January 22, 2026
The difference between a team member who arrives energized each morning and one quietly struggling with burnout often comes down to leadership. In our comprehensive analysis comparing 30,768 individual contributors showing signs of burnout with 119,338 highly engaged direct reports, we identified ten leadership behaviors that consistently differentiated these two groups.
This research matters because burnout has become a critical organizational challenge. The good news? The data shows that leaders have more influence over engagement and burnout than many realize—and the behaviors that make the difference are within reach of any leader willing to focus their attention on what truly matters.
Our analysis revealed ten leadership behaviors that cluster around four distinct themes, each representing a fundamental dimension of effective leadership.
Three behaviors define how leaders generate enthusiasm and motivate exceptional performance. Leaders of highly engaged employees inspire others to high levels of effort and performance, and they energize people to achieve exceptional results.
They don’t just assign tasks—they create an emotional connection to the work that transcends the transactional.
These leaders also create an atmosphere of continual improvement, where people push to exceed expected results.
Rather than applying pressure from the outside, they foster internal drive, making growth feel like an opportunity rather than an obligation.
Four behaviors address one of burnout’s primary drivers: the feeling that work is pointless or disconnected from something larger.
Engaged employees work for leaders who provide a definite sense of direction and purpose.
These leaders help others understand the organization’s vision so they can translate it into meaningful goals.
They also help people understand how their work contributes to broader business objectives, connecting daily tasks to organizational success.
Finally, they keep people focused on the highest-priority goals, filtering noise and protecting teams from unnecessary distractions. This clarity combats the exhausting pull in multiple directions that characterizes modern work.
Two behaviors define the relational foundation of engagement. Leaders of engaged employees promote a high level of cooperation among all members of the workgroup, creating environments where collaboration feels natural and team members are supported rather than undermining one another. If any team member feels like an outsider, engagement is significantly diminished.
Most fundamentally, these leaders are trusted by all members of the workgroup. Trust is the bedrock upon which all other leadership effectiveness is built. When trust exists, people assume positive intent, forgive mistakes, and remain engaged even through difficult periods.
A final behavior connects to all three themes. Effective leaders are skillful at getting people to stretch for goals beyond what they originally thought possible. Burned-out employees often feel either under-challenged and bored or over-challenged and overwhelmed. Engaged employees feel appropriately stretched—working at the edge of their capabilities in ways that build confidence rather than destroy it.
The data provides clear guidance for leaders facing the challenge of burned-out team members. Rather than treating burnout as an individual problem, leaders should recognize their own pivotal role in transforming the situation.
Before attempting any intervention, assess the trust foundation. Building trust requires positive relationships, consistency between your words and actions, and expertise—understanding the technical aspects of the work and doing it well. Have real conversations with direct reports—not just about performance, but about how people are actually doing and what would make work better.
Burnout often stems from a loss of purpose. Help each person reconnect their daily work to larger objectives that matter to them. Ask: What drew you to this work originally? What parts feel most meaningful? How does your current work connect to our mission? Consistently communicate how specific work contributes to customer success and organizational goals.
Exercise your leadership authority to protect your team’s focus. Make hard choices about what not to do, shield your team from organizational noise, and be clear about what matters most. Review workloads honestly and create space for people to do fewer things well rather than many things poorly.
Isolation intensifies burnout. Create genuine opportunities for collaboration and ensure people feel comfortable asking for help. Pay attention to team dynamics and actively cultivate a culture where cooperation feels natural and beneficial.
Master the balance between inspiring excellence and driving exhaustion. Celebrate progress, not just outcomes. Acknowledge effort, not just results. Create safety to experiment and fail. Model sustainable work practices yourself.
If you recognize signs of burnout, act now:
Have direct, caring conversations with each person showing signs of burnout.
Audit your own behaviors against the ten identified in this research.
Make specific commitments to change one or two high-impact behaviors.
Enlist organizational support for workload adjustments or role changes.
Follow through—actions after the conversation matter more than the conversation itself.
Leadership behavior is one of the most powerful determinants of whether direct reports experience burnout or engagement. The ten behaviors identified in this research aren’t personality traits you either have or don’t have—they’re practices you can develop with intention and effort.
If you’re leading a team where burnout has taken hold, recognize that you have more power to change the situation than you might think. Start with trust, reconnect people to purpose, protect their focus, foster genuine collaboration, and inspire sustainable excellence. The data shows these behaviors transform outcomes. Your leadership can transform lives.
Zenger Folkman partners with organization to develop leadership capability at scale using best-in-class 360 feedback, research-backed development experiences, and practical tools that drive measurable behavior change. If you’re ready to strengthen engagement, reduce burnout, and elevate performance across your teams, we’d love to help. Explore our leadership solutions or reach out to connect with a Zenger Folkman expert.
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