Stressed, Exhausted, Inadequate Leader – You’re Not Alone

What does your “To Do List” look like?

Do you have trouble accomplishing everything on your list?

Do you feel like you can never catch up?

Do you feel like you are always behind?

Do you feel stressed out, exhausted, and inadequate?

Do you wish there was an easy way to fix all this, so you could feel more productive, more effective, and more relaxed?

I don’t think you are alone.  In fact, I think this is a problem that many leaders face today.  They take on so much responsibility that they end up burying themselves.  I don’t think it’s meant to be this way.  I think there is an answer.  Before we get there though, I think it’s valuable to see how we’re not alone in this.

If you are familiar with the story of Moses and the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to The Promised Land, you may recall that Moses didn’t always have it together.  He was the leader of a whole nation, and he faced times of stress, exhaustion, and burn-out.

In Exodus 18:1-18, we see it more clearly:

Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, comes to visit Moses on the journey through the desert.  He brings Moses’ wife and children with him.  Moses had actually sent his family away, so he could focus on the task at hand – leading the nation of Israel.  During their visit, Moses shows Jethro everything the Lord has done for the people of Israel.  Jethro was thrilled with the news, but he began to notice a problem.  Moses spent all his time serving as judge for the people of Israel.  He heard every dispute, and he made every decision related to these disputes.  This was not a small task.  The people of Israel consisted of several hundred thousand people.  How could one man handle all this?  This was exactly the observation of Jethro.  No wonder Moses was facing burn-out.

I don’t know what your situation is right now.  Maybe you started the new year off with the best intentions and a long list of goals and tasks.  Maybe you are starting to feel the pressure and stress of trying to do too much.  If you are a leader (and I’m guessing you are), it’s time to do something about it.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be posting about how you can turn this around – how you can overcome the burden of having to do everything yourself.

As we get started, it’s a good opportunity to evaluate your current state of your leadership.

How would you answer the questions we started with today?  As a leader, have you ever felt overwhelmed?