Overcoming the Demotivational Slump in Leaders

In today's fast-paced world, a phenomenon known as "Quiet Quitting" has become a growing concern. This is an attempt at self-regulation, an inner stop signal before the system collapses, often seen in leaders who are still leading on paper but have mentally checked out.

The term "Quiet Quitting" describes inner withdrawal and silent shutdown, a state that arises not just from external conditions, but also in interaction with one's own personality. Leadership motivation loss, a key factor in this phenomenon, can be caused by various factors such as loss of emotional connection to the company, chronic stress, lack of appreciation, high workload, conflicting values between person and organization, and psychological exhaustion including burnout and anxiety. Additional causes include perfectionism, poor self-care skills, resource shortages, and pressure from responsibilities, especially for founders managing dual roles.

Men, in particular, often express a desire for structured orientation and diagnostic methods that involve numbers, data, and facts. Recognizing this, the first step for affected persons is self-clarity, self-leadership, and self-connection, which can be developed, trained, and deliberately cultivated.

The key to addressing a change in a leader is an inner attitude, not analysis or evaluation. Offering a connection subtly and genuinely can be helpful. This phenomenon affects all age groups of leaders, from young to middle-aged to mature.

Change in a leader's behavior can often be subtle, manifesting in small gestures, tone of voice, or silence. Recognizing a change requires genuine interest in the person behind the role, not just performance. Employees should show empathy and courage when they notice a change in a leader, even if there is a hierarchy gap or they are from a different department.

Upper management should take responsibility, hold regular conversations beyond performance and KPIs, and create spaces for leaders to reflect, unburden, and grow. The industries most affected are those that place a high emphasis on technical expertise over interpersonal aspects, such as engineering, technology, pharma, industry, IT, finance, and health and education institutions.

Burnout, a state of massive, chronic overload, physically, emotionally, cognitively, and mentally, is defined as an occupational syndrome by the WHO with three main characteristics: emotional exhaustion, cynicism or depersonalization, and reduced performance. It is important to note that burnout arises not just from external conditions, but also in interaction with one's own personality.

A coaching concept called MindShape focuses on self-clarification, self-leadership, and self-connection as key competencies of modern leadership. Engineers, for instance, who come to Coach Violeta Nikolic for coaching, are often clear, analytical, and self-critical, but have a high self-demand, a strong sense of duty, and too little practice in emotionally leading themselves.

Psychological safety as a cultural goal is an important aspect, along with substantial empowerment programs, mentoring with emotional depth, error-friendliness, and transparent communication. In Europe, only 13% of employees are engaged, 73% are doing the bare minimum, and 15% have mentally resigned and are actively dissatisfied. Worldwide, the situation is similar.

Women leaders tend to reflect earlier, seek dialogue more often, and are more open to emotional engagement compared to men, who tend to remain functional for a longer time before experiencing a sudden breakdown. However, this is not a hard and fast rule, and individual experiences may vary.

Quitting can sometimes be the healthiest step for leaders, especially when the inner pain becomes greater than loyalty. Resignation is not an escape, but an act of dignity and a decision for oneself. It is crucial to remember that leaders are people in roles, not machines in suits, and recognizing this is the first step towards change.