Burnout, boreout and stress management
Conflict management

In these very sensitive and delicate phases it is absolutely essential to have a neutral trusted person with experience. As an empathetic, open advisor, I will support you professionally throughout this difficult time and help to increase your quality of life and satisfaction.

Burnout

Unfortunately, the term “burnout” is often misused. It should not be confused with exhaustion, overwork, excessive stress or even the new term “boreout”.

A real burnout is an illness which should be taken very seriously and must be professionally supervised by specialists during the first and second step. In the first phase, I can only accompany you. Therefore, I will not go into the subject of burnout further here, but rather refer you to proven specialists.

And after the burnout?

Then it is important to re-integrate yourself into the everyday routine, step by step. During this phase, an experienced coach and advisor is an major support and cas such indispensable.
Frequently, we will work in a team and support the affected person to find the right balance again.

Boreout

So called boreouts are massively underestimated. In every company, there are employees who are no longer really motivated or who are bored – but don’t show it and pursue their daily work. Often, this subjective demotivation is the trigger for dangerous stress. Especially with management staff!

However, the reasons why an affected person rarely looks for an open discussion and prefers to look around for a new challenge are mostly the same:

Fear of having failed
Fear of losing their current job
Fear of change
Fear of loss of image
Advanced age
Self-doubt and lack of orientation
Financial dependence

Are these colleagues "just lazy"?

These employees are not minimalist or passive colleagues. Very often, they have great talents but the constellation of their current job does not allow them to develop further.

How are the problem fields evaluated?

An honest and open discussion is always the best start. In a second step, a professional stocktaking shows in which areas your talents lie – or where you are less talented. This knowledge can work wonders. Therefore, I work closely with professional partners in this area to gain an objective expert opinion.
The stocktaking is an optimum basis to find out in which direction the employee should go. Because one can only be really happy in ones profession if the talents also match the job.
Another comment: a stocktaking is not an assessment and should not qualify the employees as good or bad – rather show their innate strengths and support them in finding the role that suits them best.

Does this always mean a change of job?

Absolutely not. Perhaps the current area of responsibility is also a match; the person may simply be bogged down by the negative atmosphere. With a coaching session and appropriate optimisations, it can create a sudden dynamic impulse and motivation!

Stress management

As a experienced coach, I have noticed that the “stress factors” are not always obvious. Very often, the real factors are suppressed and only the consequences of these are perceived. With stress management, these underlying triggers are brought to the surface, analysed and eliminated.

How can you recognise stress?

When the feeling of not being on top of the tasks and the workload becomes increasingly insurmountable although with your experience and routine you should become more efficient.
Pending issues pile up on your desk. Important things become urgent. You try to work through them by using the same method and tackle several tasks at the same time. As a result, you spread yourself too thin and lose your overview. At some point, this ends up in 12-hour work days.
In the medium to long term, no one can keep that up. The body begins to reduce its sensors and reason. The vicious circle is set in motion and very often additional stress multipliers are added – for example tensions in your private life, lack of sleep, alcohol or drugs.
However, stress can also be caused by lack of willingness to delegate and lack of trust in your own team. Tension with superiors or colleagues – or even bullying – are often the cause.

Professional, specific support in stress management can accomplish miracles – and turn you and your employees into much happier and more balanced people.

Conflict management and mediation

Conflicts paralyse the whole operation, are nerve-wracking and cost a great deal of energy, and even more so money. As an experienced mediator, I will support you professionally in this delicate phase, and put all my efforts into not only resolving the conflict – but also including a positive spirit.

Conflicts – can't people resolve these themselves?!

Actually, it should be possible for the people affected to resolve their conflicts themselves. For most though, this proves to be very difficult – especially in deadlocked situations. Often, you convince yourself that conflicts that have been smouldering for a long time are resolved: by either time or a “we-get-along-now exercise”.
As a rule, such surface “renovations” do not work. A lot remains “up in the air”, paralyses efficiency and impedes the hunger to do something extraordinary together. An attentive manager must recognise such situations and handle them appropriately.

Which mistakes are repeated?

An attempt to solve deadlocked conflicts quickly, usually ends in one of the following situations:
The superior must play referee – and will then be seen as biased
The superior “commands” them to get along again – but the actual problem remains
The individual people involved no longer argue – but just do not speak to each other
One or more people involved quit or are fired
You “move” one employee
The situation is so gruelling that additional health and family problems arise
More and more people become involved and have to take sides
The whole thing ends in a legal dispute

Do you find the guilty party?

There is never just one guilty party and rarely just one reason why the relationship between employees and superiors has become tarnished. Mediation is not about finding a culprit and punishing them. It is about discovering real problems and, above all, promoting better collaboration and communication.

Isn't it a lack of leadership to call in an external advisor?

On the contrary. Engaging a neutral, professional person for support is generally more successful. We also know this from our private lives.
I am often employed as a conflict manager. Conflicts that damage the operation and even lead to an operational risk happen more often than you think. It is not “shameful” at all if the human factor surfaces in a company or a team. However, it should be checked precisely and neutrally where possible negative causes have arisen.

What does a conflict manager/mediator have to be capable of?

A mediator must have a healthy mixture of sensitivity, empathy and a certain authority. In addition, he must be a good listener and be able to question things. He must be able to resolve the conflict in the best possible way and to everybody’s satisfaction – and then promote a positive spirit.
At the beginning of the process, a lot must be dug up and laid on the table, otherwise, it is almost impossible to resolve what has been accumulated. A good mediator will then “comprehensively support” the individual parties in order to get rid of old habits and make a fresh start. Together with the parties involved, new rules will be created – which, interestingly enough, practically everyone will adhere to.

Is conflict management frustrating?

Conflict management is an extremely sensitive and seemingly negative task. However, it gives me a great deal of joy – because of the positive results. I think that my talent is to quickly assess situations, put my finger exactly on the sore point and create a constructive, positive aura for solutions within a short period of time.

In which phase should a mediator be called upon?

Conflicts in the relationship and in the company show a similar picture: as long as you are still arguing, you are in a better phase because you interact with each other and communicate. When it becomes silent and you begin to refuse to speak, it becomes very critical.
So, don’t wait too long – it can never be “too early”, even if you don’t want to admit to having a problem in the team.

Burnout, boreout and stress management Conflict management