SROA SoundBoard - Michael Leiter

05/04/2023

Michael Leiter is an honorary professor of organizational psychology with Deakin University in Australia, an expert in burnout and coauthor of a new book, The Burnout Challenge.

 

Questions Answered During Podcast: 
 
1. Tell me briefly about your background and how you became an expert on burnout and engagement. 
 
2. Burnout was recognized as a big problem, then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Where are we now with regard to burnout? 
 
3. Why is now a critical time for your book, The Burnout Challenge? 
 
4. How can an individual know if they’re experiencing burnout? 
 
5. In part II of the book, you explore six mismatches—workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values. What are mismatches and why do they happen? 
 
6. There’s an example in the book of physicians being happiest when they practice “at the top of their license” but get “bogged down in administrative, bottom of their license” work. Who should do the “bottom of their license” work? And don’t those people also risk being burned out, too? 
 
7. In the book you recommend a “3C’s” approach that includes collaboration, customization, and commitment. Can you talk about the 3C’s—why are all three needed and how, when used together, can they bring about change?  
 
8. In Chapter 12, you touch on the challenge of fostering ongoing, continuous improvements in job person matches. How can leaders engage in continuous improvement to ensure there are more advantages than downsides in the job-person match? 
 
9. You talk about the medical checkup and the organizational checkup as a useful tool? How does it work and why do you think it can be an effective tool? 
 
10. Every great book has “Aha!” moments readers can connect with. What are the ones from your book that people have shared with you? 
 
11. What key takeaways would you share with healthcare administrators specifically regarding burnout and your book? 
 
12. What is not in the book that would be relevant to healthcare administrators? 
 
13. Are you optimistic that we can see a reduction in burnout at work and better job-person matches?