April 30, 2025 • 27 mins
Facing burnout in education requires the same level of preparation we give to potential fires. We don't just try to prevent fires—we install alarms, conduct drills, and create evacuation plans because we understand fires might happen despite our best prevention efforts.
Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson (PBJ) presents a powerful framework for addressing burnout as the legitimate crisis it is. Drawing from the National Incident Management System used by the Department of Homeland Security, she outlines how educational institutions can move beyond mere prevention to develop comprehensive preparedness plans for when burnout inevitably occurs.
The preparedness phase requires four critical elements: training programs that equip everyone to recognize burnout symptoms, response protocols that outline clear steps when burnout appears, resource identification that catalogs all available support options, and simulation exercises that practice response scenarios. Each component builds organizational capacity to address burnout effectively rather than reactively.
PBJ emphasizes that managers need specialized training to lead during high-pressure periods without transferring their stress to team members. She recommends cross-departmental collaboration where different units support each other during their busy seasons, creating an institutional safety net. Most importantly, she shares the principle "Nothing for them without them"—reminding leaders that effective burnout solutions must include input from those they're designed to protect.
If you find yourself thinking "I can't stop because everything will fall apart," you're precisely the person who needs to stop most. Grab the STOP plan from the show notes to incorporate essential microbreaks into your rhythm of work. Building burnout preparedness isn't just compassionate leadership—it's responsible stewardship of the human resources that make our educational institutions function.
Upgrade to Premium Membership to access the Disrupting Burnout audiobook and other bonus content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1213895/supporters/new
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
But we prepare ourselves to respond if the fire
happens.
So there are fire alarms, thereare sprinkler systems, there are
trainings, there are drillswhere we practice how to escape.
So we don't stop at assuming orpretending that the fire will
(00:22):
never happen.
We do our very best to prevent afire and if the fire comes, we
have capacity and a plan andlanguage and knowledge in order
to respond to that crisis,because we want to be
(00:43):
responsible with the lives thatare in our hands.
I want you to think aboutburnout in the same way.
Hey friend, I am Dr PatriceBuckner-Jackson, but you can
call me PBJ.
Welcome to another episode ofDisrupting Burnout, where we are
giving you the strategies forpouring out purpose without
(01:06):
burning out.
Friend, listen, we are gettingback on track today.
We started a conversation acouple of episodes ago I think
it was 142 or 143 where we werediscussing creating a plan for
dealing with the crisis ofburnout, and it really is a
(01:28):
crisis, and what we shared isthere is a proven framework for
responding to crisis.
So the National IncidentManagement System here in the US
from the Department of HomelandSecurity is not just a plan but
a language that allows us towork through crisis On that
(01:53):
level.
The crisis may be a hurricane,it may be wildfires, whatever
mass crisis happens in our areawhen the federal government is
engaged, the National IncidentManagement System, or NIMS this
is the language that we speak,this is the framework that we
follow, and many of us educatorshave been trained and certified
(02:17):
in the NIMS framework so thatwhen those resources have to
come to our area, we are awareof the plan and the language so
that we can collaborate and worktogether to respond to the
crisis.
So my challenge is, aseducators, because we know
(02:38):
burnout is a crisis and let mejust say this I know that folks
who are not necessarilyeducators you educate, but not
necessarily educators watch andlisten to this podcast and
you're welcome as well.
Friend, this works for you.
My examples, my personalexperience, will come from
education, because that's who Iam, but this framework will work
(02:59):
for your teams as well Allpurposeful professionals.
So we are taking the tried andtrue and proven crisis
management framework from NIMSand we are applying it to the
burnout crisis that we arefacing in education and in many
of your organizations as wellorganizations as well.
(03:39):
So just a reminder the fivephases of crisis management
according to N to stop, hold upthe increase, the crisis from
happening, right?
So how do we stop this fromhappening?
What can we do to restrain theconsequences of burnout so that
(04:04):
it doesn't become a crisis or itdoesn't continue being such a
crisis, right?
So let's think about firesafety in our schools.
So we have fire men, people,women, fire people come into the
school to train our students onfire safety.
(04:27):
We have protocols in place,right, we do all of this
education to encourage folks.
You can't have open flames atschool.
You can't bring lighters toschool.
So there's education.
There are some restrictions.
We've done a number of things toprevent fires in our schools,
(04:50):
but we don't just assume thatthere will never be a fire.
We don't stop at preventing thefire, but we prepare ourselves
to respond if the fire happens.
So there are fire alarms, thereare sprinkler systems, there
are trainings, there are drillswhere we practice how to escape.
(05:14):
So we don't stop at assuming orpretending that the fire will
never happen.
We do our very best to preventa fire and if the fire comes, we
have capacity and a plan andlanguage and knowledge in order
(05:36):
to respond to that crisis,because we want to be
responsible with the lives thatare in our hands, want to be
responsible with the lives thatare in our hands.
I want you to think aboutburnout in the same way.
In prevention, we want to doour very best to educate folks
and equip them and make changesin our culture and our workload
(06:01):
so that we are not driven tocrisis when it comes to burnout,
so that our folks, our teachers, our administrators don't have
to experience personal burnoutand we are well aware that many
of them are already there.
So we're not just pretendingthat a fire can't happen.
(06:23):
We will do everything we can toprevent, but preparedness says
we are building our capacity torespond when and if it happens.
Pbj, I can't stop.
I don't have time to stop.
If I stop, all of this fallsapart.
We're short-staffed.
(06:43):
I don't have anybody that stop.
If I stop, all of this fallsapart.
We're short-staffed.
I don't have anybody that cantake my place at work.
I don't have support at home orat work to stop.
Friends, if any of thesethoughts come to mind when you
think about taking a break, youare the person who needs to stop
the most.
I want to offer you our stopplan Simple.
(07:07):
I want you to use the samestrategies and wisdom and skills
that you use at work, and I'mgoing to guide you to using
those strategies to plan microbreaks.
I'm not talking about a month'ssabbatical, but can you
incorporate microbreaks intoyour life as a regular rhythm of
(07:31):
rest so that while you areserving, while you are giving,
you can have moments of revival,so that you can live the life
you're living sustainably?
Friend, you need to grab thisstop plan.
Make sure to click the link inthe show notes or wherever
you're watching or listening tothis, so that you can get what
(07:54):
you need right now.
It can't wait.
I know you do a wonderful job,but people don't know what it
costs you to be you, and youknow what the cost has been.
It's time to stop.
Grab the plan today.
So today I want to talk to youabout what preparedness looks
(08:16):
like, what it looks like tobuild in systems and capacity to
respond when burnout shows upin our schools, in our colleges,
in our universities, in ournonprofits, in your organization
.
What do you need in place to beready?
Preparedness is about beingready.
(08:42):
Yes, we hope that all of theprevention is effective, and we
are well aware of the days andtimes that we live in, of the
pressures and that ourenvironments lend towards
increased burnout.
So we're not going to put ourhead in the sand, we're not
(09:04):
going to pretend that theprevention is enough.
Prevention is just the firststep.
Preparedness.
Now is where we get ready.
So how do we get ready tosupport our educators, our
administrators, our teams, ourpeople concerning burnout?
So the preparedness stage callsfor four steps and we want to
(09:29):
walk through these stepsconcerning burnout.
So again, these five phasesfrom NIMS can be applied to any
crisis.
This is a proven crisisframework, but we are
specifically applying thisframework to the work of burnout
, to the crisis of burnout,specifically educator burnout.
(09:52):
Okay, so let's talk aboutpreparedness.
You need four things.
You need training, programdevelopment, you need response
protocol creation, you needresource identification and
simulation exercises.
So let me say that one moretime Training, program
development, response protocolcreation, resource
(10:17):
identification and simulationexercises.
So let's walk through thesestep by step for what they would
look like within oureducational institutions in
getting ready to deal withburnout.
So first, you need trainingprogram development.
(10:37):
What does that mean?
We need to train our folks onwhat to do when the signs of
burnout show up.
Right.
So who needs to be trained.
Individual educators need to betrained.
They need to be trained on whatare the signs and symptoms.
(10:58):
They should be able, theyshould be equipped, to advocate
for themselves and raise theirhands to say I'm living this
right now.
I am seeing these consequences,I'm seeing burnout show up in
my life and I need some support.
So every person, every educator, every individual, every team
(11:23):
member needs to be equipped withwhat burnout looks like and
what it is.
So you know that I teachthrough the phases of burnout,
from surviving to overwhelmed toburnout.
This is language, language thatwe can use and in describing
each one of those phases, itempowers folks to check in with
(11:46):
themselves and identify howthey're doing.
So this language can be usedwithin your institution for
folks to understand one whatburnout looks like before the
burnout incident, right?
So we're still not at.
I'm at FMLA and I need time off.
We're.
We're still not at.
I'm quitting my job because Idon't know what to do.
(12:06):
We're still not at.
I'm quitting my job because Idon't know what to do.
We're still not at the crisis.
Yet we are preparing to have thecapacity.
We want to be ready for thecrisis and in order to be ready,
we need folks to be aware ofwhat to look for, specifically,
your managers and leaders.
They one need to be prepared torecognize it.
(12:30):
Managers and leaders need torecognize the signs and symptoms
in themselves, but they shouldalso be able to recognize the
signs and symptoms in their teamand in their people.
In addition to recognizing,your managers and leaders should
be trained to have capacity ofhow to lead during high pressure
(12:54):
, busy, critical times.
Friend, listen to me.
I can't tell you how many timesI've supported people and I've
seen it in my own life wherehaving a leader or a manager
with lack of skills of how tosupport people when things are
busy, when it's overwhelming,that individual can contribute
(13:19):
to the threat of burnout becausethey don't know how to deal
with people when everything ishot.
Your leaders and your managersneed to be equipped.
It's not the same.
You need to know how to engagewith people when they are
stressed.
You need to know how to manageyour own stress.
(13:39):
You need to know how to walkthrough the crisis without
spilling out your own anxietyover everybody else.
So your leaders and yourmanagers need to be trained and
equipped for what to do and howto lead during high stress times
.
Everybody needs to understandthe signs and symptoms.
(14:01):
Leaders and managers need tounderstand the signs and
symptoms in themselves andothers, and they should be
equipped.
They should be equipped, theyshould be equipped, they should
be ready.
They should be ready to respond, they should be ready to
support, they should be ready tolead during critical times.
I would also suggest having aburnout response team.
(14:25):
This is something that we aresupporting some schools and
organizations with building thisplan out, right?
So I just want to give you thecritical parts of the plan.
Who are the people that areespecially trained?
Right?
So you don't want to putpressure on everybody to be a
(14:45):
burnout expert.
They are expert in somethingalready.
They are an expert in more thanenough.
You want the right people onthe team to be equipped and
ready to serve specificallyconcerning burnout.
So who is that small group ofpeople that have been trained in
(15:07):
my framework of disruptingburnout or some other framework
where they can recognize andrespond to the needs
specifically concerning burnout?
And they don't have to be theexecutive leaders, they don't
have to be administrators.
You can assign professors orcoordinators or staff members
(15:30):
who are passionate about thissubject or passionate about
wellness, and you just need asmall group of people who are
equipped and ready to respondconcerning burnout.
So you got to start withtraining.
You got to start with training.
Folks need to be trained onseveral levels and ready to
(15:50):
respond to burnout.
Next, you need the responseprotocol.
What is the plan?
Right?
So I've shared with you overand over you need a culture, you
need language and you need aplan, because it's one thing for
you to say yes, let us knowwhen you're struggling, let us
(16:11):
know if you feel overwhelmed,let us know if you're burnt out,
but if there's no next step ofwhat you're gonna do about it,
then one folks aren't gonna tellyou, because they don't trust
you, right?
So what is the written plan?
The step-by-step system thatyou put in place and listen.
(16:33):
Writing a plan is not aboutchecking the box on every
possible scenario.
You would never be able toconsider every possible scenario
of burnout, right?
But you can create something weused in higher ed called an all
incident plan.
We had a plan that we couldcater and use no matter the
(16:59):
threat to our campus, right?
Do you have a base all incidentplan to support your faculty
and your staff specificallyconcerning burnout, wellness,
mental health all of thesethings.
You need a written plan.
Have you sat down and thoughtabout some if-then scenarios?
(17:21):
Have you sat down and thoughtabout what the step-by-step is
and who's responsible for what?
Have you sat down and thoughtabout coverage and how can you
cover the busiest times?
And, friend, I would challengeyou that this not be just your
department, because what I'vefound is if your department is
(17:43):
busy, the whole department isbusy.
So then you don't have extrahands to support.
But if you go cross governance,if you go across departments,
across divisions, then while onedepartment or one area is in
their go time, the other areamay be more free to support and
(18:05):
vice versa.
So think about creating acrosscampus plans, think about
creating across division planswhere you can help and support
each other.
What are those resources?
So what are the step-by-steps?
Who's responsible?
Who can you engage?
(18:25):
Who can help?
What are we going to do tosupport when this burnout is
showing up?
So you need a written plan.
You need a written plan that isnot just written, but not just
written, but it's rehearsedRight.
So you need training,development programs, you need a
response protocol, you need awritten plan and next you need
(18:47):
to identify your resources.
And you would be surprised.
You would be surprised becauseimmediately we think nobody can
help, like we don't have money,we don't have resources, nobody
can help.
But when you sit down and thinkabout all of the resources
available to you, the resourcesin your community that you can
(19:07):
engage, the resources in yourschool system or your state,
right?
One of those resources?
I worked in the universitysystem of Georgia and when I was
there, we had a crossinstitution counseling resources
.
So it meant that if oneparticular campus was dealing
(19:30):
with a crisis, we could havecounselors from across the
system and across the state cometo our campus and support with
therapy and counseling resources, so that, one our counselors
are not all tapped out, but twothey may be impacted, they may
be effective, right, so we'vegot sister institutions that
(19:53):
will send a counselor or two ourway to support us.
That was one of the greatestbenefits of being a part of a
system.
It wasn't just counseling.
I've seen where we've hadprofessionals in different areas
, so a registrar or a financialaid person work at this
institution, but support thatinstitution because we're all in
(20:14):
the same system.
So what resources are availableto you?
I want you to get creative.
I want you to open your mind towhat you haven't seen before,
what you haven't thought about.
I want you to ask questions, goto your chamber, go to your
local government, go to peopleand say, hey, we're making a
plan.
We're not in crisis right now,we're okay, but we are actively
(20:38):
making a plan for what we can doto support the educators in
this community.
Here are the things that wewould need.
Can you point me towards theresources and you need a list of
those resources available tofolks.
Make them printed andelectronic, so some folks might
want to reach out to resourceson their own and not go through
(21:00):
their workplace.
How do they know what'savailable to them?
And I know we say they should.
They should know, they shouldknow that HR has this available.
They should know that if, ifthey work here, they have access
to counseling, they have accessto four sessions.
They should know.
Don't pretend people know anddon't pretend they remember
(21:22):
Actively.
Remind them, make it asaccessible as possible.
There were years that I toldmyself I can't afford to go to
counseling.
I don't have no extra money forthat.
I don't have any extra money togo to counseling.
And when I finally went tocounseling, I realized it was
covered in my health insurance.
I talked myself out of it foryears and when I finally looked
(21:48):
into it, I was shocked to seethat I owed little to nothing
for counseling because it wascovered in my health insurance.
Friend, make sure you identifythe resources, make lists of
those resources and make themreadily available so that people
can take advantage.
(22:09):
And in the final stage, you needsimulation exercises, tabletop
exercises.
You need to walk through it.
It's like the fire drill.
Why do we do fire drills?
Because on the day of the fire,we don't want people guessing
about what they need to do toprotect their lives.
We want them to not just haveheard it, but we want them to
(22:33):
have practiced and rehearsedwhat they're going to do.
It's the same thing concerningburnout.
Take 10 minutes of your staffmeeting or your faculty meeting
and talk through a scenario thatyou all have been through and
what you would have donedifferently, or talk through
what.
If this happens, what will wedo?
(22:55):
What can we do?
It does a couple of things.
Those tabletop exercises willequip folks for what to do and
it should be on a regular basisso that in the time of crisis,
it comes back to mind quicklyand people know what the next
steps are.
(23:24):
So you haven't just writtenconversations openly, that we're
working through it together andwe have an actual plan.
You're not just saying peoplefirst, you're not just putting
it on the website or putting abanner up in the student center,
but you are putting your moneywhere your mouth is, you're
(23:45):
putting feet to the ground.
You are showing us that youtruly care about the well-being
of your staff because you'reprioritizing it enough to spend
time not just to have a plan butto make sure we're all engaged
in the plan.
Let me just give you one morethought.
(24:08):
This is something that mystudents taught me over the
years Nothing for them withoutthem.
Let me say that one more timeNothing for them without them.
I've been in a number of roomsover the years where we create a
(24:28):
plan or start an initiative ordo a thing and we're so proud of
ourselves because we think it'swonderful and everybody's going
to love it, and when we roll itout, it's like people don't
care or they're disgruntled.
And what I learned is you don'tplan something for other people
without involving them.
You know your perspective, butyou need all perspectives in the
(24:55):
room.
So, as you are building thisplan, don't just do this in
executive meeting, don't just dothis among the administrators,
don't just do this in theC-suite, but bring people to the
table so that you can trulyunderstand and engage their
(25:15):
experience and build a plan thatworks for everybody Not
something you're assuming willwork, but something that you
have had people at the table,you've accepted their investment
and they have helped to prepareyour institution for this
(25:35):
crisis of burnout.
All right, friends.
So again, we discussed the firstphase, which is prevention.
We're doing everything we canto stop burnout from happening.
In the first phase, which isprevention, we're doing
everything we can to stopburnout from happening.
In the second phasepreparedness we're getting ready
for when burnout shows up.
We're not going to assume thatthe fire will never happen, but
(26:01):
we're going to be prepared torespond on the day of the fire.
All right, I hope this ishelpful for you.
Again, this is something that weare working through and helping
some organizations to buildtheir response plan for burnout,
and I want to share with you aswe walk through it.
(26:21):
All right, friend, as always,you are powerful, you are
significant, you are brilliant,you're brilliant.
You got what it takes to buildthis.
You can do this.
We can address burnout in ourworkplaces.
We got to stop talking about itand we got to do something
(26:41):
about it, friend, and it takessome effort, it takes some time,
it takes some attention, butit's worth it.
It's worth it.
You are brilliant and you areloved.
Love always, pbj.
I'll see you next time, thankyou.
But we prepare ourselves to respond if the fire
happens.
So there are fire alarms, thereare sprinkler systems, there are
trainings, there are drillswhere we practice how to escape.
So we don't stop at assuming orpretending that the fire will
(00:22):
never happen.
We do our very best to prevent afire and if the fire comes, we
have capacity and a plan andlanguage and knowledge in order
to respond to that crisis,because we want to be
(00:43):
responsible with the lives thatare in our hands.
I want you to think aboutburnout in the same way.
Hey friend, I am Dr PatriceBuckner-Jackson, but you can
call me PBJ.
Welcome to another episode ofDisrupting Burnout, where we are
giving you the strategies forpouring out purpose without
(01:06):
burning out.
Friend, listen, we are gettingback on track today.
We started a conversation acouple of episodes ago I think
it was 142 or 143 where we werediscussing creating a plan for
dealing with the crisis ofburnout, and it really is a
(01:28):
crisis, and what we shared isthere is a proven framework for
responding to crisis.
So the National IncidentManagement System here in the US
from the Department of HomelandSecurity is not just a plan but
a language that allows us towork through crisis On that
(01:53):
level.
The crisis may be a hurricane,it may be wildfires, whatever
mass crisis happens in our areawhen the federal government is
engaged, the National IncidentManagement System, or NIMS this
is the language that we speak,this is the framework that we
follow, and many of us educatorshave been trained and certified
(02:17):
in the NIMS framework so thatwhen those resources have to
come to our area, we are awareof the plan and the language so
that we can collaborate and worktogether to respond to the
crisis.
So my challenge is, aseducators, because we know
(02:38):
burnout is a crisis and let mejust say this I know that folks
who are not necessarilyeducators you educate, but not
necessarily educators watch andlisten to this podcast and
you're welcome as well.
Friend, this works for you.
My examples, my personalexperience, will come from
education, because that's who Iam, but this framework will work
(02:59):
for your teams as well Allpurposeful professionals.
So we are taking the tried andtrue and proven crisis
management framework from NIMSand we are applying it to the
burnout crisis that we arefacing in education and in many
of your organizations as wellorganizations as well.
(03:39):
So just a reminder the fivephases of crisis management
according to N to stop, hold upthe increase, the crisis from
happening, right?
So how do we stop this fromhappening?
What can we do to restrain theconsequences of burnout so that
(04:04):
it doesn't become a crisis or itdoesn't continue being such a
crisis, right?
So let's think about firesafety in our schools.
So we have fire men, people,women, fire people come into the
school to train our students onfire safety.
(04:27):
We have protocols in place,right, we do all of this
education to encourage folks.
You can't have open flames atschool.
You can't bring lighters toschool.
So there's education.
There are some restrictions.
We've done a number of things toprevent fires in our schools,
(04:50):
but we don't just assume thatthere will never be a fire.
We don't stop at preventing thefire, but we prepare ourselves
to respond if the fire happens.
So there are fire alarms, thereare sprinkler systems, there
are trainings, there are drillswhere we practice how to escape.
(05:14):
So we don't stop at assuming orpretending that the fire will
never happen.
We do our very best to preventa fire and if the fire comes, we
have capacity and a plan andlanguage and knowledge in order
(05:36):
to respond to that crisis,because we want to be
responsible with the lives thatare in our hands, want to be
responsible with the lives thatare in our hands.
I want you to think aboutburnout in the same way.
In prevention, we want to doour very best to educate folks
and equip them and make changesin our culture and our workload
(06:01):
so that we are not driven tocrisis when it comes to burnout,
so that our folks, our teachers, our administrators don't have
to experience personal burnoutand we are well aware that many
of them are already there.
So we're not just pretendingthat a fire can't happen.
(06:23):
We will do everything we can toprevent, but preparedness says
we are building our capacity torespond when and if it happens.
Pbj, I can't stop.
I don't have time to stop.
If I stop, all of this fallsapart.
We're short-staffed.
(06:43):
I don't have anybody that stop.
If I stop, all of this fallsapart.
We're short-staffed.
I don't have anybody that cantake my place at work.
I don't have support at home orat work to stop.
Friends, if any of thesethoughts come to mind when you
think about taking a break, youare the person who needs to stop
the most.
I want to offer you our stopplan Simple.
(07:07):
I want you to use the samestrategies and wisdom and skills
that you use at work, and I'mgoing to guide you to using
those strategies to plan microbreaks.
I'm not talking about a month'ssabbatical, but can you
incorporate microbreaks intoyour life as a regular rhythm of
(07:31):
rest so that while you areserving, while you are giving,
you can have moments of revival,so that you can live the life
you're living sustainably?
Friend, you need to grab thisstop plan.
Make sure to click the link inthe show notes or wherever
you're watching or listening tothis, so that you can get what
(07:54):
you need right now.
It can't wait.
I know you do a wonderful job,but people don't know what it
costs you to be you, and youknow what the cost has been.
It's time to stop.
Grab the plan today.
So today I want to talk to youabout what preparedness looks
(08:16):
like, what it looks like tobuild in systems and capacity to
respond when burnout shows upin our schools, in our colleges,
in our universities, in ournonprofits, in your organization
.
What do you need in place to beready?
Preparedness is about beingready.
(08:42):
Yes, we hope that all of theprevention is effective, and we
are well aware of the days andtimes that we live in, of the
pressures and that ourenvironments lend towards
increased burnout.
So we're not going to put ourhead in the sand, we're not
(09:04):
going to pretend that theprevention is enough.
Prevention is just the firststep.
Preparedness.
Now is where we get ready.
So how do we get ready tosupport our educators, our
administrators, our teams, ourpeople concerning burnout?
So the preparedness stage callsfor four steps and we want to
(09:29):
walk through these stepsconcerning burnout.
So again, these five phasesfrom NIMS can be applied to any
crisis.
This is a proven crisisframework, but we are
specifically applying thisframework to the work of burnout
, to the crisis of burnout,specifically educator burnout.
(09:52):
Okay, so let's talk aboutpreparedness.
You need four things.
You need training, programdevelopment, you need response
protocol creation, you needresource identification and
simulation exercises.
So let me say that one moretime Training, program
development, response protocolcreation, resource
(10:17):
identification and simulationexercises.
So let's walk through thesestep by step for what they would
look like within oureducational institutions in
getting ready to deal withburnout.
So first, you need trainingprogram development.
(10:37):
What does that mean?
We need to train our folks onwhat to do when the signs of
burnout show up.
Right.
So who needs to be trained.
Individual educators need to betrained.
They need to be trained on whatare the signs and symptoms.
(10:58):
They should be able, theyshould be equipped, to advocate
for themselves and raise theirhands to say I'm living this
right now.
I am seeing these consequences,I'm seeing burnout show up in
my life and I need some support.
So every person, every educator, every individual, every team
(11:23):
member needs to be equipped withwhat burnout looks like and
what it is.
So you know that I teachthrough the phases of burnout,
from surviving to overwhelmed toburnout.
This is language, language thatwe can use and in describing
each one of those phases, itempowers folks to check in with
(11:46):
themselves and identify howthey're doing.
So this language can be usedwithin your institution for
folks to understand one whatburnout looks like before the
burnout incident, right?
So we're still not at.
I'm at FMLA and I need time off.
We're.
We're still not at.
I'm quitting my job because Idon't know what to do.
(12:06):
We're still not at.
I'm quitting my job because Idon't know what to do.
We're still not at the crisis.
Yet we are preparing to have thecapacity.
We want to be ready for thecrisis and in order to be ready,
we need folks to be aware ofwhat to look for, specifically,
your managers and leaders.
They one need to be prepared torecognize it.
(12:30):
Managers and leaders need torecognize the signs and symptoms
in themselves, but they shouldalso be able to recognize the
signs and symptoms in their teamand in their people.
In addition to recognizing,your managers and leaders should
be trained to have capacity ofhow to lead during high pressure
(12:54):
, busy, critical times.
Friend, listen to me.
I can't tell you how many timesI've supported people and I've
seen it in my own life wherehaving a leader or a manager
with lack of skills of how tosupport people when things are
busy, when it's overwhelming,that individual can contribute
(13:19):
to the threat of burnout becausethey don't know how to deal
with people when everything ishot.
Your leaders and your managersneed to be equipped.
It's not the same.
You need to know how to engagewith people when they are
stressed.
You need to know how to manageyour own stress.
(13:39):
You need to know how to walkthrough the crisis without
spilling out your own anxietyover everybody else.
So your leaders and yourmanagers need to be trained and
equipped for what to do and howto lead during high stress times
.
Everybody needs to understandthe signs and symptoms.
(14:01):
Leaders and managers need tounderstand the signs and
symptoms in themselves andothers, and they should be
equipped.
They should be equipped, theyshould be equipped, they should
be ready.
They should be ready to respond, they should be ready to
support, they should be ready tolead during critical times.
I would also suggest having aburnout response team.
(14:25):
This is something that we aresupporting some schools and
organizations with building thisplan out, right?
So I just want to give you thecritical parts of the plan.
Who are the people that areespecially trained?
Right?
So you don't want to putpressure on everybody to be a
(14:45):
burnout expert.
They are expert in somethingalready.
They are an expert in more thanenough.
You want the right people onthe team to be equipped and
ready to serve specificallyconcerning burnout.
So who is that small group ofpeople that have been trained in
(15:07):
my framework of disruptingburnout or some other framework
where they can recognize andrespond to the needs
specifically concerning burnout?
And they don't have to be theexecutive leaders, they don't
have to be administrators.
You can assign professors orcoordinators or staff members
(15:30):
who are passionate about thissubject or passionate about
wellness, and you just need asmall group of people who are
equipped and ready to respondconcerning burnout.
So you got to start withtraining.
You got to start with training.
Folks need to be trained onseveral levels and ready to
(15:50):
respond to burnout.
Next, you need the responseprotocol.
What is the plan?
Right?
So I've shared with you overand over you need a culture, you
need language and you need aplan, because it's one thing for
you to say yes, let us knowwhen you're struggling, let us
(16:11):
know if you feel overwhelmed,let us know if you're burnt out,
but if there's no next step ofwhat you're gonna do about it,
then one folks aren't gonna tellyou, because they don't trust
you, right?
So what is the written plan?
The step-by-step system thatyou put in place and listen.
(16:33):
Writing a plan is not aboutchecking the box on every
possible scenario.
You would never be able toconsider every possible scenario
of burnout, right?
But you can create something weused in higher ed called an all
incident plan.
We had a plan that we couldcater and use no matter the
(16:59):
threat to our campus, right?
Do you have a base all incidentplan to support your faculty
and your staff specificallyconcerning burnout, wellness,
mental health all of thesethings.
You need a written plan.
Have you sat down and thoughtabout some if-then scenarios?
(17:21):
Have you sat down and thoughtabout what the step-by-step is
and who's responsible for what?
Have you sat down and thoughtabout coverage and how can you
cover the busiest times?
And, friend, I would challengeyou that this not be just your
department, because what I'vefound is if your department is
(17:43):
busy, the whole department isbusy.
So then you don't have extrahands to support.
But if you go cross governance,if you go across departments,
across divisions, then while onedepartment or one area is in
their go time, the other areamay be more free to support and
(18:05):
vice versa.
So think about creating acrosscampus plans, think about
creating across division planswhere you can help and support
each other.
What are those resources?
So what are the step-by-steps?
Who's responsible?
Who can you engage?
(18:25):
Who can help?
What are we going to do tosupport when this burnout is
showing up?
So you need a written plan.
You need a written plan that isnot just written, but not just
written, but it's rehearsedRight.
So you need training,development programs, you need a
response protocol, you need awritten plan and next you need
(18:47):
to identify your resources.
And you would be surprised.
You would be surprised becauseimmediately we think nobody can
help, like we don't have money,we don't have resources, nobody
can help.
But when you sit down and thinkabout all of the resources
available to you, the resourcesin your community that you can
(19:07):
engage, the resources in yourschool system or your state,
right?
One of those resources?
I worked in the universitysystem of Georgia and when I was
there, we had a crossinstitution counseling resources
.
So it meant that if oneparticular campus was dealing
(19:30):
with a crisis, we could havecounselors from across the
system and across the state cometo our campus and support with
therapy and counseling resources, so that, one our counselors
are not all tapped out, but twothey may be impacted, they may
be effective, right, so we'vegot sister institutions that
(19:53):
will send a counselor or two ourway to support us.
That was one of the greatestbenefits of being a part of a
system.
It wasn't just counseling.
I've seen where we've hadprofessionals in different areas
, so a registrar or a financialaid person work at this
institution, but support thatinstitution because we're all in
(20:14):
the same system.
So what resources are availableto you?
I want you to get creative.
I want you to open your mind towhat you haven't seen before,
what you haven't thought about.
I want you to ask questions, goto your chamber, go to your
local government, go to peopleand say, hey, we're making a
plan.
We're not in crisis right now,we're okay, but we are actively
(20:38):
making a plan for what we can doto support the educators in
this community.
Here are the things that wewould need.
Can you point me towards theresources and you need a list of
those resources available tofolks.
Make them printed andelectronic, so some folks might
want to reach out to resourceson their own and not go through
(21:00):
their workplace.
How do they know what'savailable to them?
And I know we say they should.
They should know, they shouldknow that HR has this available.
They should know that if, ifthey work here, they have access
to counseling, they have accessto four sessions.
They should know.
Don't pretend people know anddon't pretend they remember
(21:22):
Actively.
Remind them, make it asaccessible as possible.
There were years that I toldmyself I can't afford to go to
counseling.
I don't have no extra money forthat.
I don't have any extra money togo to counseling.
And when I finally went tocounseling, I realized it was
covered in my health insurance.
I talked myself out of it foryears and when I finally looked
(21:48):
into it, I was shocked to seethat I owed little to nothing
for counseling because it wascovered in my health insurance.
Friend, make sure you identifythe resources, make lists of
those resources and make themreadily available so that people
can take advantage.
(22:09):
And in the final stage, you needsimulation exercises, tabletop
exercises.
You need to walk through it.
It's like the fire drill.
Why do we do fire drills?
Because on the day of the fire,we don't want people guessing
about what they need to do toprotect their lives.
We want them to not just haveheard it, but we want them to
(22:33):
have practiced and rehearsedwhat they're going to do.
It's the same thing concerningburnout.
Take 10 minutes of your staffmeeting or your faculty meeting
and talk through a scenario thatyou all have been through and
what you would have donedifferently, or talk through
what.
If this happens, what will wedo?
(22:55):
What can we do?
It does a couple of things.
Those tabletop exercises willequip folks for what to do and
it should be on a regular basisso that in the time of crisis,
it comes back to mind quicklyand people know what the next
steps are.
(23:24):
So you haven't just writtenconversations openly, that we're
working through it together andwe have an actual plan.
You're not just saying peoplefirst, you're not just putting
it on the website or putting abanner up in the student center,
but you are putting your moneywhere your mouth is, you're
(23:45):
putting feet to the ground.
You are showing us that youtruly care about the well-being
of your staff because you'reprioritizing it enough to spend
time not just to have a plan butto make sure we're all engaged
in the plan.
Let me just give you one morethought.
(24:08):
This is something that mystudents taught me over the
years Nothing for them withoutthem.
Let me say that one more timeNothing for them without them.
I've been in a number of roomsover the years where we create a
(24:28):
plan or start an initiative ordo a thing and we're so proud of
ourselves because we think it'swonderful and everybody's going
to love it, and when we roll itout, it's like people don't
care or they're disgruntled.
And what I learned is you don'tplan something for other people
without involving them.
You know your perspective, butyou need all perspectives in the
(24:55):
room.
So, as you are building thisplan, don't just do this in
executive meeting, don't just dothis among the administrators,
don't just do this in theC-suite, but bring people to the
table so that you can trulyunderstand and engage their
(25:15):
experience and build a plan thatworks for everybody Not
something you're assuming willwork, but something that you
have had people at the table,you've accepted their investment
and they have helped to prepareyour institution for this
(25:35):
crisis of burnout.
All right, friends.
So again, we discussed the firstphase, which is prevention.
We're doing everything we canto stop burnout from happening.
In the first phase, which isprevention, we're doing
everything we can to stopburnout from happening.
In the second phasepreparedness we're getting ready
for when burnout shows up.
We're not going to assume thatthe fire will never happen, but
(26:01):
we're going to be prepared torespond on the day of the fire.
All right, I hope this ishelpful for you.
Again, this is something that weare working through and helping
some organizations to buildtheir response plan for burnout,
and I want to share with you aswe walk through it.
(26:21):
All right, friend, as always,you are powerful, you are
significant, you are brilliant,you're brilliant.
You got what it takes to buildthis.
You can do this.
We can address burnout in ourworkplaces.
We got to stop talking about itand we got to do something
(26:41):
about it, friend, and it takessome effort, it takes some time,
it takes some attention, butit's worth it.
It's worth it.
You are brilliant and you areloved.
Love always, pbj.
I'll see you next time, thankyou.
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