Burnout rarely arrives all at once.

It usually shows up in small ways first.

Less patience.
Shorter conversations.
Lower energy.
Less curiosity.
More frustration.
A little more distance from the work — and from the people around us.
Individually, those changes can be easy to dismiss.
Together, they can be telling us something important.
By the time performance drops dramatically, the warning signs may have been there for weeks or months.
Good leadership means noticing changes before they become crises.
Not every difficult week is burnout.
But patterns matter.

The better question is not only: “Are they still getting the job done?”

It is also: “What has changed in how they are showing up?”