Talents & Burnout: Achiever

By Chad T. Ahern

"People exceptionally talented in the Achiever theme work hard and possess a great deal of stamina. They take immense satisfaction in being busy and productive."
- Gallup CliftonStrengths Themes Quick Reference Guide - 

Burnout Concern

Those with Achiever talents have plenty to offer in a crisis including a great deal of stamina and execution prowess. There is also a risk of burning them out given their need to complete many or most of the tasks assigned to them.
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• With their desire to get everything done "now" they may struggle to keep up as changes to  their team's or organization's situation and goals impact which actions actually need to be completed.
  
  
• Fluid situations may lead to a lack of clarity on which actions are most important.
  
  
• Some may still be trying to complete their assigned roles, could be discouraged or disappointed if their potential for action is limited due to external factors. For example,
  • Sales people who don’t have leads to pursue because purchasing power from their clients has been slashed.
  • Construction workers who don’t have building projects due to a lack of buyers.
  • Government lobbyists who've had their access to legislators slashed due to social distancing precautions.

Addressing Burnout

As a leader you can help people still use their Achiever talents, manage frustration, and avoid burnout by:
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• Providing them with even small actions to complete. So long as it’s meaningful work, having something to accomplish will help alleviate possible feelings of uselessness. In the eyes of Achievers, small steps forward are better than no steps at all.
  
  
• ​Explore whether they can help others complete their to-do lists. Achievers are great at operationalizing projects and identifying to "to-dos". They are energy powerhouses and likely have more bandwidth than most other employees. This makes them great ad-hoc additions to teams who have more to do than they can handle.

As with coaching any individual, their combined set of talent themes will effect how their Activator talents show up, and how to best manage them. If nothing else, when you check in with them be sure to ask:

"What can I help you accomplish today?"

Photo by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash