🛫 "Remember, put your mask on first before help...

🛫 “Remember, put your mask on first before helping othersYou might know these words during the safety briefing before taking off on a plane. I had always thought that they were strange - why would you let a kid suffocate, while you get the oxygen mask on yourself first?

It seems selfish, at least.

Funny enough, this is now probably my most repeated piece of advice to new managers.I have seen this pattern often: you are new to the job.

Your motivation is to help others, and you have a strong sense of responsibility.

You give all you have to help others: coach them, mentor them, get down the trenches to solve problems together, speak up for them in projects, and put a good word for their work - as well as being the emotional sponge for your team.This is very draining work, and one can only work at 110% for a little bit until it starts taking a toll on yourself.

You find yourself drained, lacking energy, and in many situations that are objectively simple, you might get stuck, not knowing how to start.In these cases, the spirit and intention to help the team lead the new manager to overcommit and spread too thin.

While guided with the best intentions, the result is that you end up doing a worse-than-optimal job for the team.

The good intentions backfire.As managers, we need to remember that to help others, we need to have our own situation entirely under control.

This includes putting our mental and physical health first, as well as our own needs.While this might sound egoistic, this is the only way to be able to keep on helping others.

You need to remember to keep on taking good care of yourself first and continue doing the things that give you energy, to be able to echo that energy back to your team.You might feel that things will only work with you stepping in, or that you are being selfish.

Far from reality: when you are walking around like an empty shell of what you can be, because you are exhausting yourself, you won’t be able to help others.

Taking good care of yourself is on the path to being generous and sharing yourself with others - and it’s also a great chance to share your vulnerability with your team, and use that moment as a bonding, empathy-rich moment.🤔 The next time you feel overwhelmed by the situation - try to think if you have forgotten to put your oxygen mask first, and then proceed to help the ones around you.#management #firsttimemanager #teamlead #burnout