As a startup founder, you have undoubtedly dealt with a big issue…
Your business has started to grow and you are pushing and pushing harder to make it a success. The push becomes a constant thing that ingrains itself into your culture.
But are you thinking about the effects you’re having on yourself and your people?
Eventually, you burn out. And worse yet, your people start burning out too.
This is why putting your Self first is important for your business.
How Burnout Impacts Your Team
Some CEOs may balk at the idea of putting themselves first. That’s a natural instinct, especially once you’ve started to build a team underneath you.
They’re relying on you to provide them with guidance and to keep pushing the startup forward.
That’s what motivates you to work the long hours and extra weekends. It’s all for the benefit of the team and the company. Many believe that by making these sacrifices, they’re making life easier for their people.
However, that is rarely the case. In reality, you’re creating an example that your team will begin to follow.
If you’re working all hours of the day, your people may feel obligated to do the same.
Suddenly, you have your entire team turning up to work on the weekend. And they’re not doing it out of passion.
They’re doing it because that’s the example you’ve set for them. You’ve unwittingly created an expectation that your people feel like they have to meet.
Often, they end up putting the business ahead of their personal lives in the same way that you do.
This can create a negative culture within your enterprise. Your people may even begin to resent you for what they feel is an unspoken obligation that you’ve placed on them.
Interestingly, you can also look at your team to see the symptoms that suggest you need to start putting your Self first. Specifically, you’re looking for signs of burnout within the team. These might include the following:
Talented individuals have started to make simple mistakes.
Unplanned absences start to build up, which is a sign of employees wanting to avoid the workplace.
Tension in the workplace that intensifies when you’re in the room.
Heightened irritability that leads to team members snapping at one another.
These are all signs that your team members aren’t putting themselves first. They often do that because you’ve set the example for them to follow.
Your team isn’t just looking to you as a leader within your startup. Each person’s looking to you to guide them towards becoming who they want to be as well.
You can’t do that if you’ve lost sight of who you want to be. If you’re not putting yourself first, you’re telling your team that they shouldn’t put themselves first either.
It’s not just a question about enjoying your time off.
Putting your Self first helps you to establish how your people should act. By doing it, you create the sort of culture that makes people want to work with you.
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