The latest Gallup poll* regarding employee engagement the UK could make for depressing reading with a mere 17% engaged and a whopping 83% disengaged.

It can be all too easy to turn our focus on the employee and shy away from a more awkward lens – what if you are the leader and it’s you that is feeling unmotivated and stuck in a rut?  And what can you do about it?

I think we all need to acknowledge there comes a time when we all have motivational issues. However, when you are the leader, there’s the potential for added stress as you feel a degree of shame for not showing up as you’d like and then expending additional energy you don’t have trying to mask your true feelings.

What you do about it?

• First, step back and try to assess your situation as objectively as you can. It can be so easy for that negative thought process in your head to compound into a downward spiral to the point where you aren’t actually seeing many positive things at all.  Talking about it helps, with someone you trust.  Even better out of the workplace on a walk.  Alternatively, you could journal your thoughts – writing them down makes them external to you.  Ideally add in some positive question prompts to that process. For example, what is going well? Small things matter here.
• Show yourself some empathy – we tend to talk to our friends far more kindly that we do to ourselves. Our inner critic has had years of practice and too often we have believed that overly judgemental voice.  I have a picture of my much younger self near my desk. When I feel my critical voice getting a bit too loud, I look at that image of my 4-year old self and it helps me access a more gentle and loving response to myself and how I’m feeling.  What small act of kindness can you offer yourself?  It might be as simple as a scheduling a break and a decent cup of coffee away from your desk.
• Small actions = progress. When you feel unmotivated, bigger more strategic tasks can seem more overwhelming.  While you might not have the luxury of postponement, you might want to start with some small easy tasks to get a feeling of progress early on the day. Sometimes even tidying your workspace can help re-energise or doing something for someone else.
• Use the Insight. Much of our life makes more sense when you look back and in time, this situation will reveal itself more fully. Perverse as it may sound, there’s an opportunity in your circumstances and the quicker you get to place of self-compassion, the more likely you will be able to see that.  I’ve often noticed with clients the start of change begins somewhat paradoxically – in that what is actually needed first is not a quick fix, although is usually desired!  Instead, a collaborative, curious enquiry of leaning into the discomfort of their current experience often reveals deeper insight and, in that moment, new perspectives open up and unexplored options unfurl.

*For the full details of the Gallup Poll visit