“Perhaps it’s the time of the year,” Matthew* mused. As a new team manager, Matthew was feeling the pressure of being “the meat in the sandwich” between his team and senior management. He was recently tasked with delivering difficult news, including systems changes, budget cuts and new compliance requirements.

He didn’t feel enthusiastic about any of them and he knew his team was feeling the strain.

He was reflecting on some of the strains he was noticing in his global team. His direct reports in the southern hemisphere felt as if they had gone a long time without a proper break, whereas team members working from the northern hemisphere were returning from holidays under the strain of a cost-of-living crisis, and not feeling fully recharged.

This decline in energy levels was showing up in team members taking longer to complete tasks and giving less “discretionary effort”; people weren’t volunteering to take on anything extra or to support one another as they normally did. Matthew was also concerned about an uptick in cynical and negative comments, both of which were usually rare in his team of optimistic and conscientious people.

Knowing what he did about the warning signs of burnout, he felt concerned his team was in a downward spiral. And, in these moments of reflection, Matthew acknowledged some of those same warning signs in himself: fatigue, loss of focus, and hints of cynicism. As he put it, “I’m not running on empty but I’m pretty close.”

The stress pie-chart

To provide Matthew with the most effective support, we first used a stress pie-chart strategy to capture a complete list of all the things that were contributing to Matthew feeling overwhelmed and tired.

Then, we attributed a percentage to how much (approximately) each thing was contributing to his mood. (The only rule was that all the components totalled 100%). The largest piece of Matthew’s stress pie was concern for his team, so we prioritised options for this first. Importantly, we identified that Matthew was owning much of the responsibility for “fixing” his team’s wellbeing by himself.

While team leaders do have a duty to monitor workload, ensure adequate resourcing, and support their team, more discussion about responsibilities helped Matthew acknowledge that he was part of a system too.

Some of the challenges he was up against – organisational change, financial strain, and the after-effects of a fatiguing pandemic – were not his alone to solve. Re-connecting with peers in similar leadership roles was an important follow-up action for Matthew, while also doing what he could to advocate for system-level change by speaking to his own manager about the changes he’d like to see in the organisation.

Next, we consulted some relevant psychological research and advice. Mindful that we didn’t want to overwhelm him, we found some summaries from experts on topics such as team fatigue, cynicism and burnout.

One of the concepts Matthew liked most was called “psychological empowerment”, a process that helps people feel effective and competent even in the midst of complex and challenging workplace situations. A recent paper highlighting the role of empowerment in reducing emotional exhaustion especially resonated with Matthew.

Research and theoretical ideas can be helpful at an intellectual level but we still needed to translate the insights into achievable actions.

We brainstormed practical examples of psychological empowerment, and looked across the web for ideas, including a recent Harvard Business Review piece.

We picked three actions Matthew could try differently in his virtual team stand-ups and one-on-ones:

• Acknowledging achievements at an individual and team level, ensuring they take time as a team to value the work that’s already been done, rather than always looking to “what’s next”

• Asking his team, “what is standing in the way of good work, and, importantly, what can we let go of?”

• Asking “what excites you about work at the moment, and how can we get you doing more of it?”

Alongside this process, Matthew is planning to continue using other leadership tools that he’s picked up from peers. These include reviewing workloads and team priorities, keeping a close eye on people’s working hours and time off, and ensuring everyone has access to the resources they need – practical, emotional or otherwise (embracing Matthew’s role as a facilitator of help, not always the “fixer”)

Importantly, Matthew is also taking the time to apply those three steps to himself, helping to look after his own wellbeing. He’s celebrating all that he’s achieved in his first few months as a team leader, working with his own manager to reduce the administrative tasks that get in the way of his work, and getting excited (again) about what his team can achieve.

And, somewhere along the way, he’s started to notice more energy and optimism creeping in around the edges.

*Names and details have been changed

• Gaynor Parkin is a clinical psychologist and founder of Umbrella Wellbeing. Dr Amanda Wallis leads the research, development and innovation program at Umbrella