The workaholic's guide to avoiding burnout from dual roles
May 29, 2023
Change Management usually works on projects: short, sharp pieces of work with a defined start and end time to deliver to a common goal. But because they aren’t part of BAU (Business As Usual a.k.a. the normal operations and teams of the business), they need extra resources dedicated and committed to the project. The problem? Often, there isn’t the appreciation, understanding, or budget to properly resource the project with all the skill sets and people required.
Why burnout happens in dual roles
Dual roles for a Change professional may be Project Manager / Change Manager, or Change and Comms, or Process and Change. Or even business roles like HR / Change.
I myself have been in a Change Engagement Lead on a global cultural transformation. The role was split 50/50 into “Change Management” (moving people from one way of doing things to a new way of doing things through communications, training and business readiness to realise the benefits of the change) and “Engagement” (setting up culture networks, facilitating workshops and design sessions, and running idea hackathons). I went into that role with eyes wide open and comfortable with the capacity required for each side of my role.
But if you’re a high performer (which I bet you are because I attract them!), the likelihood is that you’ll be tasked with a dual role that is 2 x full-time roles (or more!), and you might not have actively chosen it OR even formally be in a dual role… you might just be playing both parts even though your job title says one. This is a massively common problem with Change Managers because generally people don’t know much about Change Management or what the scope and value of this important profession actually is.
So if you find yourself in a dual role, burning out, breaking down, or just utterly overworked and miserable, here’s some tactics to help ease your load:
Raise the risks
If you’d like to influence your project leadership or business to actually hire adequate resources and skill sets, talk through the risks to change success. This includes spreading specialists thin resulting in mediocre quality because people aren't working in their core skill set, watering down the value of each function, setting future talent up for failure if they can’t perform in dual roles, and missing key activities like embedding the change if when the project ends, the PM/CM role finishes too.
Scope the work
Sit down and clearly define what the tasks are in each side of your dual role. If you need to have a conversation with your leader about capacity, it’s much easier when you’ve got evidence to hand!
Promote the value of Change
If you want Change Management to be taken seriously and resourced appropriately, talk through the stats and figures of the value of Change. My favourite is the return on investment is 650% - so if you pay $100,000 for a full-time Change Manager for 6 months, the project gets $650,000 worth of value.
Set your boundaries
If you’ve got a dual role creeping into your day-to-day, it might be up to you to draw a line on what you will and won’t do. This might not even be based on capacity: you might have the time, it’s just not appropriate for you to do it or it's not in your zone of genius and you just don't want to pick up that discretionary work.
Build your confidence
Doing all the above - influencing, negotiating, promoting, holding fast to boundaries - all rely on one thing. Avoiding burnout in any role, not even just dual roles or on projects, requires that internal knowing and strength of your own expertise and value.
These are all tactics that you can take after the fact - when you find yourself knowingly or unwittingly in a dual role.
The other way is to be proactive - and prevent it from happening in the first place.
The truth is: if you’re employed or a contractor in Change, you’re a set of hands, a bum in a seat, a head in the count, and a resource to be used. If you truly want to have your expertise valued and respected, you may need to show up differently and position yourself more strategically in the market. How? As an independent Change Consultant.
You can choose your clients, choose your time, choose your rates, and choose your zone of genius. You might still pick up other roles and responsibilities - but it’s your choice AND you can charge appropriately and additionally for it. You have the control and freedom to choose the parameters of the work you deliver and the value you add, and have the broader influence and impact you know is possible.
I’ll be teaching step-by-step how you can set yourself up as an independent Change Consultant in my brand-new retreat. I’ll be sharing how to attract clients, package and price your services, build and manage strong client relationships, market and advertise your expertise, build your personal professional brand and most of all: develop a consulting mindset to have the clarity and confidence to own your boundaries and work on your terms.
Joining this exclusive, powerful and luxurious retreat is by application only right now and there’s just a few available time slots left for a free 1:1 Clarity Call with me today to discuss your future career goals and dreams. Be one of the proactive ones that grabs one!
Lata xx
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