Burout

[michaelcardus]

What do corporate trainers do when we reach that - am I in the right field?
point.

[Dylan Ardan]

I haven't got there yet...in fact 2 years ago I was a university lecturer who was asking the same question...and now corporate teambuilding provided me the answer to take it to another level. For years my intuition was telling me it was time to move on to something new...so My solution was to leave the university environment and take a leap of faith--go travel and see what opportunities emerges...and teambuilding in Vietnam changed everything. So maybe it is just a change or upgrade that does the career good. Dylan Ardan -Saigon, Vietnam

[michaelcardus]

Dylan,
good point - this idea of burnout is something that I go through regulary - what I feel it stems from is the seperation from where you actually are, where you want to be, and where the group you are facilitating wishes to be. WIthing these three circles (in a ven diagram) create an overlap. When that connection of all three is lacking or smaller in size this is where the stress of, is this working comes from and what I refer to as burnout.
This is when I need to revisit my three circles and reflect upon what the corporate teams is looking for and if I am the right person to deliver and serve their needs. Taking the selfish ego out and replacing the serve others mentality.
I agree with Dylan that a change is beneficial although within these changes if we are not feeling the uncomfortable press of, is this right? are we challenging our selves? Comfort and happines are small parts of the corporate facilitation experience.

[David Vermilye]

Michael, I would be curious regarding what is causing the burnout. I hae been in the field for over 20 years and one thing I have learned is that there are things I like to do and things I don't like. The administratvie aspects for me are the things that way me down and create a sense of burn out. Also, at times. the schedule can become hectic so you feel as if you are owned by the schedule or the clients and that can seem constraining. Regardless of what is causing it, you need to find someone to help you sort out what you are feeling because your "baggage" will begin to creep into your work and a group in storming that senses 2nd guessing from a facilitator can eat you for lunch. Maybe you could take a week off to just get away and think through your life goals. Dave Vermilye

[Nick Smith]

Where does tiredness and overwork become cynicism and burnout? I find at the end of a long summer I am devoid of ideas, lacking in inspiration and not giving 100% anymore. The clients lose out on the quality and I am worried that they might lose out on the safety, which scares me. I have now realised that I have to programme in time to stop, even in the busy summer months when there are so many opportunities to do more work.
In terms of burnout, I have spent a lot of time this week talking to a couple of friends who are desparate to leave the industry because they have had enough of the same stuff week after week in an outdoor centre. I have the great advantage of being freelance and working in different places with different types of clients which keeps me relatively fresh and excited about what I do. I think this change is vital; its rightand necessary because it keeps me excited. Some of the things I do might be less challenging and comfortable for me but if that means I can carry on for more years then that suits me fine. It also makes the more exciting and challenging weeks even better. I definitely agree with Dave that talking it all through with someone has helped me in the past - we've all been there and so we can learn from each others coping mechanisms. But its also just good to talk - the burden seems less heavy afterwards. I would also go along with what he said about which aspects of our job cause us the stress, either because they are on the edge (or outside) our skillset, don't match our personality type, grate with our values or whatever. I spend time working with people to identify what is what and then trying to mould their job to maximise the fun stuff - some of the dross will always be with us but lets jettison what we can.

[Dr. Scott Simmerman]

We all go through those phases, for sure. Gee, I guess I am on my 6th career now... If you want to make a change, do it. If you are antsy, then try to reframe what you are doing. I did the normal "consulting on projects" a long time ago, working with a single client for 3 to 6 months and traveling the whole time -- and working for a BOSS *

Then, I started doing things on my own.

Then, I just got tired of doing (and all the traveling) and migrated things to a point where I mostly sell and occasionally present. That kind of transformation can work. But selling your stuff means "giving away the intellectual property" and "sharing with others," something that is hard to do when you develop so much ownership through the sweat equity approach to building your tools and toolkit.

I guess my main word of advice, after working in OD and personal growth stuff for 30+ years is pretty simple: "The First Rule of Wing Walking (on an airplane): Do NOT let go with your left hand until you have a firm grip with your right."

Hope that helps some...

* BOSS spelled backwards is self-explanatory, although it may take a minute to get the acronym.