Long-Term Impact
by Vic Wiens
I'll admit it. I have brushed up against “the wall” a number of times. A few times my health has totally collapsed. I can get so passionate about maximizing my impact in the world that I get out of balance.
Apparently one expert on the topic of “burnout” was asked to develop a test to help businesses screen out potential burnout candidates before they got hired. His response was,
“What companies need to do is to find people who care enough to burn out … and then develop programs to combat burnout.” (Author Unknown)
I believe that is a very good formula for long-term impact.
So what kinds of programs can we develop to combat burnout? One of the most productive times in my career as a private school administrator was my four years as superintendent of the Koinonia sSchool system. After losing a previous superintendent due to health problems, Koinonia had implemented a simple system to avoid a re-occurrence. This system consisted of two strategies.
Accumulated Time Off
With up to12 schools in the Koinonia system spread out over Alberta and the Northwest Territories, there were some very exhausting weeks. Due to the cost of air travel at the time, most trips had to be made by car. It was not unusual to log 80 to 90 hours of work in a busy week. Koinonia policy, however, directed me to take time off after those busy weeks so that my average work weeks were only 50-55 hours.
Administrative Support
As a school based administrator I had access to administrative support from school secretaries who had busy jobs apart from supporting me. At Koinonia my secretary and bookkeeper were largely focused on supporting my work. This allowed me to delegate many of the details that typically exhausted me in previous jobs.
Not everyone needs the same system, but everyone needs some system to maximize their long-term impact. It is good to be so passionate that you would burn out apart from a good system. It is essential, however, that such passion is paired with a system that combats burnout.
Now that I am running my own consulting business I am working hard to apply both of the strategies I learned from my time in the Koinonia system. To the extent I am able to do so, I am productive. I know that my long-term impact depends on it.
