Burning Man: The Cost of Leading Through a Crisis
While many of us celebrated Labor Day Weekend grilling meats and drinking cold beverages in the comfort of our backyards, some intrepid souls headed to the desert in Black Rock, Nevada, for the latest occurrence of a counter-cultural event known as “Burning Man.”
The genesis of this event took place in 1986, when two friends with apparently nothing better to do decided to construct a wooden figure resembling a man on San Francisco Beach and light it on fire as a non-traditional way to celebrate the Summer Solstice. “Burning Man,” as it came to be known, has since expanded to a world-wide phenomenon with nearly 100 regional groups world-wide and an annual festival attended by 70,000 people in Black Rock Desert featuring concerts, mass yoga classes, art shows, and temporary accommodations that put Woodstock to shame.
According to its website, the festival’s mission is to “produce positive spiritual change in the world.” To live out that mission, the founders articulated “10 Principles of Burning Man,” including “Radical Inclusion,” “Gifting,” “Communal Effort,” and “Civic Responsibility.”
As lofty and encouraging as those values sound, however, the Burning Man Project’s mission statement ends with a more ominous declaration: “We will always burn the man.”
Leadership Burnout
What exactly does a “wild nine-day arts event in the Nevada desert frequented by celebs and tech moguls” have to do with leadership, you might ask.[1] In the words of the great swordsman Inigo Montoya from “The Princess Bride,” “Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”
It seems as if the world has been on fire over the past two-and-a-half years, with crisis after crisis affecting everyone on the planet. First one pandemic (COVID-19) followed potentially by another (monkeypox); unthinkable examples of racial injustice captured on video for all to see followed by protests and unrest on the streets and in our workplaces; contested political elections and controversial court decisions affecting issues of the most sensitive nature; and public clashes between violent extremists on both ends of the political spectrum, mirrored by private clashes between family members and friends with very different worldviews.
The never-ending sense of outrage and crisis has taken a toll on every sector of our lives, including politics, faith, family, and the workplace, resulting in reports of increased stress, anxiety, depression, and job dissatisfaction for every category of people imaginable.
In response to these crises, many employers have worked hard to develop a more supportive environment in which employees are encouraged to bring their entire selves to work and to show greater levels of tolerance and empathy for others who might be struggling, with one notable exception: those who have been asked to lead us.
Like Burning Man, while we have taken great strides to produce positive change in our workplaces, we unfortunately seem to be sending a different message toward our leaders as they’ve struggled to lead us through unprecedented times. We complain bitterly that they are not doing enough to care for their followers, without stopping to think about the toll taken on them or to ask the question: “Who is caring for the care-takers?”
Lest you think I’m throwing stones unaware of the fact that I live in a glass house, let me confess to being a world-class second-guesser of leaders. I have criticized the leaders in my world for any number of perceived faults—for communicating too little except when they’re communicating too much, for failing to give me sufficient direction when they’re not micro-managing, or for having absolutely no vision other than one that clashes with my own. If being an armchair quarterback got you to the NFL, I would be in the Hall of Fame.
Something has shifted in me of late, however, that is causing me to think differently.
In my role as a leadership coach, I have recently had the opportunity to work with a number of top executives who reported feeling burned up and burned out by the demands of the past few years. These leaders have experienced increased stress, decreased effectiveness, and in some cases, made the decision to join the “Great Resignation” and get out of leadership entirely. Some of these leaders were viewed as highly capable executives as recently as early 2020, only to experience significant declines in their 360 performance ratings as COVID dragged on and wore everyone down.
A study conducted in mid-2021 of over 1,100 senior leaders in the private and public sectors confirms that my clients’ difficult experiences are not unique. This study revealed that the combined stresses caused by COVID-19 and social upheaval over the previous year had taken an undeniable toll on those at the top of our organizations over and above the generalized stress all of us have experienced:
82% of the leaders surveyed reported exhaustion and feelings associated with burnout, which include chronic fatigue; anger at those making demands; self-criticism for putting up with the demands; cynicism, negativity, and irritability; a sense of being besieged; and hair-trigger display of emotions (https://hbr.org/1996/07/when-executives-burn-out).
The number one factor causing the increased stress was reported to be increased volumes of work, with 79% of the participants reporting significant increases in their workload caused by the pandemic.
The next highest stressors reported by the leaders surveyed related to their efforts to provide enough support to their staffs when it came to their wellbeing (62%) and work demands placed on them (58%).
Interestingly, while leaders’ concerns about their own job security ranked near the bottom of reported stressors (14%), 55% identified concerns about the impact of workplace stigma on their careers if they admitted to having a mental health issue as a result of the stress they were facing.
Consistent with their feelings of burn-out, 43% of the leaders reported increased irritability, 49% reported difficulties sleeping, 59% reported an inability to relax or slow down, and 65% reported they rarely or never made time for their own well-being.
Because of all these pressures, 51% of the participants had contemplated stepping out of leadership as a result
The reports of leadership burn-out are not confined to the C-suite. Barna Group, which collects information about faith-based trends the way Gallup does about secular trends, reported in March 2022 that the percentage of pastors who were considering quitting full-time ministry had jumped to 42%. Like the other leaders, these pastors noted that in addition to going through their own individual struggles with the craziness of outside world, they also felt the burden of bearing the anxieties felt by their congregations, including the need to make decisions they weren’t prepared for and caring for people who didn’t always live up to the biblical admonition to turn the other cheek. (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/28/opinion/pastor-burnout-pandemic.html)
If those statistics don’t persuade you that our leaders feel under siege, try this thought experiment. Imagine you are flying solo to visit friends out of town, and when you get to the airport you learn the flight has been delayed or canceled. (I know, I know—something like this has never happened to you, but just work with me). In your mind, you might feel like this guy for a moment:
Now take that same situation, but instead of traveling solo, you’re in charge of getting an entire group of people across the country, complete with kids, strollers, carry-ons, and checked bags. Now you’re dealing not only with your own inconvenience, but also with the concerns, complaints, and occasional meltdowns of everyone in your caravan.
Can you feel the added stress caused by this second situation in which you’re expected to have all the answers and make all the problems go away? Now imagine carrying that stress for two years straight, and maybe that will give us a better appreciation for what our leaders have been experiencing since 2020.
Time for a Jubilee
I’ve written before about steps we can take to become better followers and help our leaders lead more effectively: https://www.upstreamprinciples.com/upstreamofconsciousness/2021/9/2/doubling-down-on-managing-up.
Also, there are things leaders themselves can do to reduce the amount of stress they’re feeling and to deal with the unavoidable stress that remains in a healthier and more sustainable way, including improving diet, exercise and sleep; empowering others to carry more of the leadership load; seeking guidance from peers, trusted advisors, and professional counselors as appropriate; and modelling for others how to balance their professional responsibilities with necessary self-care.
While these steps are all important for lowering the temperature in the furnace of leadership in the future, I have a different suggestion for what those of us who have benefitted from having leaders carry our burdens for the past two years can do right now. Maybe it’s time to resurrect an old tradition and call for a Leadership Jubilee.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, a Jubilee was an ancient Jewish tradition described in the Old Testament in which every 50 years, all debts were to be forgiven, all those in bondage were to be freed, and all property that had been sold to pay debts was to be returned. The idea was to give the people of Israel an opportunity for a fresh start without the mistakes of the past being held against them.
What if we took this concept and applied it to the leaders who have done their best to lead us through the challenges of the past few years, often imperfectly? What if we forgave them their shortcomings, their failures to get everything right during a time when everything seemed to go wrong, and their reactive responses to situations that called for creative thinking? What if, instead, we thanked them for doing their best and gave them the opportunity for a fresh start going forward?
Returning to the values of Burning Man, it seems to me there might be a better way to create a positive change in the world, at least in the world of our workplaces. Instead of pledging “We will always burn the man,” perhaps we can try a different approach by promising, “We will always build up” the men and women who lead us, with the goal not only of being better followers but also of helping them become better leaders in the future.
After all, if we’re truly interested in building stronger teams and stronger workplaces, maybe it’s time to focus more on building leaders than burning them down.
If you’re looking for a coach who can help you build up the leaders on your team, contact me at mike.tooley@upstreamprinciples.com.
[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-burning-man-theme-tickets-dates-outfits-2018-8
Mike Tooley is a Co-Founder with Upstream Principles LLC, a coaching and consulting firm dedicated to helping individuals, leaders, and teams go upstream to discover solutions for their leadership and employee development challenges. As a certified Leadership and Strengths Coach, Mike is committed to serve as a guide to help others discover, and live out, who they are designed to be.