3 Keys for Preventing Leader Burnout

Burnout is pervasive in today’s professional world, particularly among leaders. In fact, DDI’s research reveals that 72 percent of leaders report feeling used up at the end of every day, with rates even higher among women and minorities. It’s no wonder given the relentless demands they face—balancing packed schedules, coaching teams, executing initiatives, and shaping strategy—all on top of personal responsibilities.

Given these pressures, HR professionals cannot afford to ignore burnout. Its long-term effects can be damaging for your leaders and organization: retention drops, quality of work declines, and for leaders, physical and mental health can suffer.

The good news is that burnout isn’t inevitable. By providing the right environment and tools, HR can play a critical role in supporting leaders and preventing burnout.

Ahead, we’ll explore three important ways you can prevent leader burnout: cultivating psychological safety, providing personalized training and support, and developing a strong leader pipeline.

Build a Culture of Psychological Safety

To create a resilient workplace, begin with culture. An organization’s culture profoundly influences how people behave and feel about their work.

Protecting leaders from burnout requires cultivating an environment where they (and their teams) feel empowered to give candid feedback, collaborate effectively, and voice dissenting opinions without fear of retaliation. These behaviors thrive in a culture defined by psychological safety, empathy, transparency, and ethical integrity.

Between deadlines and high-stakes presentations, occasional stress is unavoidable. However, when organizations lead with empathy, they see higher employee engagement and productivity, and lower rates of burnout.

HR should establish and maintain workplace norms that encourage psychological safety and empathetic leadership.

Strategies for HR to foster a psychologically safe culture include:

• Consistently champion and reinforce organizational values.

• Model vulnerability and transparency from leadership.

• Implement processes for safe escalation of concerns.

• Hold all employees accountable for ethical standards.

• Celebrate actions that reflect the desired culture.

Provide Personalized Development for Leaders

Developing capable leaders is another powerful way to prevent burnout. The key? Start by assessing each leader's strengths and growth areas to focus on development needs.

Today’s leaders can’t wait for comprehensive 360-degree assessments that only appear every few years. They need immediate, objective feedback on exactly what to continue doing and where to adjust to support their development. One-size-fits-all training that doesn’t target specific needs only contributes to their time crunch and burnout risk.

With real-time assessment results, HR can provide highly relevant, targeted development, giving leaders tools and a safe environment to practice their skills ahead of challenging situations.

DDI’s research has identified seven critical skill areas that are associated with lower rates of burnout:

• Empathy

• Coaching and Delegation

• Influence

• Leading Change

• Leading Virtual Teams

• Driving Inclusion

• Developing Future Talent

HR is uniquely positioned to help leaders address skill gaps to not only improve their capabilities but also reduce burnout risk.

Finally, consider incorporating peer learning into your development program. While leadership can be isolating, bringing together leaders who face similar challenges helps build empathy, strengthen networks, and encourage mutual learning and coaching for shared growth.

Develop the Pipeline of Emerging Leaders

A plan to protect leaders from burnout wouldn’t be complete without designing a strategy to cultivate future leaders within the organization.

As experienced leaders become overburdened, HR can ease their workload by building a robust pipeline of emerging talent. Nurturing future leaders not only provides growth opportunities that retain top performers but also ensures a steady supply of skilled leaders who can step in and share the responsibilities.

Try these strategies to strengthen your leadership pipeline:

• Leverage a strategic, data-driven approach to identifying high potentials.

• Identify and develop high-potential talent at all levels.

• Focus on leadership potential—not just performance—by carefully observing critical skills like interpersonal skills, coaching, and building trust.

• Roll out development initiatives to nurture emerging leaders, including formal training, stretch assignments, and coaching.

Conclusion

HR's role in preventing leader burnout extends beyond crisis management.

By fostering psychological safety, offering tailored development, and cultivating a strong talent pipeline, HR can proactively build a sustainable, high-performing workplace where leaders truly thrive.

For more on preventing leader burnout, visit our blog, Understanding Burnout Culture: 10 Ways Leaders Can Reduce Workplace Stress, and discover how leaders can fight burnout at work.