Burnout: When Too Much and Too Little Coexist & How Knowing Your Giftedness Fixes It

Imagine a Porsche, a car designed for speed and cornering, being used to tow a yacht. It's not designed that way. It will move the yacht one inch then run out of gas. Over time, the Porsche would comes to its end of energy, not because it’s being pushed to its limits, but because it’s being asked to perform a task for which it wasn’t designed. The same principle applies to people in their careers.

We often associate burnout with long hours, but it's simpler than that. Burnout occurs more so from the opposite: not being challenged enough. How can lack of challenge lead to burnout? The answer lies in the alignment—or misalignment—of your work with your innate motivations and giftedness.

Enter Giftedness, or "your unique combination of innate motivations."

Each of us has a unique set of innate motivations, the activities and tasks that naturally energize us. When you find a job that needs your giftedness to work, you feel less like you're clocking in for the day and more like you're on a personal mission every day. Previously, your lack of challenge occurred because your work wasn't using the factors that are in your wheelhouse. You're challenged in ways that make you feel accomplished, not draining. However, when you're asked to do something outside of your natural strengths, burnout becomes almost inevitable—even if the workload is light.

For instance, someone who thrives on creativity and innovation may feel stifled in a role that requires repetitive, procedural work. Conversely, an individual who excels in detailed, analytical tasks might struggle in a position that demands constant brainstorming and social networking. In neither cases is it about the volume of work, but the type of work assigned to each person.

Even small businesses lose tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in job misfit.

"But we can't all go do "missional" or "meaningful" work!"

I agree! You have to pay the bills. The best case scenario is to find (or create) a job that needs your unique giftedness. The second best case which is nearly as good and you can implement it this week: reshape your current role. After you complete a Giftedness Discovery program with The Giftedness Group®, you'll know what truly energizes you and we'll help you find ways to incorporate more of those motivations into your daily work.

For small businesses or any organization, this insight is crucial for effective talent management. By understanding the unique giftedness of each employee, companies can better align roles and responsibilities, leading to:

• higher job satisfaction,

• improved performance,

• reduced burnout,

• more effective & efficient meetings, and

• new innovations

One client even reports, "If I knew my giftedness seven years ago, I would have saved $2,000,000 on a deal gone wrong because of responsibilities I split with the wrong person."

It’s not just about managing workload; it’s about ensuring that the work itself is a good fit for you.

Conclusion

When you work within your giftedness, you can work 100 hours a week and not get burnt out from it. Just like a semi-truck can drive 1,000,000 miles towing 15,000 pounds, but a Porsche never could.

Burnout isn’t just a symptom of being overworked; it’s also a sign that you might be working in a way that’s not aligned with your natural strengths. Just like a Porsche wasn’t made to tow a yacht, you weren’t made to work outside of your innate motivations. The challenge, then, is to find—or create—a role that allows you to do what you were made for. When you do, work becomes not only manageable but actually gives you energy.