develop effective strategies to beat burnout. Schedule your free session today!
