What are some effective strategies to cope with stress and burnout in educational leadership?

This is not correct. A "stressor" is always a person who squashes ppl. A person or their actions which he can't do anything about or feels he can't overcome. A system or our systems are often rigid and assume an Identity all by themselves. Nevertheless they are kept "alive" by ppl. So if you feel "stress" you want to look at who or who has pushed actions on you with a feeling of being squashed. A ripe area is our youth or childhood; a headteacher today may reminds you of horrible aunty Betty... That's all it needs and the headteacher's system is becoming a stressor. Two solutions: you leave or you maintain a very friendly atmosphere avoiding confrontations. There is a lot more on this to know but you can be in control of your life.

No, contrary to previous comment stressors are not always people. They are external circumstances, which may or may not be people, but may be systemic. It's also important to recognise that part of dealing with this is managing one's own response.

This is a simplification because what matters is our attitude towards potential "stressors". The complex work is trying to figure out how attitudes we have, sometimes unconsciously, make us liable to reacting unhealthily to stressors. I've found coaching to be very helpful in formulating positive attitudes to help us deal well with the stresses of the responsibilities.

We have to identify our stressors...because if WE can't...how can we help our student identify theirs? Finding a tool to assist in calming yourself down is so important because we also don't want to give or show our stress to the students who need us the most.

I agree with this, but its important to understand when working for a district your priorities are the priorities of the district. Some items will be non-negotiable. Ensure that those items are on the top of your list and work from there. Building stressors cause one problem, district demands can cause larger problems down the line.

I have found it helpful to build a morning routine that sets me up for success. It can and should look different for everyone. My wellness stems from morning exercise, followed by meditation, and a gratitude journal. This helps to ground me and focus me for the day ahead. This may not work for everyone and I encourage people to experiment and see what works.

Yes! And if adding more to your day feels too overwhelming, just start by shifting a couple habits that may be impacting you negatively. Try: 1. On route to work, tapping into a memory that brings you pure joy & carry that feeling with you throughout the day. 2. Absolutely practice NOT thinking about work outside of work hours which I know if tough for educator, BUT it is necessary to tell ourselves, “I don’t have to think about this right now” then schedule a specific day/time to “think” about whatever is on your mind. If it matters, it will all come back to you. 3. YOGA NIDRA - it’s a passive yoga that helps you quiet the mind & body & can be done anytime of day/night. Search SPOTIFY!!

In my experience, self-care can easily be put on the back-burner, or compartmentalized (e.g. vacations), so we need to reframe self-care from a strategy for stress to a “must-have” skill for leadership. Consider all the tools you use to make yourself an effective leader, now add self-care to that list of essentials. Imagine if self-care was an expectation for effective leadership and it was something you were evaluated on. Treat it as that important. The reality is that educational leadership is full of stressors that aren’t going away, so we need to reframe our vision of leadership to include self-care as a must-have.

A weekly reflection on Saturday mornings and a monthly reflection at the end of each month help me see patterns and areas to grow. I also get to see areas of success and reflect on how I can expand on those experiences. There are plenty of resources out there for completing reflections including prompts, quotes, etc.

On strategy that I have used is to lean-into the work. Academic Assessment leadership is stressful because it forces a deeper dive, which often means, more work. Faculty push against doing more work when they are already busy just getting through the grind of the shatter. Therefore, when I feel like I am shooting into a void, I attend virtual summits, conferences, webinars, etc. These events help me find new ways of approaching that which causes me stress. Therefore, I can turn challenges into opportunities by stepping away from them for a moment, admitting that a new approach is needed, and finding one (or a few) that I believe will work.

The perspectives we explore impact how we process our leadership roles, so we must be careful. I used to feed on unhealthy "Educator Quit-Tok." (If you know, you know.) These videos informed my perspective yet, quite frankly, wore me down. Now I seek voices to affirm uplifting beliefs: 1) I have the power to make meaning of my experiences, 2) difficult issues are always personal, but that does not mean they are about me, and 3) I need to guard against telling myself stories that are not true. Reading and listening to content that reminds me of these and other maxims builds my capacity to stave off/power through stress and burnout.

Reflection is so important, to get to the heart of what exactly is causing us stress. Is it the situation? Or is it something in me? Can I let go of it and see the bigger picture? Or do I need to talk it through with someone to help me let go? Journalling can also be a helpful approach to help us process our feelings.

In my experience all of the above make sense especially the element of staying genuinely happy, which is one of the many indicators that one is enjoying their role and it’s impact on the school community. This applies to teachers as well as leaders for they are equally impactful and serve as pivotal parts of the system. As a leader I would also spread awareness of the difference between stress and burnout, as people do tend to use the term burnout frequently. And once something is repeatedly being said it becomes part of the reality individuals illustrate for themselves. Stress is not burnout, but it can lead to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a hindered feeling of personal accomplishment. Avoid it before it’s too late.

One thing that I have found helpful in my role as an Education Consulting and working in partnership with my Client and their stakeholders....is to FULLY AND CLEARLY listen, and gain clarity of their vision. My role is to help guide them back to their organic reason for choosing education leadership. I have been able to help some leaders identify the joy, purpose, and wide influence of impact for those they LEAD. Promoting and providing tools of POSITVITY as best, and as OFTEN as you can to foster a healthy, and conducive learning environment for Ed Leaders....IS KEY!! 👍🎉🎉

An issue with this article is the conflation of stress and burnout. Some stress is inevitable and not always bad. But protracted and unsustainable stress beyond what is manageable leads to burnout. Dealing with stress properly should prevent burnout. If people get to the stage of burnout, very different strategies are needed. Everything described above is advice on dealing with stress before burnout.

A second issue is that none of this is specific to school leadership. It is a very generic article on stress management. Anyone looking for role specific advice is not going to find this terribly insightful.

John Maxwell talks about "the three Rs": what is required of me, what brings the greatest return to my organisation, and what brings me the greatest personal reward. If we can find some activities that fell in the intersection of these three Rs, we will be enjoying something that is also great for our organisation - a win/win!