{"id":916,"date":"2013-02-26T12:27:09","date_gmt":"2013-02-26T17:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/?p=916"},"modified":"2022-07-06T14:54:27","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T18:54:27","slug":"nonprofit-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/nonprofit-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"(Guest Post) My Heart Monitor and Staff Burnout"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Note from Joan: Many thanks to my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Julie Anderson, my former Development director who offers her perspective on the real dangers of nonprofit\u00a0burnout.)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Last week, Joan told the world that her\u00a0\u201cType A\u201d management style made me \u201cburn out\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and almost killed me.<\/p>\n

Now, Joan is quick to give others credit when things go well and to take responsibility when they don\u2019t. And her article makes some great points about\u00a0nonprofit culture and leadership<\/a>\u00a0and presents\u00a0ideas for avoiding burnout<\/a>. These are enormously valuable.<\/p>\n

But what happened to me was most certainly not her fault. Well, at least not ALL her fault.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what\u00a0really<\/i>\u00a0happened.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One morning, early in my tenure at GLAAD<\/a>, I found out there wasn\u2019t enough money in the bank to make payroll. Uh oh\u2026 I was the Development Director. It was my job to make sure we ALWAYS had enough money.<\/p>\n

I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t going to let down Joan (my boss), the board, staff, community, myself \u2014 the entire world.<\/p>\n

Just like Joan, I was Type A (plus), altruistic, impatient, driven and sometimes relentless. So, I really can\u2019t say Joan\u2019s management style was solely responsible for my physical and emotional reaction to GLAAD\u2019s financial condition. We were co-conspirators.<\/p>\n

I gulped, took a deep breath and did what I thought needed to be done. I got into action, and fast.<\/p>\n

NONPROFIT BURNOUT: THE PRICE OF SUCCESS<\/b><\/h2>\n

I was good at my job. So was my team. The money started coming in. Expectations rose. We were literally breathless.<\/p>\n

Joan, the board and the staff were running as fast as they could. E-mails from Joan at 4 AM. I followed her lead. Jeffrey, our Director of Annual Giving in NY, told me he dreaded turning on his computer each morning because there might be a dozen e-mails waiting for him \u2014 inquiries, ideas, strategies to consider. And, I was on west coast time!<\/p>\n

My intermittent heart palpitations grew stronger and more frequent.\u00a0 But, I couldn\u2019t show any sign of weakness, nor did I have time, especially before a big board meeting.<\/p>\n

I ignored the physical signs until it became critical, so I finally, covertly headed to the doctor.\u00a0 He put his stethoscope on my heart, immediately detected the palpitations, and directed me to wear a heart monitor for 72 hours.<\/p>\n

I had electrodes and wires coming out of my shirt at a board meeting. Wardrobe killer.<\/p>\n

Everyone at the board meeting was worried about me. Extremely. And how did I react? Mostly, I felt embarrassed\u2026 for being human.<\/p>\n

I returned to Los Angeles after that Chicago board meeting, heart monitor in tow, and my doctor told me (thank goodness!) there was nothing actually wrong with my heart, it was my lifestyle that was the problem. I needed to slow down and lower my stress.<\/p>\n

Inside, I was shaking. I needed to define and get some balance. But, how?<\/p>\n

I discussed things with Joan and then planned a vacation to Hawaii with my partner. I started to look around and saw, clearly, that it wasn\u2019t just me.<\/p>\n

Like so many nonprofits, our staff was at major risk of burnout.<\/p>\n

WHAT I LEARNED FROM JOAN AND MY SCARY BRUSH WITH A BROKEN HEART<\/b><\/h2>\n

I asked them what they needed \u2014 a personal day, a working computer, help with a problem, a meeting together outside of the office, just to vent.<\/p>\n

Then, the management team talked about the need to take time to celebrate our successes, acknowledge each other and tune into why we joined the organization and movement work in the first place. From this, our annual staff retreats were born. To this day, I have some of my fondest memories from those retreats.<\/p>\n

In my last few years at GLAAD, as part of the annual retreats, I had the development staff create a self-care plan. I monitored their accrued vacation time, reminding them about the importance of recharging and reconnecting with their lives outside of GLAAD. And I worked to lead by example \u2014 taking vacation time, exercising regularly, shutting the cell phone off when appropriate.<\/p>\n

As Joan said last week: Consider yoga. Help staff prioritize. Take vacations. Don\u2019t be afraid to talk about burnout. Appreciate each other.<\/p>\n

In addition to Joan\u2019s ideas for preventing and reversing burnout, I have a few of my own:<\/p>\n